2B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Rundown of the season
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2008
TEXAS LONGHORNS
The Longhorns jumped to a 5-0 start this season behind the onslaught of runs put on the board. In Texas first five games, it scored 10 twice and put up 17 in its second game. The Longhorns will travel to the Minute Maid College Classic in Houston this weekend as they face tough nonconference opponents in Tennessee, Rice and Houston.
BAYLOR BEARS
Record — 5-0
The Bears have started the season off 4-0 and have done so in a nail-biting fashion. Baylor's first series of the season was against Purdue, where it won games with scores of 2-1, 11-10 and 2-1. After defeating Texas Southern 10-1, the Bears will host the QTII Baylor classic this weekend, where they will face Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and Stephen F. Austin.
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
Record — 4-0
The Cowboys started their season with a four-game sweep over Gonzaga. Allowing only seven runs, the Cowboys put up 31 of their own during the series. Oklahoma State will travel to the South Florida Tournament, where they will play South Florida twice and Northwestern twice.
Record — 4-0
The Tigers' offense started the season strong. They are still waiting for the defense to catch up. The Tigers' bats put up 39 runs on the scoreboard while the defense allowed their opponents to cross the plate 25 times. In Missouri's lone loss of the season it gave up 10 runs to Central Florida. The Tigers are heading to the University of San Diego tournament this weekend to face California, San Diego State, San Diego and Cal Poly.
MISSOURI TIGERS
Record — 3-1
OKLAHOMA SOONERS
The Sooners have started the season off strong at 3-1, while splitting a two-game series with a good UCLA team. Oklahoma has relied on consistent pitching and defense so far this year as it has allowed only 14 runs in four games. The Sooners join Texas this week.
end as they travel to the Minute Maid College Classic to play Rice, Houston and Tennessee.
Record — 3-1
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
The Aggies started their season off splitting a four-game series with Northern Colorado, but bounced back to take two from McNeese State. The Aggies did not allow more than five runs in a game in the Northern Colorado series but ran into problems putting their own on the board. Texas A&M competes in their own Dominos Pizza Aggie Baseball Classic this weekend, where they will face Ohio State, Arkansas and Louisiana Tech.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
Record----4-2
The Red Raiders have been all over the place in the 2008 season, because they have not been able to find consistency behind the plate. Texas Tech got shut out in its first game of the season only to follow up with a 16-run outing. The following game, the Red Raiders scored 6 runs in their second loss of the season, but they would soon recover and score 16 runs in another win. The Red Raiders will compete in the Minute Maid College Classic this weekend, playing Houston, Tennessee and Rice.
Record — 2-3
KANSAS JAYHAWKS
The Jayhawks started the season off strong, defeating Hawaii-Hilo 2-1. Kansas dropped the next three before going off in the series finale, having 16 runners cross the plate. The Jayhawks played perennial powerhouse Arkansas strong on Wednesday, losing 2-1. The Jayhawks will now compete in the Music City Classic in Nashville, Tenn., facing Vanderbilt, Xavier and Iowa.
Record—2-4
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS
The Cornhuskers have played three games in 2008 and they were against a team on the rise: Stanford. The Cornhuskers lost the first game 17-7 before coming back strong and winning the second game 9-2. Though they lost the third game 4-2, it was a solid series for a Nebraska team that is trying to rebuild and claim a spot in Omaha this summer. The Cornhuskers will host the University of California Riverside this weekend for a three-game series.
calendar
Baseball vs. Vanderbilt,
4:05 p.m., Nashville,
Tenn.
Track & Field, Big 12 Indoor Championships, All day, Lincoln, Neb. Swimming & Diving, Big 12 Championships, All day, Austin, Texas
TODAY
COLLISION REPAIR
843-5803 • 1214 E. 23rd St.
SATURDAY
Track & Field, Big 12 Indoor Championships, All day, Lincoln, Neb. Swimming & Diving, Big 12 Championships, All day, Austin, Texas Tennis vs. BYU, 11 a.m., Provo, Utah
Women's Basketball
vs. Iowa State, 1 p.m.
Ames, Iowa
Baseball vs. Xavier,
12:05 p.m., Nashville,
Tenn.
Softball vs. Northwestern, 2 p.m., Carbondale, Ill.
Softball vs. Southern Illinois, 4 p.m., Carbon-dale, Ill.
Men's Basketball vs. Kansas State, 8 p.m., Lawrence
SUNDAY
Softball vs. Western Illinois, 9 a.m., Carbon-dale, ill.
Softball vs. Bradley,
11 a.m., Carbondale, Ill.
Baseball vs. Iowa,
12:05 a.m., Nashville,
Tenn.
Record — 1-2
KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
The Wildcats had a slow start to 2008 as they began the season 0-2. They have faced tough opponents in California and Santa Clara, but they mustered only three runs in two games. The Wildcats will need to start scoring more runs as they head to the Cardinal Classic this weekend, playing Arkansas State, Michigan State twice and Lamar.
Record — 0-2
Weston White / KANSAN
SOFTBALL
Jayhawks improve record with four wins in Houston
Hardrive Produtions 2nd Story Guys perform their halftime act at the Women's basketball game Wednesday night. The group of three said they have been performing the act together for about four years now, but the act itself had been around for a little more than 15 years.
The University of Kansas softball team continued their early season success last weekend in the Houston Invitational
The Jayhawks lost only one game to the 16th ranked Houston Cougars, according to the espn.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25. The Jayhawks earned four victories against Texas State, Centenary and Cal
A: Former Kansas center Raef LaFrentz, who took the first two awards for the 1966-1997 and 1997-1998 seasons. LaFrentz still ranks as the third leading scorer and second leading rebounder in Kansas history.
