6B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2008
KU FIRST PITCH
LAST TIME OUT
Kansas was scheduled to play a two-game midweek series with Northern Colorado, but wet field conditions following the rains that came earlier in the week nixed those plans. However, having the week off may have allowed the Jayhawks to get their bearings straight after getting swept for the second consecutive weekend.
BY THE NUMBERS
.326 - Ryne Price's batting average, which is second on the team.
1. 047 - Price's OPS, which is on-base percentage plus slugging percentage and leads the team by 99 points.
9 - The number of home runs Price has hit this season, which leads the team and is second in the Big 12.
45 -The number of runs Price has driven in, which leads the Big 12.
82 - The total bases Price has accumulated, which is third in the Big 12.
UP TO BAT
Ryne Price -Batting in the middle of what has become a bipolar offense,
Price has been one of the few constants. He leads the team in nearly every significant offensive category. If his teammates in front of and behind him would follow suit, Kansas could win no matter what its pitching staff does.
ON DECK
Erik Morrison
- Morrison,
a childhood
friend of
Price's, bats
right behind
his buddy in
the order and may be hitting his usual late-season surge. In the final game of the Baylor series, he went 2-for-2 with two home runs and five RBI.
IN THE HOLE
Kansas pitching staff
- Among Jayhawk pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched, only junior right-handed reliever Paul Smyth (1-3) has a sub-3.00 ERA. Of Kansas' starting pitchers, only senior right-hander Andres Esquibel has a sub-4.00 ERA.
As a staff, the Jayhawks have a 1.55 WHIP.
KANSAS PREPARES FOR COMEBACK KANSAS GETS READY FOR SERIES AGAINST TEXAS TECH
KANSAS VS. TEXAS TECH 6 p.m., Hoglund Ballpark, Lawrence
Kansas (19-16,1-8)
PITCHING
The Kansas pitching staff is in shambles. Kansas pitchers are 0-6 against Big 12 competition since the announcement that junior left-hander Andy Marks wouldn't be coming to the rescue after suffering an arm injury. Kansas was swept the last two weekends in large part due to a lack of quality outings from its starting pitchers. In his last two starts, junior left-hander Nick Czyz (1-3) allowed four runs in 9.2 innings (3.91 ERA). The rest of the weekend rotation, in its last four starts, allowed 28 runs - only two of which were unearned - in 7.2 innings (32.50 ERA). It's no surprise Kansas' 5.43 ERA is the highest in the Big 12. The only surprise is the Jayhawks' team ERA isn't higher. Senior right-hander Andres Esquibel (2-2), who leads Kansas with a 3.95 ERA, was added to the starting rotation and responded by allowing seven runs in four innings. After allowing seven runs of his own in Just 1.1 innings, junior left-hander Sam Freeman (4-1) is expected to be replaced in the starting rotation this weekend.
Texas Tech (17-16,4-8)
The Red Raiders' pitching has been a source of frustration this year and shaky at best. Between their three weekend starting pitchers, sophomore Nathan Karns, junior A Ramos and freshman Chad Bettis, they have a combined 5-10 record. Due to rough starts, Texas Tech has been forced to go to their bullpen early and often. The Red Raiders will need stability out of their bullpen to contend in the dangerous Big 12 Conference.
PITCHING
OFFENSE
MLB
The Red Raiders have one of the most feared hitters from behl plate in the Big 12 and one of the more consistent offenses. !
OFFENSE
As a result of Kansas' poor starting pitching, the Jayhawk offense has fought a seemingly nonstop, uphill battle the last two weeks of conference play. Even though Kansas is third in the Big 12 in runs scored, the Jayhawks are outscored 81-50, scoring 1.5 fewer runs per game than their season average. While it's hard to blame Kansas' hitters for the team's poor conference record, the Kansas offense shows plenty of chinks in its armor. Save for senior right fielder Ryne Price, the heart of Kansas' order floundered against Baylor last
weekend. Senior left hei-
John Allman went 0-for-9
with no RBI. Junior
catcher Buck Afenir went
1-for-5 in the last two
games of the series with
no RBI. Before hitting
two home runs on
Sunday, senior
shortstop Erik
Marrison was 0.
for-6 with no RBI. Junior first baseman
Preston Land was 0-for-8 before being benched
on Sunday. However, the top of the Kansas order hasn't been setting
the table, either. Last weekend, Kansas leadoff men went a combined 3-
for-12. The lone bright spot for the Jayhawks has been Price, who went
5-for-12 with five RBI and two home runs last weekend.
DEFENSE
Kansas thought it had it rough against Texas A&M's running game two weeks ago. Well, it will have its hands just as full this weekend with Texas Tech. The Aggies successfully swiped four bases against the Jayhawks, getting caught just once. But the Aggies are just the second best running team in the Big 12. The Red Raiders are No. 1. Fifty-seven times this season Texas Tech stole a base and were caught only 11 times. As a result, senior catcher Joe Southers should see most of the action behind the plate, pushing Afenir into a designated hitter role. Price could also see some time behind the plate, considering his arm strength, but with no errors all season, he's obviously adjusted well to life in right field after playing second base the last two seasons.
