6A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY,MAY1,2006
BASEBALL
Randall Sanders/KANSAN
Freshman catcher Andrew Spitzfaden prepares to throw to second base in the fifth inning of the second game against Oklahoma on Sunday at Haglund Ballpark. Filling in for alling catchers Buck Afenir and Dylan Parzyk, Spitzfaden has started the last four games, hitting .416 with two triples, three RBI and three runs scored in that time and raising his average to .350 on the season.
Spitzfaden earns praise
BY SHIMN SHOYER
shsroyer@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
On the surface, the eleventh triple by a Kansas hitter this season was insignificant. It came in the second inning and drove in Kansas' final run of its 17-2 loss to Oklahoma in game one of Sunday's doubleheader.
What was significant about the hit was it came from freshman catcher Andrew Spitzfaden. That kind of production is what Kansas has been missing from the catching position.
"The big thing was he didn't hurt us and then he even contributed with the bat, which we didn't expect to have happen at all," Kansas coach Ritch Price said. "Overall, he was really special for us this weekend."
After the Creighton game, freshman left-hander Nick Czyz's name was in the headlines with a one-hit, seven-inning performance, but even he was more impressed with Spitzfaden's day than his own.
The interesting thing about Spitzfaden is that, until last week, he was behind freshman Buck Afenir and junior Dylan Parzyk on the depth chart. But Afenir caught the mumps on Tuesday and帕zyk was already out with a sprained ankle, so Spitzfaden got his first start as a Jayhawk Wednesday against Creighton.
duction at the plate and composure behind the plate. Spitzfaden went 2-for-4 with an RBI and caught three different pitchers in the combined one hitter.
Czvz praised Spitzfaden for his pro-
In the second game on Sunday, senior right-hander Kodikai Quick threw 6.1 innings and only allowed two runs with Spitzfaden behind the plate. He, too, had nothing but good things to say about Spitzfaden.
"Dylan's really good, Buck's really good and I thought Spitz did an extremely good job of coming in," Quick said. "I have no complaints at all."
Spitzfaden was in the starting line-up on Saturday and went hitless, but still found a way to be productive in the seventh inning.
After hitting Spitzfaden with a pitch, Oklahoma starter Daniel McCutchen was pulled from the game, allowing the rest of the Kansas offense to tee off on Oklahoma relievers. Spitzfaden then advanced to second on a single by sophomore outfielder Brock Simpson and scored on a single by senior shortstop Ritchie Price. The run was one of three the Jayhawks scored that inning in their comeback attempt on Saturday.
Even with the two triples, Spitz-
faden didn't claim to be a speedster
on the base paths.
"I've got to hit 'em pretty far and somebody's got to fall down for me to get all the way to third base, it seems like." Spitzfaden said.
Before the emergence of Spitz-
"Dylan's really good, Buck's really good and I thought Spitz did an extremely good job of coming in."
Kodiak Quick Senior pitcher
faden, Kansas' regular starters Afenir and Parzyk weren't providing much production on offense from the position. The two combined for a 204 batting average, nine extra base hits
including four home runs, 14 RBI and 36 strikeouts in 147 at-bats. In four games as a starter, Spitzfaden has gone 5-for-12, which translates to a .417 average, with three runs and three RBI
Despite his stellar play this week, Spitzfaden has braced himself in case his name isn't on the lineup card the next time Kansas takes the field.
"I show up to the ballpark ready to play every day, but if I'm there, I'm there, if I'm not, I'm going to be supporting whoever's back there," Spitzfaden said.
— Edited by Hayley Travis
BASEBALL
Comeback doesn't save the day
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Bags of quick dry were dumped and spread around the base paths in between innings of the 11-9 Oklahoma victory against Kansas on Saturday. The field wasn't able to take both games. Game two of the doubleheader was canceled because of rain.
"The fact that we battled back — we're getting our rear ends kicked, that's about as poorly as we've pitched all year," Kansas coach Ritch Price said. "To battle back and then have the chance to win the lead, I was proud of them. I think it makes the loss even worse, to be honest with you."
Oklahoma led 8-0 before Kansas came back and tied the game.
