SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sweet 16 scene to be heated Friday
PAGE 3B
Men's golf places 12th in Invitational
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 10B
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2008
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JAYHAWKS 6, COUGARS 4
PAGE1B
Pitching seals Kansas victory
Weston White/KANSAN
Freshman designated hitter Jimmy Waters crosses home plate after crushing a home run over the right field wall. Waters drove in one on the play, hitting 2- against "Chicago State University, Kansas defeated the Cougars' 6-4 Tuesday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark."
BY SHAWN SHROYER
NOTES
sshroyer@kansan.com
Coming off a week where Kansas allowed 51 runs in six games, coach Ritch Price called out his veteran pitchers. Junior left-hander Sam Freeman answered Price's challenge Tuesday afternoon.
In his six innings of work, Freeman allowed just one run, which came in the third inning off a back-to-back triple and single. Freeman scattered six hits, hit a batter and surrendered no walks in a smooth, 74-pitch outing.
"That gives him four days rest before he pitches on the fifth day this weekend," Price said. "I think he had 74 pitches, so that was just about perfect for his outing."
In six innings, Freeman dominated Chicago State hitters, striking out a season high six batters and improving his perfect record to a 4-0. With Freeman cruising on the mound, the Kansas offense didn't have to do much, and it didn't until the fifth inning. Eventually, the Jayhawk (16-9) bats gave Freeman enough support to pull away from the Cougars (3-16) for a 6-4 victory.
"He gets better as the game goes on," Price said. "It happened in Texas, too, when his velocity was even better in the seventh inning than it was at the start of the game. He's got a great arm."
Freeman bided his time in racking up his six strikeouts. After not recording a 'K' in the first inning, Freeman struck out one batter an inning until setting down two on strikes in the sixth.
However, not until the fifth inning did Freeman receive some assurance that his efforts would be rewarded with a victory.
Chicago State's run in the third tied the game 1-1. Not until a double by senior left fielder John Allman in the bottom of the fourth that drove in sophomore second baseman Robby Price did the Jayhawks begin to pull ahead.
"I was really disappointed in our performance offensively." Price said. "We just don't string 27 quality at-bats in a row as a team."
The fifth inning was when Kansas did its most damage. Freshman designated hitter Jimmy Waters sparked the Kansas offense with a two-out home run to right-center field, which was the first of his Kansas career. The Jayhawks tacked on three more runs in the inning to take a 6-1 lead.
But, yet again, Freeman found himself at risk of missing out on the victory as the Kansas bullpen made it interesting in the top of the ninth. Nine Cougars batted in the inning, forcing junior closer Paul Smyth to come in relief of junior left-hander Daniel Manos with no outs and the bases loaded. Smyth allowed a single and hit two batters to let Chicago State come within two runs before nailing down his sixth save of the season.
he got in the game and he got in trouble and he found a way to get out of trouble because that's basically what his role is."
"Smyth has had some trouble in the past when the bases are loaded, for whatever reason that is", Price said. "It was good that
At times it looked like Freeman needed to finish the game himself. If he wasn't slated to pitch Sunday, he said he could have.
Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
Freshman guard Tyrel Reed uses his cell phone during media interviews in the Kansas lockerroom after Kansas's victory against UNLV. Reed and the other freshmen haven't played much this March, but the foursome said they were enjoying the ride and preparing for the future.
"Oh, I could have finished," Freeman said.
CONTINUED COVERAGE ON PAGE 6B
Kansas' game today with Chicago has been moved up from 3 p.m. to 1 p.m. due to scheduling conflicts for the Cougars. Kansas added a nightcap with Benedictine College (9-7) today at 6 p.m. Sophomore left-hander Shafere Hall (1-1) will start game one and senior right-hander Hiarali Garcia (1-0) will start game two.
Senior right fielder Ryne Price has 31 RBI in March, putting him on pace for 79 this season, which would be just six shy of the school record for RBI in a season. Price, who's had just four games without an RBI this month, had 31 RBI all of last season.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Freshman quartet bide time for the big-time
BY RUSTIN DODD dodd@kansan.com
Tyrel Reed looked at the ground anu fiddled with a cell phone. Connor Teahan peeled off his still-dry game uniform and sat next to Reed. A few lockers away, Chase Buford chatted with junior Brennan Bechard. Next to Buford sat Cole Aldrich, his burly shoulders hunched over, giving a local T.V. reporter a dose of his cheery Minnesota charm.
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Reporters crammed into Kansas' locker room like tetris blocks, circling Kansas' regulars, who had just punched their second straight ticket to the Sweet Sixteen with a convincing 75-56 victory against UNLV.
Reed, Teahan, Buford and Aldrich sat quietly - a part of the madness, but unmistakably in the shadows.
"You can just see how big the NCAA tournament is." Teahan said, sitting in front of his locker after the UNLV game. "We're expected to go so far, you get it, and you want to be able to do the same."
