Thad Allender/Journal-World PhotoKansas University baseball coach Ritch Price absolutely loves going to Hawaii in January.
Price doesn’t care about palm trees and posh accommodations. He’s not so fond of the turquoise water surrounding the islands, and you won’t find him building a sand castle on the beach or sipping a piña colada by water’s edge.
The second-year coach simply likes the climate there because it’s baseball weather all year round.
Price’s favorite spots in the sea-bound enclave are Wong Stadium in Hilo, and Kona Field on Kona island, where his Jayhawks will play seven games in five days against the Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans, starting Friday.
“The great thing about the big island is Kona only gets like 15 inches of rain a year, so you’re guaranteed playing,” said Price, who led Kansas to its first winning season in six years in 2003. “When you go to Hilo, even though it rains like 180 inches on that side of the island (you can still play).”
The Jayhawks will play on this trip — a lot — said senior first baseman Ryan Baty, a Preseason All-American.
“It’s the preparation phase that Hawaii is key on,” Baty said. “And you get a great tan as well.
“When we left last year it was minus-18 wind chill. The day we got there it was 84 degrees, so you get to go out and you get to move around in some heat and you’re muscles work a little easier out there.”
The series will kick off the entire collegiate baseball season for the second straight year. Kansas won the series 4-2 last year, with Baty earning National Hitter of the Week honors after hitting .619 (13-for-21) during the six-game tilt.
Although the 2003 Hawaii trip was beneficial to Kansas — which finished 35-28 and earned its first Big 12 Tournament berth — Price said there’s much more to be gained this time around than simply vying for victories. The sunny skies and comfy climate make for a much more manageable practice environment than the clouds, chilly temperatures and occasional snow found in Lawrence this time of year.
“We’ll practice in the morning and we’ll practice in the afternoon,” Price said of how the Jayhawks will spend their spare time on the trip. “We’re going to get to the field three hours before game time each day so we’re going to have an actual practice prior to playing each day.
“It sounds really glamorous, but it’s all baseball. From the time you wake up in the morning until you go to bed at 11 o’clock at night, it is 24-7 baseball.”
| KU’s probable starters when the Jayhawks open the baseball season Friday at Hawaii-Hilo. (Returning starters in bold)CatcherSean Richardson, juniorTransferFirst BaseRyan Baty, senior.377 avg., school-record 97 hits in 2003Second BaseMatt Baty, sophomore.336 avg., .413 on-base percentageShortstopRitchie Price, sophomore.319 avg., 75 hits (KU freshman record)Third BaseTravis Metcalf, junior.288 avg., 11 home runsLeft FieldAndy Scholl, juniorTransferCenter FieldJ.C. Sibley, juniorTransferRight FieldMatt Tribble, senior.335 avg., 17 doublesDesignated HitterMike Dudley, juniorTransferStarting pitcherTo be determined |
Special to the Journal-WorldKansas University definitely will have a new softball facility next season.
Gary Kempf, KU assistant athletic director in charge of softball, made it official Thursday afternoon.
“We’re real excited to get it going,” Kempf said. “We hope to break ground as soon as possible before June 1.”
Three weeks ago, the planned upgrade of spartan Jayhawk Field, KU’s softball facility since 1985, had been put on hold in spite of a $2 million gift last November from Cheryl Womack of Mission Hills because more money was needed in order to break ground.
Womack’s gift is in increments of $400,000 over a five-year period, Kempf said. Funds from the first two years of her donation will be used to complete Phase One of the project at a cost of about $1.3 million.
The additional half-million dollars, Kempf said, “we were able to do internally.”
The Jayhawks’ new softball home will be built on the site of the old facility. Home plate will be repositioned from the southwest corner to the current center field, the field will be lowered about three feet and state-of-the-art sunken dugouts will be installed.
Permanent stands, concession areas, rest rooms and a press box will be included in Phase Two. The third phase will feature construction of locker and equipment rooms for both softball and soccer. Overall, it’s a $4 million-plus project.
“We don’t know right now about Phases Two and Three,” Kempf said. “They depend on fund-raising.”
Iowa State and Kansas are the only Big 12 Conference schools without a softball stadium and, while the Jayhawks won’t have a stadium as such next season, they will have taken a giant step toward parity with the league majority.
“It’s important for recruiting,” KU coach Tracy Bunge said. “This project has been out there. It was announced. Now the university has come through.”
