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SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Pole vault field gets tough
SECTION B
Two former champs seek Relays record
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 1995
By Robert Moczydlowsky Kansan sportswriter
The approaching Kansas Relays might turn into a mini-Olympic preview.
"The biggest reason we're here is to win a Relays title," Huffman said. Huffman holds the current American record of 19 feet 7 inches, and only two other vaulters have ever jumped higher than the former Kansas All-American.
Internationally acclaimed pole vaulters Scott Huffman and Pat Manson announced yesterday that they intend to enter the Relays' open pole vault competition.
"I agree with Scott," Manson, winner of the Pan American Games gold medal, said. "You can look at the Memorial Stadium and Kansas Relay's records, and we don't hold them.
The two former Jayhawk standouts, who currently practice with the Kansas jumps coach Rick Attig, both downplayed their involvement as publicity tools for the annual meet.
"We ought to have those records. We're here to jump well and try to go 19 feet."
Jumps of 19 feet are well within the abilities of both athletes. Huffman said that their jumps might be lower because it was still early in the season, but he stressed that both he and Manson would be striving for jumps over the 19-foot mark.
"As long as the weather is good, it could happen," Huffman said. "We both could very easily clear 19 with the right conditions."
Kansas head track coach Gary Schwartz said that he expected the two athletes to better his personal pole vault best.
"I jumped 11-2 in high school, but I weigh a lot more than these guys do," he said.
Schwartz then announced that Huffman would be inducted into the Kansas University Hall of Fame at the Relay's opening ceremonies.
"That is a great honor for me," Huffman said. "To be able to walk through Allen Field House and see my picture in with those of Wilt Chamberlain and others — its just something that I never thought could happen. I'm very excited."
The 75th Annual Kansas Relays will be held April 21-23 at Memorial Stadium.
Oklahoma State 17. Kansas 5
JAYHAWKS (13-24)
ab r h rb l
of byrd 0 1 1
ss deMarco 5 0 1
1b headley 5 0 1
1b Willem 4 1 1
c English 4 1 1
2b Kilner 4 1 0
lf Turney 5 0 1
rf igou 5 0 2
dr Terry 5 0 2
dh Rude 1 0 1
Totals 38 5 11 5
No. 4 CWBOYDS (32-5) ab r h rbl
2b MacKay a 2 1
1b Richard 5 3 2
r/f Prodanov 5 3 4
3b Light 1 1 0
1b Champoux 2 1 0
if Hardcastle 1 1 0
if DiPace 2 0 0
dh Steelman 3 3 2
dh Cook 1 0 0
c McNamara 4 0 1
c Messick 1 0 0
se Tatum 4 0 1
sf/Awler 4 1 2
ph/d Patsy 1 2 1
Total 37 17 14 17
Kansas 1.0 H R ER BB SO
Baird 1.0 1 3 2 1
Lyons 4.0 8 9 5 2
Williams 3.0 5 9 5 1
Oklahoma State 1.0 H R ER BB SO
Nelson 7.0 6 3 1 3 8
Nichols 1.0 3 0 0 1 0
J. Smith 1.0 2 2 2 1 0
Pitching slump spells disaster
E. Baird, Patsy, Richard, Tatum DP Kansas 1, Oka St. 1.10 KD Kansas 12, Cowboy 10 2B Headley, Turney, Byrd, Prodonov Champuphi(1), Richmond (8), Steelmon(11)
Cowboys pound Jayhawks, 17-5
By Tom Erickson Kansan sportswriter
Same show. different stage
No. 4 Oklahoma State flexed its offensive muscle for Kansas once again with a 17-5 win last night at Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. The Cowboys won all three games between the two teams earlier this year in Lawrence and entered the contest averaging almost 12 runs a game, the most in NCAA Division I baseball.
Oklahoma State rattled out 14 hits, including three home runs, upping its record to 32-5 overall and 12-3 in the Big Eight Conference. The Jayhawks dropped to 13-24 and 4-10.
