2B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2006
SPORTS CALENDAR
TODAY
Softball vs. Northwestern,
University of Hawaii Softball Tourn-
ment, 4 p.m., Honolulu
Baseball at Baylor, 7 p.m., Waco,
Tawas
Swimming, NCAA Championships, all day, Athens, Ga.
Women's golf, Betty Rawls. Intro
all day. Austin, Texas
Player to watch: Russell Robinson. The sophomore guard leads what was the defense in the Big 12. Robinson's quick hands, along with guard Mario Chalmers, will be key in confusing the Bradley guards.
Men's basketball vs. Bradley,
NCAA tournament, 8:30 p.m.
NCAu Hills, Michigan
Robinson
SATURDAY
Baseball at Baylor, 6 p.m., Waco,
Texas
Softball vs. Longwood, University of Hawaii Softball Tournament, 6 n.m. Honolulu
Softball vs. Hawaii, University of Hawaii Softball Tournament, 8 n.m. Honolulu
Swimming, NCAA Champion-
ishing all day Athens Ga
Women's golf, Betsy Rawls Invitational, all day, Austin, Texas
TENNIS K-State blasts through Kansas; ranking falls
The Kansas tennis team lost to No. 56 Kansas State on Wednesday by a score of 6-1.
The Jayhawks started off with a record of 4-1, and have lost four straight matches, are 1-5 in their past six matches.
Freshman Ksenia Bukina, who at one point this season held the No. 81 ranking in the nation, is now No. 99.
The only Jayhawk player to win a singles match against the Wildcats was sophomore Elizaveta Avdeevae against Jessica Simosa in three sets.
The loss to Kansas State gave Kansas a record of 5-6, including 0-3 in the Big 12 and tied for last place with Missouri and Iowa State.
Baylor's pitching poses a problem
BASEBALL
Up next for Kansas will be Southern on Sunday, and LSU on Monday. Both will be in Baton Rouge, La.
— Antonio Mendoza
Junior pitcher Sean Land hurls the ball against Western Illinois during the Jayhawks home opener March 3. The Jayhawks will head to Waco, Texas to take on Baylor this weekend. Kansas coach Ritch Price said Baylor's strength is in its pitching.
Bandall Sanders/KANSAN
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Just an hour and a half before the Kansas men's basketball team kicks off March Madness today, the Kansas baseball team will kick off the beginning of its Big 12 Conference season.
This season could be deemed as the most difficult non-conference schedule in Kansas history. The Jayhawks had a Rating Per Index of 100 at the end of last year. At the beginning of this year, Kansas's RPI was 26. The RPI is a ranking based on a team's intended strength of schedule.
"It's definitely been a positive for us to play the teams that we've played so far to get ready for the Big 12," sophomore third baseman Erik Morrison said. "I think this team is more ready than it was last year."
Kansas will take on No. 18 Baylor (12-5) tonight in Waco, Texas, to open the season.
Kansas has won nine of its past 11 games, but hasn't favored well against Baylor lately. The Jayhawks posted an 0-4 record against the Bears last season. Baylor, the defending Big 12 champion, is on a two-game losing skid.
On Tuesday, the Bears fell to the Houston Cougars, 5-3. Baylor hitters put up a fight in the ninth inning, closing a 5-1 gap, but could not come out on top.
Although the Jayhawks could not bring home a series victory against No. 3 Clemson last weekend, they were just five outs shy of winning Saturday and Sunday's matchups. Kansas defeated Clemson once during the three-game series.
"It was huge for us," junior pitcher Sean Land said of the victory. "It was the first time that I've been here that we were expecting to win two games while we were down there. That's a good feeling to have."
Kansas will have to face a pair of Baylor pitchers in senior Ryan LaMotta (2-2) and junior Cory VanAllen (3-1). Price said
Source: Kansas Athletics Department
he had a lot of respect for the pair.
“Obviously with Baylor, the strength of their club is pitching,” Price said. “Ryan LaMotta is as good as anybody in our league, and VanAllen, I think, is a second- or third-rounder out of high school. They have phenomenal pitching.”