Essentially, KU officials felt a half a loaf was better than no loaf at all.
“It will be quite a half a loaf. I don’t know if I’d call it that,” Kempf said. “The athletes go where the surface is.”
Most of the Phase One cost will go toward assuring the new facility will have no drainage problems and that the infield will feature the latest in surface technology.
“The reason the figure is so high,” Bunge said, “is because there are water drainage problems there, and we want it done right. Also, every coach I talked to said don’t shortchange the surface, do it right.”
The infield, Bunge said, will be composed of dirt and a synthetic compound that will dry quickly and also will alleviate costs of watering. The outfield will be a mixture of bluegrass and fescue.
Bunge and assistant coaches Julie Wright and Aaron Clopton currently are scouting high school juniors and Thursday’s announcement should give recruiting a shot in the arm.
“The immediate impact will be on kids we’re looking at now,” Bunge said. “They’ll see progress is being made. We haven’t wanted to take recruits to our facility for the last several years.”
Kansas University grade cards will meet the Internet age this May.
For the first time, KU students can access their grades online instead of receiving grade reports in the mail.
The change will allow students to see their grades the day after a professor turns them in. Before, it took 11 to 14 days for students to receive written grades.
“You’ll check it every day to see what your grades are,” said Clinton Pfalser, a Caney junior.
The online system also will cut down on work for the registrar’s office. In some semesters, 10 percent of reports were returned because of incorrect addresses.
Richard Morrell, university registrar, said one of the main concerns about moving to the new system was whether printed grade reports would be sufficient to prove grades to prospective employers and insurance companies for good-student driving discounts.
“We’ve purposely designed the screen similar to the hard copy they used to get,” he said. “Most people who need (grades) can take it.”
Students will need an ID number, which they can obtain at www.ku.edu/computing /services.
Students still will have the option of receiving a “hard copy” of their grades if they turn in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the registrar’s office before finals end.
The state’s five other public universities already have online grade-posting.
Kansas University grade cards will meet the Internet age this May.
For the first time, KU students can access their grades online instead of receiving grade reports in the mail.
The change will allow students to see their grades the day after a professor turns them in. Before, it took 11 to 14 days for students to receive written grades.
“You’ll check it every day to see what your grades are,” said Clinton Pfalser, a Caney junior.
The online system also will cut down on work for the registrar’s office. In some semesters, 10 percent of reports were returned because of incorrect addresses.
Richard Morrell, university registrar, said one of the main concerns about moving to the new system was whether printed grade reports would be sufficient to prove grades to prospective employers and insurance companies for good-student driving discounts.
“We’ve purposely designed the screen similar to the hard copy they used to get,” he said. “Most people who need (grades) can take it.”
Students will need an ID number, which they can obtain at www.ku.edu/computing /services.
Students still will have the option of receiving a “hard copy” of their grades if they turn in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the registrar’s office before finals end.
The state’s five other public universities already have online grade-posting.
Kansas University grade cards will meet the Internet age this May.
For the first time, KU students can access their grades online instead of receiving grade reports in the mail.
The change will allow students to see their grades the day after a professor turns them in. Before, it took 11 to 14 days for students to receive written grades.
“You’ll check it every day to see what your grades are,” said Clinton Pfalser, a Caney junior.
The online system also will cut down on work for the registrar’s office. In some semesters, 10 percent of reports were returned because of incorrect addresses.
Richard Morrell, university registrar, said one of the main concerns about moving to the new system was whether printed grade reports would be sufficient to prove grades to prospective employers and insurance companies for good-student driving discounts.
“We’ve purposely designed the screen similar to the hard copy they used to get,” he said. “Most people who need (grades) can take it.”
Students will need an ID number, which they can obtain at www.ku.edu/computing /services.
Students still will have the option of receiving a “hard copy” of their grades if they turn in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the registrar’s office before finals end.
The state’s five other public universities already have online grade-posting.
Kansas University grade cards will meet the Internet age this May.
For the first time, KU students can access their grades online instead of receiving grade reports in the mail.
The change will allow students to see their grades the day after a professor turns them in. Before, it took 11 to 14 days for students to receive written grades.
“You’ll check it every day to see what your grades are,” said Clinton Pfalser, a Caney junior.
The online system also will cut down on work for the registrar’s office. In some semesters, 10 percent of reports were returned because of incorrect addresses.