Kansas starting pitcher Clay Baird (3-5) lasted just one inning before leaving for sophomore
reliever Tim Lyons. Baird walked three Cowboy hitters and hit another, giving up three runs.
The Jayhawks scratched out a run in the top of the first inning for their only lead in the game. Sophomore center fielder Isaac Byrd led off with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly to left field by senior third baseman Brent Wilhelm.
Enter the Cowboy hitters.
Oklahoma State, paced by a two-run home run off the bat of first baseman Chris Richard, pounded Baird, leading 3-1 after one inning.
Lyons gave up four runs in the second inning and two more in the fourth, driven in off singles by Oklahoma State center fielder Brian Aylor and second baseman Tripp MacKay.
Kansas scored again in the top of the fifth when sophomore first baseman Justin Headley slapped a single to right field with one out, scoring Byrd, who lead off the inning with a walk.
Oklahoma State starting pitcher Chris Nelson (8-2) then got Wilhelm to fly out and got senior catcher Brandon English to ground out for the final two outs.
But the Cowboys wouldn't let up, scoring three more rallies in the bottom of the fifth inning off Lyons, aided by designated hitter Wyyle Steelmon's two-run home run.
Kansas freshman pitcher Linus Williams, making only his second appearance of the year, surrendered five runs and five hits in three innings on the mound. Williams gave up the Cowboys' third and final home run of the game, a three-run shot to right field by third baseman Beau Champoux.
Both teams will conclude the season series with a 2 p.m. game today. Kansas sophomore pitcher Robert Garola (2-4, 5.58 ERA) will start for the Jayhawks.
Oklahoma State will counter with Brent Nichols (3-0, 4.61 ERA).
Keys to the Game
Keys to the game
Kansas pitcher walked shot and hit four batters in the game slot of the Oklahoma State hitters who walked game around to score for the Cowboys.
The Jayhawks left 1.2 runners on base last night, most notably in the top of the eighth when shortstop Joe DeMarco grounded out with the baserunner.
Oklahoma State slew and three home runs in the contest. Cowboy first baseman Chris Richard hit a two-run shot in the first inning, followed by a solo home run by designated hitter Wyley Stainelman in the fifth and a three-run dinger by third baseman Beau Champlour in the eighth.
Tennis teams to face K-State, Nebraska
Edmee Rodriguez / KANSAN
Kansas junior Victor Fimbres and senior Manny Ortiz won their doubles match against the Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday. Their doubles record is 23-7. The Jayhawks will battle the Nebraska Cornhuskers next.
By Robert Moczydlowsky
Kansan sportswriter
No.1 tournament seed is the goal for women's team
With three Big Eight Conference matches remaining, the Kansas women's tennis team has assumed the role of title favorite.
After the Jayhawks dominated the first four matches of the conference schedule, Kansas coach Chuck Merzbacher said it deserved to be seen as the leader of the pack.
"We're still the team to beat," Merzbach said. "We still have three matches to play, but I wouldn't say that any one of those teams is any better than the other. They all have pretty middle-of-the-road teams. As long as we keep playing like we are, we should take care of business."
Taking care of business would mean a three-match sweep and a No. 1 seed at the coming Big Eight tournament. A win in today's match against Kansas State would put the Jayhawks one step closer to the title.
"We're playing everything one match at a time, focusing on winning the Big Eight," freshman Maria Abatioglou said.
Abatjagoul has done her part to put Kansas in the conference lead. She is undefeated in four conference matches and has helped to fill the void left by the injury absence of No. 2 players freshman Christie Sim.
"Maria has really stepped up for us," Merzbacher said. "Kim Webster has also played really well. These recent matches just show how tough our schedule was. Every team that we lost to was ranked in the top 25. Now we're in the easy part of our schedule."
Today's featured match will be at the No. 1 singles spot, where senior Nora Koves, ranked No. 9 in the nation, will face off with No. 26-ranked Karina Kuregan.
