THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2006
SPORTS
BIG 12 BASEBALL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3B
Best in show for college ball
Eleven athletes selected to be players of year
BY SHAWN SHROYER
sshroyer@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Editor's note: Big 12 baseball writer Shawn Shroyer gave out individual awards to college baseball standouts. Kansas still has six games left in the regular season.
Big 12 Player of the Year: Tyler Mach - Oklahoma State junior third baseman
Mach is a newcomer to the
Big 12, but his numbers are too amazing to ignore for Player of the Year. Mach has almost single-handedly carried the Cowboys
fourth-place finish in the conference. His 399 batting average, 77 hits, 16 home runs, 62 RBI and 138 total bases lead the Big 12. He is ninth in the nation in home runs and RBI, according to boydsword.com, and only Mach has received Big 12 Player of the Week honors twice this season.
Big 12 Pitcher of the Year:
Kyle McCulloch - Texas junior
starting pitcher
The Texas right-hander is only 7-4 on the season, but he is 6-1 against Big 12 competition. Earlier this year McCulloch was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week two night, weeks
McCulloch
His 2.91 season ERA is fourth among Big 12 pitchers who qualify, but his ERA against conference foes is a miniscule 1.98. McCulloch's 71 strikeouts are third best in the Big 12.
Big 12 Newcomer of the Year; Luke Gorsett - Nebraska junior outfielder
Gorsett transferred to Ne-
Gibson train braska from Garden City Community College, and the Cornhuskers would be nowhere near the top of the Big 12 standings without him. His .38
Gorsett
average, 41 runs, 67 hits, 15 home runs, 126 total bases, .720 slugging percentage and .456 on-base percentage lead the 'Huskers. Gorsett is third in the Big 12 in batting and only Mach has more home runs and total bases.
Big 12 Freshman of the Year:
Roger Kieschnick - Texas Tech
outfielder
Kieschnick
Kieschnick,
a true freshman, leads the
Red Raiders in five offensive
categories and is on the Big
12 leaderboard in three categories.
He leads the team with
ries. He leads Kieschaick the team with
72 hits, 48 runs, 14 doubles,
51 RBI and 111 total bases.
Klesnick is third in the Big
12 in hits and fifth in runs and
RBI.
Big 12 Most Improved Player: Evan Frey - Missouri sophomore outfielder
Frey saw limited playing time in 2005 and had nine hits in 55 at-bats for a .164 average. He also walked just four times compared to 11 strikeouts.
This season, Frey has appeared in most of Missouri's games and leads the team with a 379 batting average, which is tied for fourth best in the Big 12. His walks outnumber his strikeouts, 20 to 19, and he has
Feyv
doubled his on-base percentage from .242 to .491.
Big 12 Coach of the Year:
Sunny Galloway - Oklahoma
In Galloway's first season, the Sooners are surpassing last season's success and exceeding preseason expectations. Oklahoma made the NCAA Tournament last season with a 35-26 record and finished fifth in the Big 12 with a 14-13 conference record. This season Oklahoma is 37-13 and third in the Big 12 at 15-6. Big 12 coaches predicted Oklahoma to finish fifth again in 2006, but with two weekends of Big 12 play left, first place is within reach for Galloway's squad.
Golloway 35:26
Kansas Player of the Year: John Allman - sophomore outfielder
Kansas is three victories away
Kansas is three from its most successful season of Big 12 play and one reason is Allman's domination against Big 12 pitching. Allman leads the team outright with a 381 batting average.16 Allman
runs, eight doubles, 51 total bases, a.607 slugging percentage and .469 on-base percentage against Big 12 competition. He's also tied for the team lead in hits and RBI in conference play.
Kansas Pitcher of the Year:
Don Czyz - senior relief pitcher
Kansas' right-handed closer
has been as
clutch as any
closer in the nation this season.
His 15 saves are tied for the most in the nation and are a Kansas single-season record.
His 1.69 FGR era up
1. 06 WHIP are the lowest on the team. His five victories are tied for second-most on the team. Czyz was named one of three
His 1.69 ERA and Czyz
team captains before the season, is currently on the watch lists for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year, Roger Clemens and Dick Howser Awards and is an All-American candidate.
Kansas Newcomer of the Year: Ricky Fairchild - senior starting pitcher
Fairchild transferred to Kansas from Tulane and the right-hander has been a mainstay in Kansas' weekend rotation. In 14 starts, Fairchild is 5.5
Fairchild and Kansas is 8-
6 overall in games he has started. Fairchild is second on the team with four quality starts.
Kansas Freshman of the Year: Preston Land-first baseman
Early-season iniuries forced
Kansas coach Ritch Price to inject the true freshman into the lineup and Land has flourished. He leads the team with a .578 slugging percentage and
is second on the team with a 422
on-base percentage. Those two
stats combined equal a 1,000 OPS
that leads the team. Land's eight
home runs are a Kansas freshman
record and his .319 batting average
is fourth best on the team.
Kansas Most Improved Player: Erik Morrison - sophomore third baseman
In 2005, Morrison hit just .221
with three runs, 65 total bases, a .319 slugging percentage and .296 onbase percentage. This season, he is batting .284 with 100 total bases, a .526 slugging percentage, and
percentage and Morrison
centage. Morrison's 11 home runs lead the Jawhawks.
Edited by Cynthia Hernandez
MLB
Charlin Riedel/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cleveland Indians catcher Victor Martinez watches as Kansas City Royals' Angel Berroa celebrates while crossing the plate after hitting a home run during the eighth inning of their baseball game on Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo. Kansas City won the game 10-8.
Eight-inning upset hits K.C.
BY DOUG TUCKER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Aaron Guiel and Angel Berroa hit solo home runs in the eighth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 10-8 Wednesday for a three-game sweep.
Every Royals starter had at least one RBI. Guiel connected for his second homer in two games, hitting a tiebreaking shot after the Indians scored three times in the eighth to tie it at 8.
Ambiorix Burgos (1-0) balked home the tying run in the eighth but got the victory. Guillermo Mota (0-2) gave up the home runs that gave Kansas City its first three-game home sweep of the Indians in four years.
Kerry Robinson greeted Mota with a two-run triple in a three-run sixth. The Indians then tied it in the eighth, with Ramon Vazquez scoring the tying run on Burgos' balk.
Royals starter Scott Elarton gave up three runs in the first on Jason Michaels' RBI double and Jonny Peralta's two-run homer. Elarton did not allow a hit after the first inning until Casey Blake homered with two out in the sixth.
Paul Bako's tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth chased Westbrook and brought in Mota.
Westbrook, who entered the game with a 4-2 record and 1.65 career ERA against Kansas City, gave up eight runs and nine hits in 5-2-3 innings.
Matt Stairs hit an RB1 double in the fourth and took third when Indians second baseman Ronnie Belliard made a wild throw to the plate. Stairs tied it at 3 on Emil Brown's grounder.
Esteban German's RBI grounder and Doug Mientkiewicz's run-scoring single gave the Royals a 5-3 lead in the fifth.
After Blake's homer made it 5-4. Ben Broussard singled and eventually scored on a single by Vazquez that tied it at 5.
Royals Notes:
Royals CF Shane Costa, on the DL since April 29 with a left hamstring strain, is headed for Arizona for a few days of rehab and expected to rejoin the team at the beginning of next week
at the beginning of race.
Third baseman Graffanino made a nice play in the sixth, running into foul ground to catch Travis Hafner's pop foul in the strong wind.
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expires May 11