THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2008
SPORTS 9B
SOFTBALL
Spring break victories give team a strong start
Weston White/KANSAN
Junior third baseman Val Chapple steps into her throw to first base after fielding a ground ball during a game against Indiana State on March 8. Chapple earned Big 12 and national player of the week.
BY KELLY BRECKUNITCH kbreckunitch@kansan.com
The University of Kansas softball team picked up five victories and two losses during spring break.
The Jayhawks started off spring break with the Kansas Invitational tournament in Lawrence. The team swept the weather-shortened tournament, scoring more than nine runs in each of the three games.
The team opened up the tournament with a run-rule victory over Buffalo, going up by eight runs in five innings. Junior pitcher Valerie George held Buffalo scoreless, and the KU offense scored nine runs. Junior third baseman Val Chapple was a perfect three-for-three with three home runs and six RBIs. Chapple's three home runs tied a school record for home runs in a single game. Freshman right fielder Liz Kocon had two hits, three RBIs and added another home run for the Jayhawks, and junior center fielder Dougie McCaulley was two-for-two with three runs scored.
The Jayhawks defeated the Bulls 12-5 in the second game of the tournament. McCaulley scored three more runs and had one RBI on two hits, while Chapple had another stellar performance with three hits, including one home run, four RBIs and three runs scored. Senior left fielder Betsy Wilson hit the second triple of the season for the KU softball team and had two RBIs in the game and freshman catcher Brittany Hile had two hits and three RBIs.
The team closed out the Kansas Invitational tournament with another run-rule victory, this time against Louisiana Tech. Chapple played well again with two runs scored and three RBIs on one hit. McCauley scored four more runs and sophomore first baseman Amanda Jobe had two hits and scored three runs. Ally Stanton had a great game as well with two hits and three RBIs.
Coach Tracy Bunge was happy to the see the offensive output in the tournament.
"Offensively, it's nice to see us come alive and take a little pressure off the pitching staff," Bunge said.
Chapple was rewarded for her performance in the tournament by earning Big 12 and national player of the week honors. Chapple finished the weekend with seven hits, four home runs and 13 RBIs. Bunge was impressed with her accomplishments.
"Obviously, national player of the week is a very special honor," Bunge said.
Kansas hosted a double-header against Bradley last Tuesday and kept the winning streak going. George pitched the first game and threw her fourth shut-out of the season, striking out eight batters while giving up only one walk. Sophomore second baseman Sara Ramirez drove in the only runs of the game with a two-run home run to help KU earn the victory.
The Jayhawks swept the doubleheader with a 3-2 victory in the second game. Junior shortstop Stevie Crisosto had one hit, a double and two RBIs to help the Jayhawks, and Chapple continued to play well with two hits and a run scored in the game.
Bunge said she was happy with the execution of the small things in the games throughout the week.
"This is a very good team in all three phases of the game right now," Bunge said.
The Jayhawks lost the momentum of their five-game win streak in the conference opener against Oklahoma. The Jayhawks' only games outside of Lawrence over the break were forgettable. The team suffered a walk-off loss in the first game against Oklahoma. McCaulley was one-for-three with one RBI, and Hile drove in the only other KU run, but it wasn't enough.
Oklahoma senior right fielder Susan Ogden drove in the gamewinning run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The KU offense put up only four hits in the shutout loss to the Sooners on Saturday. The Sooners scored eight runs, benefitting from two home runs by freshman left fielder Haley Anderson and senior shortstop Savannah Long.
Bunge stressed the importance of the conference season and how tough the Big 12 conference was going to be.
"All other nine teams in the conference that play softball all are playing well right now." Bunge said.
softball scores
Spring Break results
3/14—vs. Buffalo
vs. Buffalo
W. 12.5
3/16 — vs. Louisiana Tech
W,11-3(5)
3/18 — vs. Bradley
vs. Bradley W-2-2
3/21 — at No. 11 Oklahoma L, 3-2
3/22 — at No. 11 Oklahoma L, 8-0 (6)
rankings from espn.com/USA Softball poll
"All have the potential to beat you any given day, and we're not going to have a lot of games in the conference schedule that are going to be easy games or blowout games."
The Jayhawks play Missouri State in a doubleheader on Wednesday at Arrocha Ballpark.
Edited by Sasha Roe
Mindv Ricketts/KANSAN
Blame the Wisconsin buzz saw that cut down K-State 72-55 in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday.
The Badgers were too disciplined, too fundamentally sound and too experienced to lose to a youthful Wildcat squad that had earned its matchup with Wisconsin by upsetting Southern California on Thursday. The victory against USC was K-State's first NCAA tournament victory since 1998.
Wisconsin's deliberate, grindit-out style slowed down K-State in the second half, holding the Wildcats to 22 points after the break.
"If you're down 10 to them, it's the equal of being down 25 to somebody else," K-State coach Frank Martin said.
Kansas State needed a brilliant effort from freshman Michael Beasley to have a chance, and the Wildcats got an average effort — at least by Beasley standards — from its freshman star.
OMAHA, Neb. — Kansans can stop dreaming about that potential Elite Eight matchup between Kansas and Kansas State.
BIG 12 BASKETBALL
BY RUSTIN DODD dodd@kansan.com
Beasley finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds, but the All-American candidate scored just six points in the second half. Wisconsin's front court trio of senior Brian Butch, senior Greg Stiemsa, and junior Joe Krabbenhoft held Beasley to 8-of-19 shooting from the field.
K-State falls from bracket Third-seeded Wisconsin defeats Wildcats, 72-55
Kansas State freshman forward Michael Beasley walks off the court after his team's 72-55 loss to Wisconsin in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. The 11th-seeded Wildcats finished the season with an overall record of 21-12.
"They was double teaming, triple teaming every time I touched the ball." Beasley said.
With Wisconsin holding a double-digit lead in the second half, the focus shifted to whether the fans at the Qwest Center were watching Beasley play his final game for K-State.
Beasley deflected questions
"As of right now, I'm a Kansas State Wildcat. I haven't thought into what I'm going to do next year."
about his upcoming decision to declare for the NBA draft.
Beasley said he wouldn't think about the NBA future for a couple of weeks.
Senior guard Michael Flowers added 15.
The rest of the Wildcats weren't much help. K-State was 0-of-13 from the three-point line.
While K-State's offense sputtered, Wisconsin received a lift from sophomore Trevon Hughes. The Badger guard connected on four three-pointers and finished with 25 points.
For a few minutes, it looked like the Wildcats might have another upset in them. K-State played even with Wisconsin for nearly eight minutes and took a 10-8 lead on a Michael Beasley layup.
"We expected them to be physical," Walker said. "They just forced us into taking contested shots. That's how they wanted it."
But a jumper by Hughes and three-pointer by sophomore Jason Bohannon gave the Badgers a 13-10 lead — a lead they would never relinquish.
Beasley's one-handed dunk with 1:05 left in the first half pulled K-State to within three and made the score 36-33, but Wisconsin's Flowers made a three-pointer 30 seconds later to stretch the Badgers lead to 39-33 at halftime.
K-State freshman Bill Walker, who'll also have a decision to make regarding the NBA draft, finished with 18 points.
Edited by Katherine Loeck
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