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CONTACT
INTERESTS & HOBBIES: I like to work out and keep fit. I really like dancing, sports of all types and listening to music.
CATCH OF THE WEEK // MICHAEL YABUT
> Our weekly peek at a fish in the KU sea.
TURN-ONS: I like girls who are athletic and like to dance. Being optimistic and trying to have a good time in any situation is important. Physically, I like nice legs, and if a girl has those two dimples on her lower back, that's a huge turn on.
TURN-OFFS: Crooked and yellow teeth are bad.
Wearing too much makeup, being too dramatic,
being too outgoing and arrogance are turn-offs.
Also, if a girl has a five o'clock shadow in her
armpits, that's probably the hugest turn-off.
PERSONALITY TRAITS: I've been told that I'm trustworthy, responsible, easy to get along with and unselfish.
AWKWARD DATING MOMENT: When I was in high school, I wanted to invite my girlfriend to a dance. For some reason, I let my cousins come with me to her house. As I waited at her doorstep, one of my cousins managed to run over my other cousin's feet. So when I met her parents for the first time, I had to ask for ice for his feet. I felt so stupid.
WHY I'M A CATCH: Because I am Filipino. I'm a genuine, down-to-earth, nice guy. Plus, I have some good dance moves.
// CAROLINE KRAFT
Martinez controlled the circle for the entire game. She had a slow start but ended the contest with nine strikeouts and two errors, but she allowed 12 hits. Her nine strikeouts make a career record.
Sophomore outfitter Maggie Hull hit a single to center field to advance Malazzo. Senior catcher Brittany Hile stepped up and hit a double to center field giving Malazzo enough time to round
ABOUT: Resident Kristen Walters pitched a career-high nine shutouts and has pitched the complete first game against Ohio and is now #14 from the field.
**Below:** Softball gets ready for game against UMKC by singing the Alma Mater in pregame huddle. The team went 1-1 in the double header with scores of 2-1 UMKC and 4-2 Kansas.
SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 8A
SOFTBALL | 8A
Softball Rewind
For more stats from the game, check out page 8A
Offense can't get going as Kansas is shutout
BASEBALL
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
The Jayhawks traveled to Springfield, Ill., with hopes of turning around their three-game losing streak, and correcting their woes at the plate. Instead, they were shutout in a 6-0 loss to Missouri State.
The Jayhawks came into Wednesday's game with a focus on being able to knock in runners once they get on base. They finished the game having left eight runners on base.
"We did get nine hits and two or three balls were hit hard," coach Ritch Price said.
Things didn't go as planned for Kansas as early as the first inning, when senior outfielder Casey Lytle advanced to third base after a wild
pitch. The Jayhawks attempted a double steal that ended up with Lytle caught caught stealing.
The Jayhawks missed another big opportunity in the fourth inning with the game still scoreless. Junior designated hitter James
"We needed somebody to get a clutch hit," Price said when talking about the fourth inning. "It was really disappointing."
Stanfield successfully completed a bunt single with two outes to start a potential game-changing rally.
With the Jayhawks woes at the plate continuing to plague their season, the Jayhawks' pitching
Kansas followed up the hustle play with a huge single to left-center from slumping senior shortstop
"We needed somebody to get a clutch hit. It was really disappointing."
RITCH PRICE Coach
Brandon Macias. With runners on the corners, junior first basemen Zac Elgie grounded into an anticlimatic third out.
needed to step up and take charge in Springfield.
Sophomore starting pitcher Thomas Taylor had three strong
innings for Kansas, holding the Bears scoreless through three before struggling in the fourth. Taylor's night ended after giving up three runs in the fourth.
"He made one really bad pitch. He left the ball up and they clutched up for a two-run two-out single." Price said.
While things went poorly for the Jayhawks' big picture, their three senior hitters, that had been struggling early in the season, all had multi-hit games. Macias, Lytle and senior outfielder Jimmy Waters stepped up for the Jayhawks, something they had been lacking all season.
Waters, the team's top hitter last season, was two-for- three on the day, and improved his average to .230. Waters has steadily been improving since the start of
"I changed my base, it used to be real wide," Waters said. "We decided I needed to shorten up, keep my head in one place, and be able to see the ball better."
With the senior leaders beginning to pick up the pace, Price hopes the rest will follow.
conference play, and he credits his improvements to some mechanical changes in his swing.
Edited by Corey Thibodeaux
"Hopefully those three seniors will keep swinging the bat, and take pressure off of the younger guys." Price said. "It's almost contagious; we just need somebody to get a clutch hit. Once we do that I think the second one and third one will follow"
I failed to mention the four NIT appearances by Kentucky and North Carolina over the last 10 years. For half of the student body at Kansas, the Jayhawks have been in the tournament every single year of their life. North Carolina and Kentucky have missed the tournament four times in the last 10 years.
Then there were a couple years (2007 and 2008) when Kansas went to another Elite 8 and won some national title or something. In that stretch, Duke lost to VCU in the first round, Kentucky was an eight and 11 seed, and North Carolina fell in the Sweet 16 as a one seed.
both been six seeds. When you have been a top four seed every year since George W. Bush's first term, upsets are going to happen. Sorry, but it's the law of averages or something like that. In 2005, when Kansas was upset by Bucknell after winning 23 games and capturing the Big 12 Conference title, UCLA was an 11 seed. Do Kansas fans know what an 11 seed even looks like? That same year, Duke lost in the Sweet 16 as one seed.
I hear about 2006 a lot as well. Another first round loss after winning 25 games and grabbing another Big 12 title, Duke, as a one seed once again, lost in the Sweet 16. Kentucky was an 8 seed that didn't survive the first weekend. Oh, and North Carolina was taken out by George Mason in the second round.
So as last Sunday's loss is replayed over and over again, this Saturday during the Final Four games, remember that it has been far worse for your blue blooded friends at one time or another. Jayhawks, the country is shocked that you lost. Be worried when they are shocked that you won.
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Edited by Erin Wilbert