The Sooners played with complete disregard of the Jayhawks' 14-2 record at home. Oklahoma is on a streak of its own — it won its 12th straight game on Saturday.
By the middle of the fourth inning, only one Sooner was hitless. The other eight hitters in the lineup used a rocky outing by junior Sean Land to put up seven runs in the opening four innings.
In the top of the fifth inning, Oklahoma led. 8-0. The Sooners had 11 hits. The Jayhawks had none. But as the rain fell, so did Oklahoma's guard.
Despite the loss, Kansas mounted an unbelievable comeback witnessed by the handful of fans still at the game.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Jayhawks found the bats against dominant starter Daniel McCutchen.
Senior infielder Jared Schweitzer hit his eighth home run of the season, and sophomore outfielder Brock Simpson hit a two-run double off the left field wall.
Senior outfielder Matt Baty scored on a single from Schweitzer in the sixth, cutting the Sooners's lead in half.
Freshman first baseman Preston Land trimmed the lead again in the bottom of the seventh,
with a home run over the left field wall. The solo shot marked Land's eighth of the season, the most ever by a KU freshman.
"I didn't expect it of myself but I wanted it," Land said about the record. "I knew if I got the opportunity to play, I wanted it."
Senior outfeilder Gus Milner had an opportunity in the ninth inning to tie the game. His clutch single to left field knocked in senior shortstop Ritchie Price.
"I if I had another opportunity I was going to try to either tie it or hopefully win it," Milner said. "I was just trying to do my job in the four-hole and I'm just glad I did to try and keep the game going."
A pair of 10th-inning Oklahoma solo home runs went unanswered in the bottom half of the inning. Oklahoma held off the KU comeback.
"I thought it was a great game," Milner said. "It came down to the wire. I enjoyed it, it's just too bad that they had to win."
Baseball
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A
— Edited by Hayley Travis
"When we have everybody on the field, you're going to have a couple of guys go 0-for-4." Price said. "As long as you're got your upper six guys getting a couple of friends."
or knocks, you'll be fine."
In the bottom of the fifth, senior infielder Jared Schweitzer started the rally. Schweitzer's solo shot in the fifth inning of the first game also kicked off the Jayhawk scoring attack. His base hit to first sparked the
glad to get things going."
In game two, Kansas lost 17-2.
The second game of the series and the first half of the Sunday doubleheader, looked much like game one on Saturday.
I think we try to stay positive about it, I think that shows some character about our team. We played well and we weren't down on ourselves. Sometimes that's baseball."
Already leading by one to
Jared Schweitzer
Senior infielder
'Hawks and, excluding a freshman first baseman Presston Land strikeout, a streak of five straight hits.
"It's been a bunch of guys being rally starters," Schweitzer said. "It doesn't necessarily have to start with the first two-three guys in our lineup. Our lineup's pretty deep right now, so I'm
start the game,
the Sooners
wasted no time racking
up some more. In fact,
after picking up the game
in the top of the
second because
of Saturday's
game two rainouts,
Oklahoma went on to
score in the next
innings.
But even going
three scoreless
innings in the last half of the game wouldn't deter the Sooners from hanging 17 runs on the jayhawks, outing the boys in blue 25-9.
Kansas couldn't put a rally together, even though it tallied nine hits, including sophomore third baseman Erik Morrison's 11th home run of the
season in the bottom of the second.
Attempting to keep pace, Kansas hit at least a single in all but three innings. Despite Oklahoma's 28 runs scored in the first two match-ups, none of them were because of errors as the Jayhawk defense committed just one error in the first two games.
"I think we try to stay positive about it," Schweitzer said. "I think that shows some character about our team. We played well and we weren't down on ourselves. Sometimes that's baseball."
Senior right-hander Ricky Fairchild (5-5) didn't make it out of the fourth. He took the loss, allowing six runs on six hits in his 3.1 innings of work.
Fairchild's senior-handed counterpart, Oklahoma's Steven Guerra (9-1) picked up the victory, Oklahoma's 13th in a row, surrendering two runs off seven Kansas hits.
The Jayhawks lost the first game of the series 11-9 in 10 innings.
- Edited by Janiece Gatson
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