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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
Announcer to speak on KJHK
KJHK
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2011
Harlan
BAS
University of Kansas alumnus Kevin Harlan will be a guest on KJHK's Jayhawk Happyhour tonight from 5 to 6 p.m.
K
WWW.KANSAN.COM
IF THE GLOVE FITS
Travis Young/KANSAN
Junior third baseman Marissa Ingle prepares to throw the out at first base after scooping up a hit ground ball. Kansas has been working on perfecting "little things" like fielding ground balls and communicating better to maximize win potential.
Kansas seeks Nebraska victory
BY HANNAH WISE hwise@kansan.com
Ten of the Big 12 schools have softball programs; eight of those are ranked nationally in the top 25. The Jayhawks are unranked because of tough losses against No. 11 Missouri (3-2, 6-5) and No. 8 Texas (12-0, 10-2, both in five innings). They did reach the No. 22 position on the College Softball Poll the week of March 22 after the team's sweep of the Coastal Carolina Challenge.
Now,after splitting Wednesday's non-conference doubleheader against UMKC (loss 2-1, win 4-2), the jayhawks have switched their focus back to Big 12 play
for the weekend game against No. 16 Nebraska. The team is hoping to take the momentum it gained with Wednesday's victory through the rest of the season.
"We are all pretty confident," senior pitcher Allie Clark said. "We know that we can compete with anybody and we know that we can beat anybody and that anyone can be beaten. If we play together like we have and we do what we do, we know that we can beat anybody. If we are all on the same page we can do it."
The team regained its fighting spirit in Wednesday's doubleheader. Coach Megan Smith challenged the team to get back to how it plays softball and to
Doing that began with the second game against UMKC and the Jayhawks hope the drive will continue when they challenge Nebraska Saturday and Sunday. Nebraska is third in the Big 12 with a conference record of 1-1. The Jayhawk offence is preparing to face the Huskers' top pitcher, junior Ashley Hagemann. She is 20-3 from the circle with a 1.79 ERA.
play with intensity and drive for the remaining 21 games of the regular season.
"They are having a successful season. I respect that program and that coaching staff." Smith said. "They always do a good job. They have a good pitcher in
the circle. They have a freshman catcher who is doing extremely well offensively. But if we play tough and we fight, we are going to do well."
The layhawks have been working on fine-tuning themselves. The team hopes that by taking care of the little things such as fielding ground balls, communicating and making offensive adjustments, it will walk away from the weekend with two victories.
"We are going to take this and not just try to maintain it, but build on it. We are going to come out in practice on Thursday and Friday and work so hard. Now that we have a win, now that we
KANSAS VS.
NO. 16 NEBRASKA
PAGE 8A
Where: Lawrence Time: 2 p.m.
are back in it we want to beat Nebraska," sophomore outfielder Rosie Hull said.
Edited by Sarah Gregory
BASEBALL
Jayhawk pitching staff needs to be on point
Kansas wants to improve its record with weekend wins against Baylor
The Javahwks will take on the Bears this weekend in Lawrence for a three-game series. Senior pitcher T.J. Walz will take the mound tonight
BY MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
The Kansas baseball team will have its hands full with No.19 Baylor, which comes to Lawrence for a three-game series starting today.
"They are one of the most talented teams in our league" coach Ritch Price said. "They really matured last year and became an outstanding offensive club as the year went on. They're one of the most physically gifted teams in the Big 12."
Kansas has played five teams ranked in the top 25, and after this series, it will have played 11 games against top ranked opponents, a Big 12 high.
But the Jayhawks are not strangers to facing top-ranked opponents.
Senior pitcher T.J. Walz will take the mound for the Jayhawks in their 6 p.m. series opener against the Baylor Bears today. While Walz' 2-3 record and ERA of 4.13 may not be too impressive, in his last three starts Walz posted an ERA of 2.53.
If the struggling Jayhawks hope to win the series, they'll need their pitching staff to remain strong throughout the weekend.