Richard Morrell, university registrar, said one of the main concerns about moving to the new system was whether printed grade reports would be sufficient to prove grades to prospective employers and insurance companies for good-student driving discounts.
“We’ve purposely designed the screen similar to the hard copy they used to get,” he said. “Most people who need (grades) can take it.”
Students will need an ID number, which they can obtain at www.ku.edu/computing /services.
Students still will have the option of receiving a “hard copy” of their grades if they turn in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the registrar’s office before finals end.
The state’s five other public universities already have online grade-posting.
Kansas University grade cards will meet the Internet age this May.
For the first time, KU students can access their grades online instead of receiving grade reports in the mail.
The change will allow students to see their grades the day after a professor turns them in. Before, it took 11 to 14 days for students to receive written grades.
“You’ll check it every day to see what your grades are,” said Clinton Pfalser, a Caney junior.
The online system also will cut down on work for the registrar’s office. In some semesters, 10 percent of reports were returned because of incorrect addresses.
Richard Morrell, university registrar, said one of the main concerns about moving to the new system was whether printed grade reports would be sufficient to prove grades to prospective employers and insurance companies for good-student driving discounts.
“We’ve purposely designed the screen similar to the hard copy they used to get,” he said. “Most people who need (grades) can take it.”
Students will need an ID number, which they can obtain at www.ku.edu/computing /services.
Students still will have the option of receiving a “hard copy” of their grades if they turn in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the registrar’s office before finals end.
The state’s five other public universities already have online grade-posting.
Kansas University grade cards will meet the Internet age this May.
For the first time, KU students can access their grades online instead of receiving grade reports in the mail.
The change will allow students to see their grades the day after a professor turns them in. Before, it took 11 to 14 days for students to receive written grades.
“You’ll check it every day to see what your grades are,” said Clinton Pfalser, a Caney junior.
The online system also will cut down on work for the registrar’s office. In some semesters, 10 percent of reports were returned because of incorrect addresses.
Richard Morrell, university registrar, said one of the main concerns about moving to the new system was whether printed grade reports would be sufficient to prove grades to prospective employers and insurance companies for good-student driving discounts.
“We’ve purposely designed the screen similar to the hard copy they used to get,” he said. “Most people who need (grades) can take it.”
Students will need an ID number, which they can obtain at www.ku.edu/computing /services.
Students still will have the option of receiving a “hard copy” of their grades if they turn in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the registrar’s office before finals end.
The state’s five other public universities already have online grade-posting.
Kansas University grade cards will meet the Internet age this May.
For the first time, KU students can access their grades online instead of receiving grade reports in the mail.
The change will allow students to see their grades the day after a professor turns them in. Before, it took 11 to 14 days for students to receive written grades.
“You’ll check it every day to see what your grades are,” said Clinton Pfalser, a Caney junior.
The online system also will cut down on work for the registrar’s office. In some semesters, 10 percent of reports were returned because of incorrect addresses.
Richard Morrell, university registrar, said one of the main concerns about moving to the new system was whether printed grade reports would be sufficient to prove grades to prospective employers and insurance companies for good-student driving discounts.
“We’ve purposely designed the screen similar to the hard copy they used to get,” he said. “Most people who need (grades) can take it.”
Students will need an ID number, which they can obtain at www.ku.edu/computing /services.
Students still will have the option of receiving a “hard copy” of their grades if they turn in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the registrar’s office before finals end.
The state’s five other public universities already have online grade-posting.
Kansas University grade cards will meet the Internet age this May.
For the first time, KU students can access their grades online instead of receiving grade reports in the mail.
The change will allow students to see their grades the day after a professor turns them in. Before, it took 11 to 14 days for students to receive written grades.
“You’ll check it every day to see what your grades are,” said Clinton Pfalser, a Caney junior.
The online system also will cut down on work for the registrar’s office. In some semesters, 10 percent of reports were returned because of incorrect addresses.
Richard Morrell, university registrar, said one of the main concerns about moving to the new system was whether printed grade reports would be sufficient to prove grades to prospective employers and insurance companies for good-student driving discounts.
“We’ve purposely designed the screen similar to the hard copy they used to get,” he said. “Most people who need (grades) can take it.”
Students will need an ID number, which they can obtain at www.ku.edu/computing /services.
Students still will have the option of receiving a “hard copy” of their grades if they turn in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the registrar’s office before finals end.
The state’s five other public universities already have online grade-posting.