The quartet is content to sit back this season as Kansas' blue-chip upperclassmen lead. But don't call them the forgotten four. Kansas' four-man freshman class is relishing this NCAA tournament ride, taking notes, and patiently waiting for its chance at the big-time.
MINNESOTA "NICE"
e Aldrich is Minnesota. From his
Former Boston Celtic and NBA Hall-of-Famer, Kevin McHale, grew up in Hibbing. Joe Przybilla of the Portland Trail Blazers is from Monticello. Kris Humphries of the Toronto Raptors is from Minneapolis.
Aldrich, a McDonald's All-American, came to Kansas as the latest big-man export from the state of Minnesota - a state with a history of celebrated big-guys.
refreshing "always happy to see you" smile, to his lumberjack hands, you'd half-expect Aldrich to douse meal with maplesyrup and recite lines from "Fargo" as he sets a high-ball screen.
Unlike the aforementioned trio, Aldrich left his home state for college. The then 6-foot-10 forward with the impressive wingspan chose Kansas, a school that had been high on his list for years.
"The list goes on and on." Aldrich said.
Aldrich's first season hasn't been without a few speed bumps.
Aldrich said he struggled to adjust to the speed of the college game. Kansas' big-men were stronger, faster and more experienced.
Aldrich's growing pains were magnified at Late Night in the Phog, as he struggled on offense and with simple tasks like catching post entry passes.
Frustrated with his slow transition to college ball, Aldrich called his old Jefferson High teammate, Steven Wheeler. He had a question for Wheeler, a sophomore guard on the Amherst College basketball team.
"Was it as tough for you as it was for me?" Aldrich asked Wheeler.
"Yea." Wheeler said, reassuring his friend that most people struggled to adjust to college basketball. "It ain't easy."
Aldrich soon found his niche in Kansas' rotation as the Jayhawks fourth big man.
COMMENTARY
Aldrich is averaging 2.9 points and 3.1 rebounds, while playing 8.4 minutes a game, and the freshman center had 11 points and 11 rebounds in Kansas' 109-51 victory against Tech Texas on senior night.
"I knew coming in I wasn't going to be looked upon to be a scorer," Aldrich said. "My thing right now is being able to block shots, play defense and grab rebounds."
"He's going to be a great player for this program," senior forward Darnell Jackson said. "He has a lot in his package, even though he's young and he doesn't know the
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 7B
Women's basketball deserves support
OK, so here's the deal: I've been called a Kansas sports fanatic. I've seen just about every minute of every game that the football and men's basketball teams have played in the last five years. I've traveled to Miami to see an Orange Bowl victory and Kansas City, Mo., to see a Big 12 Basketball Championship.
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But a small thought has always gnawed at me: How can I consider myself a true Kansas sports fan if I have never supported any team outside of those two?
I thought I had lost my last chance to watch a women's game at Allen Fieldhouse when I passed on watching the last regular season game against Kansas State. I was wrong. When I received an e-mail informing me that the team would be playing host to a WNIT game, I knew I had received my reprieve. This was an opportunity to shed my "fraud" label, and I wouldn't pass it up.
But first I had to find someone to go with. I quickly found that most of my "diehard" Kansas sports fan friends had no interest in watching a women's basketball game.
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"But the ticket is free for students!" I pleaded. "And this is the playoffs. Seriously, how many times will you be able to watch a postseason game in the fieldhouse?"
Fine. Those fair-weather Jayhawk fans could stay home. I'd go by myself. And so I made my way to the fieldhouse on Monday night, solo-style. I was clad in all my Jayhawk regalia; the grey KU hooded sweatshirt, the Jayhawk hat, even the KU wristwatch. I was ready for battle.
My overtures were shot down, so I turned my attention to female friends. I failed there as well. One by one, the people in my phone book told me they were too busy or had no interest.
As I walked to the fieldhouse just before tipoff, only a few people milled around outside. I wondered if maybe I had gotten the wrong time. There was no line to get in.
When I entered the arena, I asked the usher where the students were to sit.
"There won't be many people here, so you can sit wherever," he said.
I chose to sit five rows behind the Jayhawk bench. It was close enough to listen to coach Bonnie Henrickson's strategy sessions during timeouts. It was also close enough that I could have told freshman center Krysten Boogaard that her brother, Derek, was my favorite NHL player, or asked sophomore guard Kelly Kohn for her phone number.
Well, fair enough!
But that would have been inappropriate, so I instead looked around the arena. It was like a bizarro men's game. Behind both baskets the seats were basically empty. A smattering of people sat in the blue lower level seats generally saved for high-paying donors at men's games.
I saw other people sitting alone, a speck in a sea of empty blue seats; this in turn didn't make me feel alone. My mind wandered: What was going on in their lives? Were they stood up? Are they true diehard women's basketball fans? Did they find this cathartic?
The amount of students in attendance could have been counted on fin-
SEE NYSTROM ON PAGE 7B