Fortunately for the Jayhawks, pitching has been their one constant throughout the season. The Jayhawks have a team ERA of 3.63 and have held opponents to a .265 batting average.
Sophomore pitcher Tanner Poppe will lead the jayhawks in Saturday's 2 p.m. effort. Poppe is 1-3 in four runs for Kansas with an ERA of 3.24.
"Any time you play a nationally ranked program, like Baylor that has really good start pitching.
it starts with your guys on the mound," Price said.
The Jayhawks pitching staff will have to be on their best game, because the Bear's lineup has been potent.
Freshman starter Alex Cox will lead Sunday's series closing effort. Cox is 0-2 for the Jayhawks with an ERA of 3.81.
Baylor has been batting .293 on the year and averages 6.1 runs a
ballgame.
Sophomore first basemen Max Muncy leads the tough Baylor lineup with a batting average of .356 and a slugging percentage of .490.
While pitching has been steady for Kansas, the bats have had a tough time getting consistent runs for the team.
The Jayhawks are batting. 234 as a team average three runs a game.
While the numbers aren't strong they are slowly improving.
1
Senior outfielder Casey Lytle is leading the jayhawks' turnaround at the plate. Lytle is in a 13 game hitting streak, and during that period he has averaged a .367. Lytle has had multi-hits days in five different games during his streak.
The Jayhawks need their hitting to step up and their pitching to remain consistent if they hope to
Having an opportunity against a top 25 opponent at home is big for Kansas, and coach Price didn't shy away from saying what the Jayhawks need to do to come out on top.
improve their 10-14 record.
"Anytime you pitch well, you've got a chance," Price said.
Edited by Marla Daniels
COMMENTARY
Morris twins deserve draft
BY MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
How do you tell a second team All-American, a mid-to-late first round
Marcus and Markieff Morris have seen a world of improvement to finely tune their game, and have worked their asses off to get where they are today.
draft choice, and his brother, who has a similar draft status, to come back and complete their senior year?
I hate to be the guy to burst everyone's bubble, but I find it very hard to believe the bash-brothers of college basketball will come back for their senior year.
Now don't get me wrong, a fourth and final year from the Morrii would be epic. I can only imagine what it could be like if the boys came back to town. Senior night would surely be a spectacle, and if they keep up their trash-talking ways it could be one of the most entertaining seasons in Jayhawk basketball history.
The Morris twins were the heart of the team, and they won the hearts over of Jayhawk nation. They were fun. They were hilarious in their interviews and proud in their antics.
But quite frankly, the Morris twins deserve to go to the draft.
What does their mother, Angel Morris, tell her boys, who came to Lawrence with dreams of playing ball? Yes they wanted to win a championship, but to go to the NBA, to have 21 years of hard work finally pay off, now that's a dream. How does she talk her kids out of chasing their dreams?
Their combined draft status may never be as high as it is now. The draft class is a remarkably weak one, and you never know what can happen with injuries.
Sure, the Morrii have a lot of fun in Lawrence, but the NBA is a whole lot of fun too. Both of the brothers could end up each making more than $1 million next year, and that's the opportunity they've earned by their hard work at Kansas.
Yes, it's tough to swallow, but it's not that hard to understand.
How do Bill Self and Danny Manning tell their star players to stick around for one more year when an opportunity for their dreams to come true lurks just ahead of them?
I'm sure getting a diploma means plenty to the Morris twins, but that can be achieved through classwork during their NBA offseason if they truly want to earn their degrees.
But their time has come.
An NBA lockout could be one of the only things to persuade the twins to come back to be the big bad boys on campus for one more year. Or maybe the thought of putting more banners in Allen Fieldhouse could persuade the brothers to return to the hill. It'd be crazy to think the that Morris twins would delay the start of their NBA careers to get one, or maybe two, Morris jerseys hanging for eternity inside The Phog.
The Morris twins would be crazy to come back for their senior year.
But it's not crazy. Anything can happen.
It's sports.
V
Edited by Tali David
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