Kansas University baseball coach Bobby Randall hasn’t had much time to consider his personal reaction to the Jayhawks’ next road trip.
KU will open a three-game, three-day series at Iowa State today.
Randall spent 14 years as an ISU coach, including 11 as head coach, and though he has made the trip to Ames, Iowa, every other year since he became KU’s coach in 1996, he hasn’t ventured north since Iowa State’s program was canceled for financial reasons.
“You know, I’m really removed from Iowa State,” Randall said. “I lived there a long time. I loved it there. But it’s not so much a part of me. But that might change once I get there. After what’s happened I don’t know how that will feel.”
As coach, Randall annually battled to keep the Cyclones’ program afloat. The year before he left, ISU had voted to ax the program, and Randall fought successfully and somewhat bitterly to save it.
That fight, Randall admits, prompted him to leave ISU.
“I burned too many bridges,” he said. “I thought it was time to move on.”
The announcement last month that ISU would discontinue baseball and men’s swimming floored Randall.
“I really didn’t expect that,” he said. “I thought once it was saved, it was always saved.”
Randall said the Cyclones were dismayed immediately after the announcement, but he’s certain they’ll have no motivation problems this weekend.
“They still have a chance to get into the Big 12 tournament,” Randall said. “In fact, they’re in a lot better shape than we are. They might have been disappointed at first, but they’ve gotten their focus back.”
Kansas (15-21 overall, 3-15 Big 12) and Iowa State (11-18, 4-7) are two of four teams vying for the eighth slot for the Big 12 tournament. Missouri, at 7-11, is in eighth place, followed by ISU, Kansas State (4-14) and KU. Only the top eight teams in the league qualify for the tourney, and Kansas never has qualified for the Big 12s.
“We haven’t given up,” Randall said. “But I think we know our backs are to the wall. Are we looking forward to Iowa State? What we are looking forward to is winning some baseball games. We need to win some baseball games. At 3-15, we’re not feeling good.”
Nor is KU senior outfielder Doug Dreher. Dreher, who injured his left wrist in a collision with shortstop John Nelson last month, has been diagnosed with cartilage damage and won’t play again this season.
“That’s tough,” Randall said. “I feel bad for Doug. But those things happen. We’d sure love to have him in the lineup.”
Game times for KU-ISU are 3 p.m. today, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
