KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011 / SPORTS /
7A
KANSAS 5, NORTH DAKOTA 3
MEN'S BASEBALL REWIND
Howard Ting/KANSAN
Freshman pitcher Alex Cox follows through with a pitch against North Dakota on Wednesday at Hoglund Ball Park. Kansas won 5-3.
Perhaps the one thing that stands out as dependable for this Kansas baseball team (6-6) is the starting pitching staff. Through 12 games the staff combined for quality starts in all but one contest.
Sophomore Taylor Thomas (2-0) threw five and two-thirds innings against North Dakota yesterday, allowing five hits while issuing no walks and tying a career high with seven strikeouts. North Dakota's Kris Kwak hammered a hanging slider out of the park in the third inning, the only run Taylor allowed.
"He got after everyone," sophomore catcher Alex DeLeon said. "He threw a lot of strikes and had a pretty good day."
As a pitching staff, issues tend to arise in the seventh and eighth innings when trying to protect the
lead for junior closer Colton Murray to record the final outs.
Freshman Alex Cox had that duty for the first time yesterday and, despite giving up two runs, was able to hand the ball to Murray with a lead. Cox, who had been a starter, could stay in that role.
"He's a team guy." Price said. "He could be selfish and want to be a starter, and he could continue to be the midweek starter, but for us to be the best is for him to be the setup guy."
Along with senior T.J. Walz and sophomore Tanner Poppe, Cox and senior Wally Marceli continue to throw well for the Jayhawks. The four pitchers have emerged as the better arms on the staff.
"I'm really pleased with the progress that Cox has made and with Marcelel," Price said. "To me they have been the difference. Rather than just have two guys, we've got four guys throwing the ball good."
In the closer role Murray's low-90s fastball has been under control and consistent. His ability to close out games is vital as the team continues to battle late in tight ballgames.
In 12 innings he's struck out 13 batters, walked one and allowed just two runs.
Taylor's starting performance yesterday was impressive all around but the most important stat was not the strikeouts.
"He's letting his arm pitch and he's not trying to knock down the backstop," Price said. "He's throwing the ball better than he'd thrown in the three years he's been here."
"The big thing is minimize the walks," Taylor said. "The less walks we've got the less chances they are going to have."
It seems obvious, but for this Kansas team to win games, the starting pitching staff, coupled with the defense, must remain steady.
- Edited by Dave Boyd
"We've had basically good starts the entire year," Price said, "and until we get it going offensively we have to win with pitching and defense right now."
Kansas
Batting POS AB R H RBI
Jason Brunansky CF 1 0 0 0
Casey Lytle RF 3 0 1 0
Jimmy Waters LF 4 0 2 0
Zac Elgie 1B 4 0 1 0
Jake Marasco 3B 4 2 2 0
Brandon Macias SS 4 1 2 1
Alex DeLeon C* 2 1 1 3
Tucker Tharp PR 0 0 0 0
Kaiana Eldredge 2B 3 0 0 0
Totals 32 5 10 4
North Dakota
Batting POS AB R H RBI
Andy Sadler CF 4 0 2 0
Ryan Gerber SS 4 1 1 0
Jake Magner 1B 4 0 2 2
Josh Ray LF 4 0 0 0
Kyle Bolander 3B 4 0 0 0
Zach Trygstad C 4 0 0 0
Matt Richer DH 4 0 1 0
Craig Dolmage PH/RF 0 1 0 0
Kris Kwak 2B 3 1 1 1
Totals 33 3 7 3
Keyinning
The 8th- The Fighting Sioux cut the Jayhawks lead to one, after a two run double off of Kansas pitcher Alex Cox. The Jayhawks responded in the bottom half of the inning, after Alex DeLeon's sacrifice fly scored Jake Marasco, extending their lead to 5-3.
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