THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2006
PAGE
WWW.KANSAN.COM
BASEBALL
Junior pitcher Brendan McNamara delivers to home plate during Kansas' game against Southeast Missouri State Tuesday afternoon at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan. McNamara recorded 10 strikeouts, allowing just four hits and one walk in the Jayhawks 6-0 victory against the Redhawks.
Redhawks strike out
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Consequently, Riley struck out.
Riley's second strikeout of the day marked the tenth for McNamara, making the junior right handed pitcher the first Kansas pitcher to strike out 10 batters since March 2001.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The home plate umpire reaped back for the punch out. In the top of the seventh, third baseman Phillip Riley left his bat on his shoulder while Brendan McNamara delivered.
"I felt good," McNamara said. "The first thing I noticed when I got to the ballpark today was that the wind was blowing in. So I had a plan to throw a lot of strikes to get ahead."
That particular set of strikes equaled the last out McNamara threw in his 6.1 innning start, when he scattered four hits throughout the shutout. He was lifted for freshman left-hander Andy Marks after reaching his 99th pitch on a 100-pitch count day.
100-piece board. Less than 10 minutes later, Kansas coach Ritch Price and Southeast Missouri coach Mark Hogan met with the umpires and called the off. Kansas won the shortened contest, 6-0.
"I think their coach made a good decision," Price said. "The umpire went and talked to him and he was in complete agreement. Players were saying their hamstrings were hurting from running in the grass and he didn't want to lose anybody."
SOFTBALL
Ready for the postseason
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 8B
David Noffsinger/KAMSAN
Junior pitcher Kassie Humphreys throws against No. 2 Texas offense during Sunday afternoon's game in Arrocha Ball Park. KU defeated Texas with a final score of 1-0.
Accolades roll in for Settlemier
After strong performances last week on the mound and at the plate, the awards have begun to roll in for Serena Settleier.
The senior pitcher was in national Collegiate Player of the Week by USA Softball and Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, the Kansas Athletics Department announced Tuesday.
The senior pitcher was named the Co-Na
"I am very honored to receive such an extraordinary award." Settlemier said in a press release. "My team has been playing very hard.
Settlemier
well and I should have done this without them behind me"
In five games last week, Settlerium totaled eight hits, 12 RBI and a .615 batting average. Settlerium hit three home runs in those five games, as well as her fifth and sixth grand slams of the season.
On the mound, Settlemier went 3-0, including a victory against No. 2 Texas last Sunday. In 16 innings of work, she struck out 15 and held opponents to a .115 batting average. Her ERA in those games against Missouri, Creighton and Texas was 0.44. Settlemier improved her record to 15-5 on the season.
Ryan Schneider
"This is an incredible honor for both Serena and our team," Kansas coach Tracy Bunge said. "Her performance this season has been remarkable and last week, she did some pretty incredible things. She has had to persevere through a lot of adversity and that makes this honor all the more special."
This is Settlemier's fourth weekly award from the Big 12 of her career. Settlemier shared the national award with Cambria Miranda of Oregon State.
The Kelso, Wash., native ranks third in Division I softball with 20 home runs on the season.
Jayhawks aim to burst bubble
BY MARK DENT
mdent@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
March Madness has come and gone. Bracketology and mid-major teams have finally been removed from the American mainstream vocabulary. But even in late April, RPI and bubble team discussions are starting to heat up — for softball, that is.
"Right now we're one of the bubble teams," Kansas head coach Tracy Bunge said about her team's postseason chances. "I think our RPI is somewhere in the low 60s."
To be exact, the Jay hawks are currently ranked No. 63 in Warren Nolan's RPI system, which is used to measure NCAA rankings. Kansas, at 5-13 has a less than flatter
POSTSEASON
Kansas softball team's postseason chances
Last year 31-24.
At this point in the season last year: 22-19, 5-7 Big 12
■ Current record this season: 27
21, 6-7 Big 12
last year. 3-12-24
9-8 Big 12 (team
made regionals)
ing record against teams in the RPI Top 50, but it is 10-6 against teams with an RPI between 50 and 100. However, these rankings were compiled before the Jayhawks split their weekend series against No. 2 Texas.
Source: kuathletics.com
"This game will definitely help us," Bunge said of the victory against Texas. "The committee will look at what you've done the last few weeks and they're going to look at your pitching. Right now we have two very good pitchers."
Kansas can continue to improve its chances for an NCAA bid today when it takes on No. 17 Nebraska, in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers have lost only once at home this season.
This will be the third time the two teams have met this season. The Jayhawks took the first meeting and the Cornhuskers (35-8, 9-4) grabbed the second on April 4.
second on April 4.
In that second game, junior pitcher Kassie Humphreys pitched a no-hitter for Kansas, but her team still lost 2-0. The Jayhawks had five hits against Nebraska pitcher Ashley DeBuhr, but were unable to capitalize when presented with runners in scoring position.
Since that game, Kansas is 9-3 and is coming off its biggest victory of the season Sunday against Texas.
"This win will give us confidence," senior pitcher Serena Settlemier said. "We're just going to go up from here."
Settlemier and the rest of the Jayhawks have been on an offensive tear lately, averaging more than four runs in their last six games. This even included two Texas games, where Kansas scored only one run combined. An improved offense and Humphreys' red-hot pitching have made Kansas a scary team, according to Settlemier.
"I don't think any team in the Big 12 is going to want to face us," she said.
— Edited by James Foley
FOOTBALL
Redshirt freshman Angus Quigley tries to snake on senior defensive and Rodney Allen during the Spring football scrimmage at Memorial Stadium Friday evening.
Anthonyv Mattingalv/KANSAN
Quigley's skills evident on field
BY DREW DAVISON
ddavison@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Jon Cornish won't have to take all the carries in the Kansas backfield next season.
Freshman running back Angus Quigley has displayed impressive skill for the Jayhawks this spring. In the annual Spring Game, Quigley showed potential, catching an 11-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Todd Reeing.
"You can see he's athletic," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said earlier in the spring. "He's quick, he's strong and he's not an easy guy to bring down."
Last season the Cleburne, Texas, freshman took a red shirt. Although he has been a pleasant surprise for the KU offense this spring, Cornish, senior running back, will remain the starter next season.
Mangino said Quigley played himself into the running back mix this spring.
Quigley finished the game with 39 rushing yards on nine carries. He also caught two passes for 10 yards.
"Jon deserves to be the starter." Ouilev said.
Last season Kansas won games on the ground. In its seven victories, Kansas ran the ball an average of 40 times per game.
Cornish and Clark Green
split the majority of carries. Last season Cornish ran about 12 times per game, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, while scoring nine touchdowns. The only other player returning to the backfield from last season will be junior running back Brandon McAnderson. McAnderson ran the ball 22 times last season for 102 yards and a touchdown. With a bulk of the offense relying on the running game, Quigley should see his fair share of playing time.
Quigley, who stands at 6 feet 2 inches tall, might have to focus on technique early in his KU career.
"He's got to get his pad level down a little bit so he doesn't take so many hits," Mangino said.
The key for Quigely to stay involved in the offense will be to limit the hits he takes.
"The lower I get, I figured out, the less hard blows I take," Quigley said.
Quigley's teammates have also realized the impact he could have on the offense this season.
"He's done a great job," sophomore wide receiver Marcus Herford said. "He looks real good."
Herford said Kansas would have a great tandem in the backfield with Cornish and Quigley.
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BEE OURGLEY ON PAGE 4
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