As history shows, Kansas tends to score runs to cover for its lack of pitching.
At the plate, Baylor catcher Zach Dillon leads the team with a .340 batting average and 13 RBI on the season.
Morrison was the only Jayhawk to get a base hit in every game against Clemson last weekend, which included a two-run home run that paved the way for a game-two victory.
"I'm taking good strides to where I want to be," Morrison said. "My forte is defense — that's kind of what I feed off to hit and I haven't really played defense as well as I'm capable of. When that gets going I'll be ready to go for the Big 12."
Injured starters Ryne Price and Matt Baty will not play this weekend against Baylor. Price has a broken wrist bone and Baty lacerated his spleen and a kidney in a collision when playing against Lipscomb University.
"I think we're as ready as we could possibly be to start conference," Price said. "And if we were healthy, if we had a couple more guys, we'd be completely read."
Edited by Jodi Ann Holopirek
▼ STRIKEOUTS ARE FASCIST
High hopes for Kansas at beginning of conference play
Alissa Bauer: Shawn, we've got to give props to coach Ritch Price and his squad for taking on the non-conference schedule that they have. Being 15-6 against the powerhouses they've faced on the road will be huge going into Big 12 play tonight against Baylor.
Shawn Shroyer: With the caliber of teams Kansas has played so far, I wouldn't be surprised if Price and the 'Hawks are relieved that conference play is here. They can't afford to let down this weekend, though. Eighteenth-ranked Baylor reached the College World Series last season and might be even better this year.
AB: Agreed. They certainly
can't be any worse than last year. Aces Ryan LaMotta and Cory VanAllen are throwing again for the Bears. Both did more than fine against Kansas last year, especially LaMotta. Actually, a lot of Big 12 pitchers did more than fine against Kansas. I don't see that happening in 2006; Kansas is a force this year.
SS: No doubt. Gus Milner has been an offensive juggernaut and veterans Ritchie Price and Jared Schweitzer are giving him plenty of RBI opportunities. I've been most impressed with the potential of newcomer junior outfielder Kyle Murphy. You never know if he's going to line a double off the wall or drop a
BY ALISSA BAUER AND SHAWN
SHROYER
sports@kansan.com
bunt for a base hit, and he can create havoc on the base paths. There's nothing more valuable than a player who can turn a single into a triple by stealing his way around the bases. Who do you see making an impact on offense for Kansas in Big 12 play who isn't making much noise right now?
AB: Well, he's not making any noise right now but we're only a week away from the return of Ryne Price. His ability to produce will boost an offense already hitting 300. That's spectacular considering Price and senior lead-off man Matt Baty have both been sidelined for the past two weeks. The pair combined to score 84 runs last season and already scored 20 times in the pre-injury days of 2006.
SS: Yeah, but the Jayhawks better hope their pitchers can stay healthy. Senior right Kodiak Quick leads all starters right now with a 1.82 ERA and 25 strikeouts, while junior Sean Land and senior Ricky Fairch-
id both lead the team with four wins. Plus, senior closer Don Czzy leads the NCAA with eight saves. After that, Kansas pitchers don't have much experience. Pitching will be the deciding factor as to who will come out on top of the Big 12. Who is going to claim the Big 12 title in May?
AB: The Jayhawks have the art of scoring runs down to a science, but the Big 12 is known for its arms. Those who can pitch, win. This year, Kansas joined the arms race, but I still see Nebraska, Texas and Baylor in the top three spots. Solid pitching is reason number one. But at number four? Yep, Kansas.
SS: I can't dispute your top
two selections. The Huskers are going to roll to another Big 12 Championship and CWS appearance. As for the defending National Champs, at one point, Texas was at 9-8. I don't see them repeating this year, but now at 14-9 they at least looked poised to make a run at another championship. Finally, in regard to the 'Hawks, five wins in their next seven games before playing Wichita State will send them well on their way to a thirdplace finish in the Big 12.
Bauer is a Winfield senior in journalism, Shroyer is a Mound City sophomore in journalism
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