Q: Who is the only basketball player to win the Big 12 Player of the Year award twice?
Coach Tracy Bunge said Houston made the Jayhawks pay for their pitching mistakes. Sophomore pitcher Sarah Vertelka picked up the loss, but Bunge said the team was still learning at this point in the season.
—Big 12 Basketball Media Guide
State Northridge and improved their season record to 12-4.
Need a lift?
The only Big 12 Player of the Year that is not currently in the NBA is former Nebraska center Venson Hamilton. Hamilton, who set a Nebraska school record with 335 rebounds his senior year, never stuck in the NBA and currently plays professionally in Madrid, Spain.
fact of the day
"I just hope I'm paving the way for other freshmen, to let them know you can compete."
quote of the day
-cnnsi.com
"Did they hit her good stuff? No,
they hit her mistakes." Bunge said.
— Former Texas forward Kevin Durrant after winning big 12 and National Player of the Year
Bunge said she was pleased with the improved offense over the week- and
Bunge
end.
awards last ye.
Bunge and the Jayhawks need that unsatisfied attitude to take on the fifth ranked, according to the espn.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top
"We could go back to a few of those losses and we felt we were the better team and we just didn't show up that day," Chapple said.
Bunge thought that the team did a good job of going deeper into the pitch count in at-bats and
"The first two weekends we thought we were pretty passive offensively," Bunge said.
Even with the offensive success, Bunge said she wanted the team to be "pleased, never satisfied".
attacked the ball in the strike zone
"Even when we had outs, they were better quality at-bats," Bunge said.
That idea is mirrored through her players. Junior third baseman Val Chapple said most of the team thinks it should be more successful.
25 rankings, Northwestern Wildcats this weekend.
"It's about respecting your opponents, but bearing no one," Bunge said. Bunge said Northwestern was one of the best offensive teams in the country and they would challenge the layhawk pitching staff.
"It's always exciting to play a team that's ranked." Chaple said.
Bunge said that all of the teams in the Southern Illinois Invitational would be tough. Bunge said there were no cakewalks in this tournament and that every team in the tournament was a quality team. This will also be the first time the Jayhawks are playing in cold weather. That could be a factor.
Bunge said she noticed that the teamwork of these Jayhawks is really improving. "I think they truly have really come together as a team," Bunge said.
The Jayhawks need a complete team effort to compete with the highly ranked Northwestern Wildcats. The Jayhawks play on Saturday and Sunday against Northwestern, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois and Bradley. This tournament will be the biggest test of the season so far for the Jayhawks and they look to keep building on their early season success.
-Kelly Breckunitch
TRACK (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Senior triple jumper Crystal Manning has been performing very well lately, in addition to Anderson and Sultanova. At the Tyson Invitational in Payetteville, Ark., Manning broke the school record in the triple jump. She is currently ranked fifth in the nation.
"You never know what to expect in the pole vault," she said.
Last year Manning was unable to make the cut to go the conference championships, so this year she plans on making an impression.
Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird
"The Big 12 Championship is just another opportunity for our kids to continue to do what they've been doing." Brewer said. "They don't have to do anything different because their best is good enough."
on tv this weekend
Confidence like Manning's is what the layhawks need as they battle for a Big 12 title this weekend. The team plans on taking Brewer's advice to "bring it."
"It makes me feel like I know what I can do and I know what I'm capable of," she said of her recent school record-breaking jump. "I know that I can jump farther than I did."
Men's College Basketball: Saturday:
— Duke at North Carolina State, 11 a.m., CBS
— Pittsburgh at Syracuse,
11 a.m., ESPN
— Wright State at Valparaiso,
11 a.m., ESPN2
Nebraska at Oklahoma State, 12:30 p.m., NBC
— West Virginia at Connecticut, 11 a.m., Metro Sports
— Georgetown at Marquette, 1 p.m., CBS
- Texas A&M at Oklahoma,
1 p.m., ESPN
— Wichita State at Drake,
1 p.m., ESPN2
Texas at Texas Tech, 3 p.m., CBS
Missouri at Baylor, 3 p.m., NBC
North Carolina at Boston College, 2:30 p.m., ABC
— Ohio State at Minnesota, 3 p.m., ESPN
— Oakland at UMKC, 4 p.m.,
Metro Sports
Illinois State at Southern Illinois, 7:30 p.m., FSN
— Washington State at Stanford, 3 p.m., FSN
p.m., ESF
Sunday:
Kansas State at Kansas, 8 p.m., ESPN
— Notre Dame at DePaul,
Noon, Metro Sports
— Kentucky at Tennessee,
11 a.m., CBS
UCLA at Arizona, 3 p.m. CBS
— Indiana at Michigan State, 1 p.m., CBS
— Clemson at Maryland, 6:30 p.m., FSN
— Oregon at Oregon State,
9 p.m., FSN
Women's College Basketball:
Saturday:
- Arizona State at USC,
1 p.m., FSN
Sunday:
- Texas at Oklahoma,
12:30 p.m., FSN
— LSU at Mississippi State,
2:30 p.m., FSN
Duke at North Carolina, 4:30 p.m., FSN
- Tennessee at Georgia,
6 p.m., ESPN2
NBA:
Friday:
— Washington at Chicago,
7 p.m., ESPN
Los Angeles Clippers at Denver, 9:30 p.m., ESPN Sunday
— Chicago at Cleveland,
Noon, ABC
— Denver at Houston, 7 p.m. ESPN
Arena Football:
Dallas at Georgia, Noon,
ABC
PGA Tour:
Saturday
Honda Classic, 2 p.m.,
NBC
College Baseball:
Saturday:
- Southern at USC, 10 p.m.
ESPN2
Sunday:
— Philadelphia at New York Rangers, 11:30 a.m., NBC
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