For the Jayhawk team, winning today's match means getting one step closer to the NCAA tournament as well. The top 20 teams in the final Rolex Rankings are invited to the tournament.
Kansas is ranked No. 33.
"I'm not even concerned about that anymore," Merzbacher said. "I just want us to improve. If we get in we get in. I'm just focusing on improvement and another Big Eight title."
Top teams have yet to dominate race for Big Eight softball title
With no
overpowering pitchers in the conference, five teams are poised to make late-season runs, including Kansas.
By Jenni Carlson Kansas sportswriter
CONFERENCE OVERALL Pct.
W L T Pct. W L T Pct.
Missouri 8 0 0 1.000 40 5 0 .889
Oklahoma 5 1 0 .833 28 18 0 .609
Nebraska 4 4 0 .500 24 14 0 .632
Oklahoma State 3 3 0 .500 22 14 0 .611
Kansas 2 6 0 .250 14 12 0 .538
Iowa State 0 8 0 .000 13 13 1 .500
Kansan sportswriter
The rhythmic sound of aluminum bats punishing pitching-machine softballs echoes inside Anschutz Sports Pavilion.
CONFERENCE
Big 8 softball standings
Time and time again the sound is the same — equal — just like the Big Eight Conference.
"Everybody's kind of equal now," Kansas junior Katie Morgan said while waiting her turn at the batting cage. "There's really no dominating pitchers.
"Without the pitchers, of course, your hitters are going to come thorough."
The Big Eight power structure changed because of these factors. Oklahoma State, Kansas and Oklahoma always have been considered the top teams in the conference. Kansas softball coach Kalum Haack said those teams all looked poised to make a Big Eight title run again this year.
Noah Musser/KANSAN
Seniors and respected pitchers dominate Oklahoma State's and Oklahoma's roster. Kansas, with only two seniors, expected to lean on its powerful hitting and athleticism.
Few thought Missouri and Nebraska would be players in the Big
The Tigers sit atop the conference with an 8-0 record, sweeping their four-game series against both Kansas and Iowa State. Under coach Jay Miller, the team has a 40-5 overall record and a No.12 national ranking, which are both top marks in the conference.
Eight race but they are.
"Coach Miller gets good kids and gets them to play over their heads," Haack said. "He's doing a good job of that year."
Two new pitchers turned Nebraska around. Stacie Stafford and Angela Blackwood have propelled
the Cornhuskers to a top-15 national ranking and a third-place standing in the Big Eight.
"Nebraska usually has been pretty weak," Kansas senior Lora Richardson said. "We've usually swept them. This year, they got the pitching to take them around the curve and make them a much better team."
Pitching also has been the difference in Kansas' migration from the Big Eight's top spots to where it now rests in fifth place.
Haack said the Jayhawks lost the greatest pitcher in Kansas history, if not Big Eight history, when Stephani
Williams graduated. Williams averaged approximately 10 strike outs each game and left opposing teams with only 11 other at-bats to put the ball in play.
"Without that, our chances have almost tripped to field the ball and make errors." Haack said.
"You can't say this season is over," Morgan said.
The lack of pitching has left the Jayhawks searching for answers. Morgan said they just couldn't come together.
But the Big Eight's equality keeps Kansas hopeful.
Cloudy skies wreaking havoc on scheduling
Kansan staff report
For the second consecutive day, the weather defeated the Kansas softball team.
Yesterday, rain canceled the Jayhawks 'scheduled doubleheader with the Pittsburg State Gorillas.
No make-up games have been scheduled.
Rain also hindered the Jayhawks Monday. They were scheduled to play a make-up doubleheader at Wichita State, but rain washed the games away.
Kansas will try its luck again today. A doubleheader against Creighton is scheduled at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Both games will be played at Jayhawk Field.
With their 14-12 record, the Jayhawks need to win three of their four games against Creighton to help their chances for postseason play, Kansas coach Kalum Haack said.
Kansas will play a doubleheader against the Blue Jays April 26 in Omaha, Neb.