THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
SPORTS
MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2008
3B
BASEBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Those in attendance to see Walz got their money's worth as he went an inning beyond his previous career long outing, throwing 119 pitches. Walz (3-0) lasted deep into the eighth by working out of the few jams he got into.
Nebraska didn't have its first baserunner until the third inning, but Walz retired the next batter to end the inning. In the fourth, the wind helped catcher Mitch Abeita leg out a double - Walz' first hit allowed - and Walz walked the next batter, but he induced a groundout to negate the threat.
The Cornhuskers scored their first run in the sixth to cut the deficit in half to 2-1, but Walz shortened the inning by picking off a runner on first.
Walz cuz in the seventh when he moved a baserunner from first to third with a balk and a wild pitch before the runner scored, but with two straight outs, Walz avoided any further.
Walz could have fallen apart
three-run inning for the Jayhawks as they finally jettisoned Nebraska right-hander Aaron Pribanic (3-2) from the game. The single was Morrison's first of two hits in the game and one of six he had on the weekend.
"He's the first guy who'll get upgraded next fall to books and tuition," Price said of Walz, who's currently an invited walk-on.
any further damage
"It seems like here, more than any other field, the mound is back further, so it seems like you've got a little extra time," Morrison said.
Pribanic retired the second batter of the inning, but walked back-to-back hitters to load the bases and force Nebraska to make a pitching change.
In came left-hander Zach Herr, but the change didn't have the results the Cornhuskers had hoped for. Junior center fielder Nick Faunce, who entered the game as a defensive substitution, drove Morrison in with a sacri
"Any time you avoid a sweep is huge."
While Walz put the kibosh on every Nebraska rally, his offense was busy manufacturing runs, scoring one run in the first, sixth and eighth innings. Only in the seventh did Kansas put a crooked number on the board.
Seniorshortstop Erik Morrison led the inning off with a single after hitting into an inning-ending double play in his previous at-bat.
"I just thought to myself, 'I'm going to get up at least two more times, and I'm going to have the opportunity to help the ball club win,'" Morrison said.
Morrison's single sparked a
ERIK MORRISON Senior shortstop
fice fly.
Herr then reloaded the bases with a walk to set the table for senior left fielder John A l l m a n. Allman singled to left field to drive in two runs
and put Kansas up 5-1
Nebraska added a run in the bottom of the seventh, but an RBI double from Morrison in the eighth put Kansas back up by four, 6-2.
The Cornhuskers scratched one more run off Walz in the eighth, but junior closer Paul Smyth came in relief of him to close out the game and clinch Kansas' first road Big 12 victory since March 16 at Texas. With the victory on Sunday, Kansas is tied with Kansas State for eighth in the Big 12 standings.
"Any time you avoid a sweep is huge," Morrison said. "But we're trying not to lose sight of the big picture with what we did. We could have had a series victory very easily."
Edited by Daniel Reyes
Tough pitching leads to two losses for Hawks
SOFTBALL
BY KELLY BRECKUNITCH kbreckunitch@kansan.com
The University of Kansas softball team suffered two more losses on the road during the weekend. The
jayhawks faced off against the fourth-ranked Texas A&M Aggies.
After two tough losses to Missouri last week, the lavahwould could
not bounce back to take a game from the Aggies. Texas A&M
Clark
senior pitcher Megan Gibson hurt the Jayhawks from the mound and at the plate in both games to help the Aggies sweep the series.
Gibson threw a no-hitter in the first game of the series and allowed only two runners on base the entire game. The KU pitching staff had a hard time against the Texas A&M line-up. Each pitcher, junior Valerie George, sophomore Sarah Vertelkə and freshman Allie Clark, allowed at least three runs. Junior center fielder Dougie McCaulley and senior first baseman Addy Lucero were the only players to reach base for the team.
Texas A&M won 14-0 in five
innings because of the run rite. Gibson went a perfect two-for-two at the plate with three RBI. A&M's designated hitter, sophomore Alex Reynolds, added two more hits and another three RBI. The Jayhawk pitchers gave up seven walks in the game, and the defense committed two errors in the game, helping only the Texas A&M offense.
The Jayhawks didn't have any more luck in the second game of the series. The team came up with only three hits in the game from junior shortstop Stevie Crisosto, senior left fielder Betsy Wilson and freshman designated hitter Liz
Kocon. KU batters struck out ten times, and the team failed to score a run for the second consecutive game, losing 8-0.
A&M's Gibson continued to hurt the Jayhawks from the plate going three-for-three with four RBI. The Jayhawks committed another pair of errors in the second game, and George had another shaky outing, allowing six runs in five innings.
The team will need to regain its early-season momentum quickly as it prepares to face UMKC in a double header on Tuesday evening.
Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird
TENNIS (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Avdevea and the rest of the team got off to a fast start winning all three doubles matches against the Cyclones. The No. 2 doubles tandem of senior Lauren Hommell and junior Kunigunda Dorn defeated Iowa State's Alyssa Palen and Caitlin Loprinzi, 8-4, while the No. 3 doubles pairing of freshman Magdalena Torkczyk and junior Yuliana Swistun cruised by the Cyclone's Liza Wischer and Reka Kelemen. 8-1.
The Jayhawks continued their assault on the Cyclones in singles winning all six matches. Tokarczyk, Avdeeva, Horvath, Svistun and Hommell, all picked up victories in straight sets. Senior Stephanie Smith secured the sweep when she defeated Iowa State's Chrisy Derouin, 2-6, 7-6(4), 1-0 (6).
Senior Stephanie Smith returns a low shot in the front court Sunday afternoon. Kansas faced off against Iowa State, and will travel to College Station, Texas, for the Big 12 Championship Thursday.
With the victory, Kansas finishes the regular season with a 5-6 record in conference and 9-12 record overall. Kansas' conference mark is its best since the 2001-2002 campaign when the team finished second in the Big 12.
"The one thing that we've been striving for is definitely improving our Big 12 status, and the girls did that today and this weekend especially by beating Nebraska," coach Amy Hall-Holt said. "This is where we want to be."
After a successful home stand Kansas will head to College Station, Texas where it will face Iowa State in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament on Wednesday. The fifth-seeded Jayhawks will try to continue their hot streak against the Cyclones and advance to the second round of play after being dismissed in the first round by the University of Oklahoma one year ago.
"Right now, we're feeling pretty good about our chances to do well in the Big 12," Avdeeva said. "Everyone is pumped up."
Edited by Daniel Reyes
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