THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2006
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THE COLUMN
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Spring game sets stage
JIMMY CHAVEZ
jchavez@kansan.com
During Friday's Annual Spring game, all of us in the Memorial Stadium press box had a bird's eye-view of something different; something that Jayhawk football under Mangino has seldom enjoyed.
Mark Mangino has to feel as if the Easter Bunny brought him something special this year.
The much ballyhooed freshman quarterback Kerry Meier, who has had fans eagerly clamoring for Sept. 2, stepped into the huddle Friday night with confidence. By game's end, he had fans ready to start a four-and-a-half month tailgate, leading up to the home opener against Northwestern State.
For now, KU fans have reason to be excited and so does Mangino. It wasn't so much Meier's final stat line that had people excited, it was his presence on the field.
Freshman pitcher Nick Czyz delivers a pitch against Oklahoma State on Saturday in his three innings of work in Stillwater, Okla. Kansas won the last game of the series on Sunday, 7-5, but lost on Friday and Saturday.
Meier ended up notching four touchdowns, three by air and one on the ground. $ \mathrm{H^{+}} $
Mark Mangiino has to feel as if the Easter Bunny brought him something special this year.
Casey Fath/THE DAILY O'COLLEGIAL
ound. He looked calm and collected. He threw the prettiest pass of the night, when he hit junior tight end Derek Fine for the first touchdown of the game. Meier looked savvy in the
pocket. The pass had incredible arc with a textbook spiral down the field that hit Fine in stride.
Meier looks like a big-time college quarterback. Even Athletics Director Lew Perkins had a skip in his step after the game. As we got in the elevator to leave the press box, I overheard him say that it looked like Kansas had found itself a quarterback.
Of course, it would be cliché to compare Meier to former Kansas quarterback Bill Whittemore. I can't do that. That's only because Meier looks like a quarterback with throwing ability that hasn't been seen around Lawrence in a long time.
It was Meiers precocious decision making that had to give Mangino goose bumps on Friday. Since he came to Kansas, Mangino has looked for a signal caller that had the consistent intellect that matched the ability. Those quarterback qualities are what helped make a name for Mangino, when he was the offensive coordinator at Okiahoma. The then-quarterback Josh Heupel lead the Sooners to a National Championship in 2000.
Mangino needs a quarterback again like Heupel, who was not afraid to thrive in big games.
Now is Meier going to do that at Kansas? Well, that's an argument for another day. As for now, tomorrow might have just became a whole lot brighter for the Kansas football team with Meier in the picture.
Chavez is a San Antonio senior in journalism.
BASEBALL: 7-5
Price sets hits record
Victory arrives too late for Jayhawks
BY KASSA BRUN
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFE WRITER
With one out in the top of the first inning, Ritchie Price singled to left field for the first Kansas hit of Sunday's series finale against Oklahoma State.
It also marked the senior shortstop's 275th hit of his career, leaving him in sole possession of the Kansas hits record.
Price finished the day 2-for-5 at the plate, while his team finished the afternoon with its first victory of the series, 7-5. After taking a 19-7 pummeling on Saturday, the Jayhawks (25-15, 7-8) rebounded in the only way possible to keep their Big 12 Conference hopes alive.
Big 12 Conference hopes "If we can walk a few less guys, play a little better defense and keep the ball in the park, we'll salvage the weekend," Kansas coach Ritch Price said after the second game.
Price was right.
Although the teams put up 14 total home runs, fourth in NCAA history, in Saturday's game, Oklahoma State (21-12, 5-7) and Kansas hit only three round trips on Sunday.
Price said the wind and sun conditions were as bad as he had ever seen in his coaching career. But on Sunday, the Jayhawks' home runs were more beneficial.
Freshman first baseman Preston Land went 3-for-4 with three RBI on the day. Land finished the day just a triple shy of the cycle. His solo home run in the sixth was also his sixth of the season, and second of the series.
"It's actually easier than losing those tough ones late," Price said. "If you're here watching it, the conditions are so tough it's not even a baseball game."
Facing a series sweep, the Jayhawks were forced to crase the memories of Saturday, when they hit six home runs and still lost by 12 runs.
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 8B
FOOTBALL
Anthony Mattingly/KANSAN
Redshirt freshman Kerry Meier rolls out of the pocket while looking down-field for an open receiver in Friday night's Spring scrimmage at Memorial Stadium. Meier led the white team to a 28-7 victory over the blue team.
Meier shows potential
BY DREW DAVISON
ddavison@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIITE
The freshman quarterback struck quickly with a 36-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Derek Fine for the first score of the game.
It didn't take long for Kerry Meier to show his potential at the annual spring game Friday night in front of 5,200 fans.
Meier was part of all four touchdowns for the White team, throwing for three and running for one. The White team defeated the Blue team 28-7.
"He's done a great job placing the ball and putting it where it needs to be," Fine said, of Meier.
"Kerry will be a guy that is going to do some great things for us this season," Kansas coach
Meier finished the night with 184 yards passing, going 16 of 28 with no interceptions. He added 56 rushing yards on seven carries.
Mark Mangino said. "There's no question about it."
"I had some good plays, I had some bad plays, but I think I had more good than bad," Meier said. "As long as I improve and keep playing, it will be just fine."
Meier wasn't the only impressive freshman on offense. Freshman running back Angus Quigley caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from fellow freshman quarterback Todd Reesing for the Blue team's only score of the night.
"Angus Quigley is a guy that is going to get in the mix here," Mangino said.
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 3B
SOFTBALL: 3-2
Coach wanted to 'ride the hot arm'
BY MARK DENT
mdent@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
After Kassie Humphreys threw her second complete game in two days and helped Kansas to a 3-2 victory against Texas Tech on Sunday, she tried to pick up an egg in the outfield during the postgame children's Easter egg hunt, but put it back for the children to find instead.
"I had to put the egg back," the pitcher said. "I guess there is no Easter bunny for me."
She wasn't alone in her disappointment. The pitcher ruined Texas Tech's Easter hopes by striking out eight players and allowing only three hits over seven innings at Arrocha Ballpark.
Although Humphreys pitched with as much poise and confidence as ever, she didn't even know she was going to pitch until Kansas coach Tracy Bunge informed her after warm ups.
"I wanted to ride the hot arm," Bunge said. "We needed to shut them down, and Kassie's been doing it."
been doing it.
Early on, Humphreys and the Jayhawks were not able to shut down the Red Raiders. In the first inning, Humphreys hit left fielder Montana Patin with a pitch. Patin advanced to second off second baseman Jennifer Bowers' hit, who also made it to base safely because of a throwing error. Texas Tech capitalized as first baseman Jennifer Corkin and designated player Brandy Moulin drove in both runners to give the Red Raiders a 2-0 lead.
SEE SOFTBALL 07. PAGE 38
Randall Sandera RANSAIR
Junior pitcher Kassie Humphreys throws against Texas Tech on Sunday the third inning at Arrocha Ballpark. Humphreys earned her 10th and 11th victories in the weekend series, pitching a pair of complete games against the Red Raiders.