Sports
12A
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, February 27, 2004
Jayhawks look to defeat similar team
Kansas will attempt second consecutive home-court victory
By Ryan Greene rgreene@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
The last time Kansas lost on the road, at Nebraska, it won two straight home games. Now, it is presented with a similar opportunity.
But Sunday's opponent will likely be a bit tougher than the Baylor team that Kansas faced last week in its return to Allen Fieldhouse.
The Oklahoma Sooners (16-8 overall.
Self
6-7 conference) are coming off an overtime loss Wednesday night to Colorado, and are experiencing similar problems to the Jayhawks (17-7, 9-4) this season. Much like Kansas' loss of Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich from last year's team.
Oklahoma lost a pair of senior leaders in guards Hollis Price and Quannas White.
Something will have to give at 1p.m. on Sunday, when the two team's square off at the fieldhouse.
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Kansas goes up against Nebraska on Senior Day
Kansan File Photo
Leila Menguc will face the Nebraska Cornhuskers as the ogly senior on the Kansas team.
By Jonathan Kealing
jkealing@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Team says goodbye to motivator
On Senior Day, teams usually say goodbye to top scorers and statistical captains. For the Kansas women's basketball team, it will be goodbye to a motivator.
"I never thought this day would come," lone senior Leila Menguc said. "I'm sad."
Mengüc, who started 28 of 29 games last year, has found herself playing a bench role this year, having started just one game.
After one game earlier this season, freshman forward Lauren Ervin pointed to Mengtiç as a key factor behind the team's late run.
Don't tell her teammates that she's not as important, though. This year they depend on her to motivate and keep them focused.
"Leila was on the bench, telling us
to keep going, keep trying." Ervin said.
Senior Day takes place against Nebraska, at 2 p.m. Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse.
The last time the two teams met, Nebraska won 59-48. In that game, the Jayhawks held several leads — the largest being nine points in the middle of the second half.
The team could not weather several scoring droughts ranging from three to five minutes.
Ultimately, what shut the team down was an inability to rebound consistently, and Nebraska's decision to switch to a zone defense.
The Jayhawks were out rebounded 52-37 and committed five more turnovers than the Cornhuskers.
When the Jayhawks played in Lincoln, Neb., they were without the services of the team's leading rebounder, Ervin, who was serving a one game
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Toeing the line
Brent Carter/Kansan
Dean Potter, Moab, Utah, senior, battled to keep his balance on a slack line yesterday in front of Stauffer-Flint Hall. The line is made of one-inch tubular webbing often used to strap items to a car. Potter was first introduced to the sport while rock-climbing in Yosemite National Park." It really kind of grew out of rock-climbing because it uses a lot of the same equipment," Potter said.
Jayhawks sweep Grizzlies in a rout
By Shane Kucera
skucera@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
A record-setting day for sophomore Ritchie Price helped Kansas to its fifth straight victory.
In the 17-2 beating of Oakland University, Price went six-for-six at the plate to set a Kansas record for most hits in a game.
"I wasn't thinking about the record," said Ritchie Price. "I just went up there my last at bat relaxed."
The Kansas offense combined for 22 hits. Junior Travis Metcalf also had an outstanding day at the plate going 3-for-3 with two runs, five RBI, including a grand slam home run.
Price finished the day with two runs and three RBI.
Senior Matt Tribble extended his hit streak to 11 games. He blasted his second home run of the season over the right field fence in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game up at one:
Kansas took the lead for good in the second inning when Metcalf, Scholl and Dudley each hit doubles to score three runs. The fifth run of the inning was scored with a successful suicide
squeeze laid down by junior J.C. Sibley.
The win extended the 'Hawks' streak to five games and gave the team a 4-0 sweep against the Grizzlies. Kansas' overall record improved to 12-7-1.
Kansas went on to score 12 more runs during the next four innings to end the score at 17-2.
Kansas coach Ritch Price said a winning streak was crucial for the team's confidence. Though the team struggled with a six-game slump during the last two weeks, it managed to improve on offense and defense.
Oakland fell to 0-4 after the loss.
"We needed to play well and pitch well and our guys did that," coach Price said.
Junior left-handed pitcher Jacob jean went five innings to receive the win and improved to 1-1 on the season. Four other Kansas pitchers were used in the game and allowed no runs on two hits.
Sophomore Matt Baty did not play in the game because of a wild pitch that hit him in the head Wednesday. He is expected to return for the Jayhawks' upcoming series against Wisconsin-Milwaukee Mar 5.
Edited by Guillaume Doane
Megan True/Kansai
Sophoramore Ritchie Price fielded a ground ball yesterday afternoon at Hogland Ballpark. The Kansas baseball team defeated Oakland 17-2.
sports commentary
Mike Norris
mnorris@kansan.com
Seasonal sound not welcome
It also means college baseball is in full swing.
Baseball is here and it's great. With Major League teams reporting to camp this week, it means the baseball season is only one month away.
But sitting there watching my favorite sport, it was painfully obvious something was wrong.
The weather couldn't have been better for the home-opener at Hoglund Ballpark last Sunday when the Jayhawks defeated the Creighton Bluejays.
As Creighton third baseman Gabe Lapito smacked the first pitch at Hogland Ballpark this season into left field for a basehit, that horrifying sound that had been absent for nearly a year was back: PIIIIING!!
It's not like it was the first time I had heard that metal bat sound but I try to put it out of my mind during the off-season.
It's like the weather in Kansas. Each winter people say, "I can't believe how cold it is. This sucks."
When, in all actuality, yes they can because they lived here last year, and the year before, and so on.
Every time I hear the sound of a metal complain about it as if it's the first time I heard it. It doesn't matter that metal bats were all I ever played with growing up.
There's no other sound in sports like the crack of a wood bat.
It's understandable why college athletes want to use metal bats. They're like legal steroids.
Instead of injecting something into their bodies, players can use a metal bat to hit the ball farther and it's not their fault.
The NCAA allowed metal bats 30 years ago because they didn't break like their wooden counterparts. But that doesn't make it right.
In addition to the terrible sound they make, metal bats just aren't good for the game. They aren't used in the minor leagues and that can be a big adjustment for players.
In a 1998 Collegiate Baseball study the effects of switching from aluminum to wood were exposed.
The study showed players who competed in the summer Cape Cod
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