OLEFENE
DEFENSE
Texas Tech's defense is stable this year and something they have had success in. Sophomore Chris Hall starts for the Raiders at shortstop and has been more than reliable this year. Partnering with Hall, sophomore Willie Rueda completes the middle infield at second base and gives Texas Tech an above average middle infield. Sophomore left fielder Taylor Ashby has only committed one error this year and has a .972 fielding percentage. Texas Tech will not make very many errors in the field and it is something they take pride in.
-Tyler Passmore
-Shawn Shroyer
How many runs will Kansas and Texas Tech score over the weekend? The Jayhawks and Red Raiders have the worst team ERAs in the Big 12 by a long shot. No other schools in the Big 12 have team ERAs above 5.00, meaning fans who make it out to Hoglund Ballpark this weekend could be in for some high-scoring affairs.
QUESTION MARK
QUESTION MARK
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Andy Pettitte picked up his first victory and Alex Rodriguez and Melky Cabrera both homered and drove in two runs, helping the New York Yankees defeat the Kansas City Royals 6-1 Thursday night and avoid a series sweep.
Yankees defeat Royals 6-1, avoiding series sweep
Pettitte (1-1) held the Royals to one run and five hits in 6 2-3 innings, and is 7-0 in his past nine starts against them. He has
a career record of 12-4 with a 3.06 ERA against Kansas City, which is his best earned run average against any American League club.
After throwing 31 pitches in the first inning, when the Royals managed their only run off him, Pettit needed just 61 pitches through the next 5 2-3 innings.
Cabrera tied the game at 1 with a solo homer in the third, driving a 1-2 pitch to left off John Bale, the first left-hander the Yankees have faced this vea
Will the Red Raiders' pitching woes plague them once again? The Red Raiders have only one glaring weakness: their pitching stable. If the Kansas bats get hot, the Red Raiders could be sent back to Lubbock with a defeat or two.
The Yankees seized a 2-1 lead
in the fourth when Jorge Posada, who led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on Hideki Matsui's base hit, scored when Jose Molina grounded into a double play.
Cabrera and Rodriguez each had an RBI in the fifth. Cabrera's single scored Morgan Ensberg, and Johnny Damon scored on Rodriguez's fielder's choice ground out after his own infield single.
replaced Bale for his first appearance in the majors since July 15, 2005, with Tampa Bay.
Rodriguez and Posada added back-to-back home runs in the ninth off Hideo Nomo, who
Nomo, who is making a comeback at 39 and after having elbow surgery in 2006, worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh. He then got through the eighth without any damage before giving up the homers to Rodriguez and Posada with two out in the ninth.
Rodriguez increased his career RBI total to 1,510,moving him one ahead of Mickey Mantle and into 45th place on the all-
time list.
Jose Guillen's two-out double in the first scored Mark Teahen for the Royals' only run.
Bale (0-2) left after six innings allowing four runs and eight hits with a walk while striking out three.
The Yankees, who were 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the first two games of the series, went 2-for-8 on Thursday night. They are 13-for-74 with runners in scoring position in the first 10 games of the season.
Notes: The Yankees have
TTU FIRST PITCH
BY THE NUMBERS
The Texas Tech Red Raiders fell victim to the New Mexico Lobos 7-2. The Red Raider pitchers walked and hit batters, which lead to two big innings. While only managing to get seven hits, Texas Tech put two runs on the board and lost to the Lobos making the season series 2-2.
LAST TIME OUT
.308 - Roger Kieschnick's batting average
11 - The number of home runs Kieschnick has hit this season, which leads the team
11- The number of doubles Kieschnick has hit this season, which ties the lead for the team
.677 - Kieschnick's slugging percentage, which leads the team
UP TO BAT
Roger Kieschnick
—Kieschnick has carried the Red Raiders on his back this season and is putting
up great numbers. Leading the team in almost every batting category, the junior from Rockwall, Texas, will need to continue his success for Texas Tech to be successful.
ON DECK
season. As the lead off batter, Kenworthy has the leading batting average on the team and has made tough plays at third base. Kenworthy is also a threat to steal and has taken four bases this year in as many attempts.
Joey Kenworthy
— Standing at only 5-foot-5,
Kenworthy is playing like a giant this
IN THE HOLE
Nathan
Karns — In
his seven
starts this
season,
Karns
has been
knocked
around and compiled a 1-5 record. Karns has given up a team high 31 earned runs this season and has a 9.40 ERA.The sophomore is a transfer from North Carolina State, where he went 3-2 with a 2.67 ERA his freshman year.
gone 10 games into the season without a stolen base for the first time since 1948, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. In 1948, they didn't have any steals until a double-seal by Phil Rizzuto and Tommy Henrich in New York's 17th game. ... Rain delayed the game twice for a total of 28 minutes. ... Royals DH Billy Butler singled in the seventh to extend his hitting streak to nine games.
Associated Press
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