THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3B
BASEBALL
PART 10
EXERCISE 5
(1)
42053 78 69
Sarah Leonard/KANSAN
Erik Morrison, junior infielder, lines up to catch a hit during Sunday's game against Western Illinois. The Jayhawks won the first game 15-5 and the second 6-3.
Baseball team gets a 'W'
BY ALISSA BAUER
It finally happened. Kansas (9-5) played its first series at home after weeks of canceled games. The Jayhawks used its home field advantage to win the series finale 6-3.
The run-rule victory that Kansas laid on Western Illinois (6-7) in eight innings in game one of Sunday's doubleheader was motivation enough for the Leathernecks to get going in game two.
The Leathernecks jumped on the board first in the nightcap. One of Kansas' five errors in game two put the first base runner of the game aboard, and Western Illinois made it count. First baseman Matt Newquist gave his team an early 1-0 edge with an RBI single.
Junior infielder Erik Morrison gave Kansas the lead with an RBI single to left that scored Allman.
The Jayhawks erased that deficit in a matter of minutes. In their first at bat, freshman third baseman Robby Price tagged his first triple of the season to right field. Junior left fielder John Allman followed suit with a double to right scored Robby Price.
"I've felt good, I've been hitting balls right at people," Morrison said. "It was time that I put some in the gap. I definitely made progress from last weekend to now. Hopefully I can keep on the track and keep making prowess."
Morrison struck again in the bottom of the third. With two
down, Morrison singled, sparking a triple by junior second baseman Ryne Price followed by a base hit by struggling junior right fielder Brock Simpson. This was Simpson's first hit in three weeks.
"I like leading off and all, but I think it was obviously time for me to go back and get in the middle of the lineup and watch some other guys do good, and let me hit them in," Simpson said.
Afenir and Land belted home runs to lead off the fourth and fifth innings.
Price mentioned earlier this season that he needed sophomores Buck Afenir and Preston Land to get their bats going as well to have success. They listened.
The five errors the jayhaws put up in game two had more to do with the Leathernecks' scoring than the five hits. When junior right-hander Andres Esquibel relieved starting sophomore lefty Nick Czyz in the top of the sixth, Western Illinois had cut the lead to 6-3.
"We took ground balls inside today on the turf. That's what we've done all week," Price said. "We had not taken ground balls until we played the game today on our new infield. It'll be really nice once we have a chance to finish it up."
Still fighting defeat, Western Illinois center fielder Travis Check hustled to beat a diving play by Ryne Price.
Right-handed closer Paul Smyth
allowed them no room to breath in the ninth.
"I thought they were outstanding," Price said. "I thought Nick Czyz was good, I thought Esquibel was good. Smyth has been really special every time we've given him the baseball so far."
Kansas will face Tabor College at home on Tuesday.
Kansan sportswriter Alissa Bauer can be contacted at abauer@ kansan.com.
Edited by Stacey Couch
Hoglund Ballpark has a way of curing Kansas' woes.
Home sweet Hoglund
BY SHAWN SHROYER
"I just kept running hard," Alenir said. "I almost passed the guy at first."
Entering game one of Sunday's doubleheader, Kansas was fighting a four-game losing streak and averaging 3.6 runs through its last seven games. But it came as no surprise that those trends were derailed in Kansas' home opener.
Leath's outing ended after the fourth, but he actually fared far better than the pitcher who followed him — Frank Zenick.
Behind the best offensive output of the season, Kansas run-ruled Western Illinois 15-5 in eight innings in the first game.
"When you're on a four game losing streak, you need a 'W' first," coach Ritch Price said. "We certainly needed that and we certainly needed to be on our own field."
Up until the fourth inning, Western Illinois starting pitcher Quinn Leath (0-2) had pitched admirably, but his luck soon ran out, Junior shortstop Eric Morrison led off the inning with a single. Leath walked junior outfielder Brock Simpson and designated hitter Joe Servais not long after, bringing sophomore catcher Buck Alenir to the plate with the bases loaded.
The Jayhawks took their time lighting up the scoreboard, though. Before coming up to bat in the fourth, Kansas was up just 2-1.
Atenir connected with the second pitch for a grand slam over the left-center wall. He said he had no idea it was going out when he hit it.
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After seven batters and 18 pitches,
In the midst of Kansas' offensive onslaught in the first five innings, three Jayhawks snapped out of slumps. Morrison and Afenir had been struggling a bit at the plate entering Sunday. Morrison had one hit in his last 10 at-bats while Afenir had one in his last eight at-bats. However, Simpson was stuck in a monumental funk, with just one hit in his previous 31 at-bats.
The trio feasted on Leathern neck pitching, though, going a combined 8-for-10. Morrison ended game one just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, with two RBI, three runs and a stolen base. Afenir added a single to his grand slam. Simpson, who hit in the seventh spot in the order instead of his usual leadoff spot, had two triples, two RBI, three runs and a stolen base.
"I was going for it," Morrison said.
"I wanted the cycle."
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Zenisken had allowed back to-back home runs, a triple, a single, two walks, six runs, a wild pitch and just six strikes.
Heading into his final at bat, Morrison said he knew he needed a triple for the cycle, but when Price held the runner ahead of him at third base, he had no choice to settle for another double. Had Price sent the runner, it would have been a different story.
Sophomore first baseman Preston Land hit the first of the home runs, sending his over the high wall in dead center, driving in junior left fielder John Allman, which resulted in a pitching change.
Ashwood didn't wear down until the sixth inning, allowing four runs on three hits.
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On the mound for Kansas, junior left hander Zach Ashwood (2-1) stretched his scoreless inning streak to seven innings before an uneared run scored in the fourth inning.
"He did a really nice job." Price said. "For five innings, the only run we gave up behind him was an unearned run. If he can give us five innings and keep us in the ball game, as good as our bullpen is, then we like our chances."
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As it turned out, Kansas' home opener proved to be worth the wait.
Ashwood was relieved by freshman right-hander Thomas Marcin in the seventh and the Jawahaws pushed their 15th run across the plate in the eighth inning to end the game prematurely.
"Our home opener just kept getting pushed back and pushed back and we've been anxious to get out here and play in front of our home crowd, so it feels great," Simpson said.
Kansan sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@ kansan.com.
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