KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011 / SPORTS /
KANSAS 3,CREIGHTON 4
BASEBALL REWIND
Inning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 FINAL RUNS HITS ERRORS Kansas vs. Creighton 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 5 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 4 4 8 1
Senior outfielder Jimmy Waters makes a sprint for a catch against Creighton at the Hoolund Ballpark. Waters was at bat four times and had one hit.
Howard Ting/KANSAN
Home defeat follows an 'emotional high'at TCU
BY ALEC TILSON
atilson@kansan.com
Two days after defeating the No. 1 team in the country, the Kansas baseball team experienced the opposite end of the emotional seesaw with yesterday's 10-inning, 4-3 Opening Day loss to Creighton.
"We were as emotionally high as you can be on Sunday after pulling that one out against TCU," coach Ritch Price said. "Today is obviously a huge let-down and there are a lot of disappointed guys in the locker room right now."
At times, the Jayhawks showed signs of a team with several new players that still needs game experience to fine-tune things. With a 3-0 lead and no outs in the bottom of the fourth, senior Jimmy Waters was picked off at second base, ending the immediate threat of a big inning.
catcher.
"We can't make those mistakes right now. With all the young guys we have playing and all the new guys we have on the field, our margin of error is very small right now," Price said. "I thought we made three or four really bad mental mistakes that cost us a one-run loss."
Senior pitcher T.J. Walz, the team's No.1 starter, continued his peculiar start to the 2011 campaign. Price called on the righthander for relief in the top of the ninth with the tying run on second. Walz dealt with the threat and returned for the top of the tenth.
After giving up a walk, Creighton's Alex Staehely roped a triple to the gap between center and right field, scoring the goahead run. Walz struck out the next batter, then retired the baserunner at home plate on a suicide squeeze attempt with a spectacular sliding flick of his glove to the
Despite being the team's ace, Walz was strapped with his second loss on the season. Creighton's four unanswered runs kept Kansas from climbing out of an 0-2 hole to start the year.
“There’s no doubt we wanted to win the game,” Price said. “We had a chance to get back to .500 and be in really great shape after opening up at TCU.”
— Edited by Caroline Bledowski
BASEBALL (CONTINUED FROM 10A)
performance, but we had guys on base and we had some opportunities to score," said senior outfielder Casey Lytle. "We just made some mental mistakes when we were on base and it ended up biting us in the butt in the end."
and a Jimmy Waters RBI double.
Howard Ting/KANSAN
After the fourth inning, Kansas could not even muster one more hit in the whole game. The Jayhawks were shut out in the final six innings, and outings like that cannot be repeated if the Jayhawks hope to compete later in the season.
Junior catcher James Stanford lays down a bunt on Creighton during the fourth inning on Tuesday afternoon. John hit two for and two ended the game with one stolen base and one double.
—Edited by Caroline Bledowski
Player POS AB R H RBI
Casey Lytle RF 4 0 0 0
Jason Brunansky CF 4 0 0 0
Brandon Macias SS 4 1 0 0
Jimmy Waters LF 4 0 1 1
James Stanfield DH 4 1 2 0
Jake Marasco 3B 3 1 1 1
Zac Elgie 1B 4 0 1 1
Kaiana Eldredge C/2B 3 0 0 0
Totals 32 3 5 3
Creighton
Player POS AB R H RBI
Michael Mutcheson DH 2 0 0 0
Nick Judkins 1B 3 1 1 1
Jimmy Swift SS 4 0 1 0
Trever Adams RF 5 0 0 0
Joey Bowens LF 1 1 0 0
Alex Staehely 2B 5 1 3 1
Mike Gerber CF 4 0 1 1
Chance Ross 3B 5 1 1 0
Scott Thornburg PH/C 2 0 0 0
Totals 35 4 8 3
Key inning
With the game tied at 3-3, Creighton capitalized off of a crucial mistake made by Jayhawks' pitcher T.J. Walz. Walz hit the first batter to come to the plate, and then proceeded to give up the go-ahead RBI triple Alex Staehely. Kansas was able to get two men on first, but couldn't knock either runner in.
Game to Remember
"We didn't have the best offensive
Alex Staehely
Infield sophomore
The sophomore second basemen for Creighton had great outing for the Bluejays. Staehely went three for five on the day with one run and one RBI. Staehely's RBI came off a triple, and was the go-ahead run for Creighton. Staehely improved his average to .356 after the game.
Staehely
Game to Forget
Kaiana Eldredge
Infield freshman
The freshman, Eldredge struggled at the plate all game, finishing the game with no hits on three plate appearances. Eldredge struck out twice, and also committed two errors in the field.
Eldredge
BERGLUND (CONTINUED FROM 10A)
When coaches recruit four and five star quarterbacks, playing time for a three-star recruit is limited. During recruiting, coaches stroke egos to land prospects, but onfield results are what gets play-
want."
ing time. For a three star player from Colorado — where high school football is a game and not a religion like in Texas or Florida — playing time might not be there.
came after he had committed to Colorado last year. At the very least, it adds to the mystery that is Brock Berglund. A confident, borderline cocky quarterback from a small school in Colorado with only one year of 4A Varsity competition.
"Coach Gill had this vision of bringing them back to where they want to be. That's the vision I liked."
The recruiting websites
don't show any offers from schools like Alabama, Florida or Texas. Berguland said it wasn't reported to the media because the offers
BROCK BERGLUND Freshman quarterback
Smaller programs and teams in rebuilding modes are always looking for quarterbacks, though, and Kansas was no different. Turner Gill burgled with
the promise hed have the opportunity to start.
bringing them back to where they want to be," Berglund said. "That's the vision that I liked."
"They were falling hard last year, and coach Gill has this vision of
Kansas had a vision, and a desperate hunger for another quarterback. After already landing one commit for the 2011 class and with
two young quarterbacks — three if you count former quarterback and now receiver Kale Pick — on the roster, Kansas continued its search. Junior college quarterback Zach Stoudt was chased by the coaching staff last
"You don't want to be a real cocky kid. But you like confidence, not arrogance."
a snap in practice, it's too early to tell if Berglund fills that need, but the expectations are there.
Kansas offensive coordinator Chuck Long and Berglund have both said playing time was never guaranteed during the recruitment.
CHUCK LONG Offensive coordinator
fall only to commit to the University of Mississippi. The Jayhawks needed a quarterback. Berglund needed a place to play. Without ever taking
It didn't have to be, though. Berglund said it himself. The situation at Kansas is rare; rare in the sense that a freshman quarterback has a chance to start from day one.
Berglund believes he can be that rarity. He has the confidence of a starter — he's compared his game to the likes of Tim Tebow, Michael
"This game is a humbling game." Long said. "Even if you are cocky, it will humble you in many ways."
"I like a borderline confidence," Long said. "You don't want to be a real cocky kid. But you like confidence, not arrogance."
—Edited by Corey Thibodeau
Long stopped just short of calling Berglund cocky, saying he is just a very good, confident person. There's an undoubtedly fine line between cocky and confidence. And whichever side of that line Brock Berglund falls, his apparent disdain for fighting top recruits for playing time won't be the only thing challenging his ego. Just ask his coach.
Vick, and Peyton Manning, all rolled into one — but does he have the tools to match?
Ashleigh Lee/KANSAI
Brock Berglund, a freshman from Highlands Ranch, Colo., is Kansas' new quarterback. "They were falling hard last year, and coach Gill has this vision of bringing them back to where they want to be," Berglund said. "That's the vision that linked."