If anybody driving past Hoglund Ballpark noticed a cart doing donuts on Kansas University’s baseball field, they should not be alarmed.
It wasn’t some silly prank, or an attempt to tarnish the field.
Instead, the field farming was requested by KU coach Ritch Price.
“We’re trying to create some lanes so when it starts to dry a little bit and it starts to melt, the water can run off the field,” Price said.
Right now, Price is willing to try just about anything to get his squad outdoors. The Jayhawks (7-4-1) have had productive practices inside Anschutz Pavilion, but no indoor workout can truly prepare a baseball team better than actually playing outdoors.
Kansas hasn’t had that luxury. It practiced outside once before going to Hawaii last month. Since then, its moments in the sun have been nonexistent. The Jayhawks felt the effects last weekend when they logged two losses and a tie in Texas.
“There’s no question that the weather conditions are starting to affect our preparation a little bit with not being able to get outside,” senior first baseman and Preseason All-American Ryan Baty said. “But those are things we know beforehand that we’re going to have to overcome.
“Coach Price set up a wonderful plan for how we approach our practices inside, and we get a lot out of them. The only thing that lacks indoors is we can’t see the velocity we need to see. We can’t see breaking balls, and we can’t get into live game situations. That’s really what we need right now.”
Another problem is that KU’s pitchers can’t get the regular feel of throwing off the mound unless they are outside.
Hitting and pitching were factors last weekend, as Kansas’ hitters quit producing runs in the late innings and the pitchers had control problems and surrendered a lot of runs in the last three innings.
Price said each problem was correctable.
“I don’t think it’s a lack of ability, so that’s the reassuring thing for us,” Price said of the Jayhawks’ struggles. “I tried to preach to the guys that we played like we haven’t been outside, but now we can’t make any excuses for that. We’ve gotta endure the weather, and we’ve gotta find a way to overachieve.”
The Jayhawks will have to search for a solution quickly.
They have a three-game series at No. 4 Stanford starting Friday in Stanford, Calif. The Cardinal is 5-1, with its lone setback being a 3-1 loss at Fresno State.
Kansas University has outscored its opponents 90-25 while starting the baseball season with a nine-game winning streak.
Of course, those nine victories have come against NAIA teams like Ottawa and Kansas Newman and non-conference opponents Centenary and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The schedule gets harder this weekend when the Jayhawks ranked 31st by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association open Big 12 Conference play at home against No. 13 Texas A&M.
“We have to be ready,” coach Bobby Randall said. “We don’t have a choice.”
Justin Moore, 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA, will start today’s 3 p.m. game for the Aggies (14-4 overall, 3-0 Big 12 ), while Lawrence senior Jeff Davis (2-0, 1.20) will take the mound for Kansas.
KU’s starters for Saturday’s game at 2 p.m. (Dan Olson 3-0, 2.89) and Sunday’s 1 p.m. game (Jake Wright 2-0, 0.75) are set, but A&M has yet to determine who will pitch those games.
Although the Aggies have compiled a 2.76 ERA against the likes of No. 20 Arizona and No. 22 Texas Tech, Kansas hitters are looking forward to this weekend’s three-game series.
The Jayhawks are hitting .328 as a team with a slugging percentage just under .600, and have been led the past two games by juniors Pat Holmes and Kevin Wheeler.
Shreveport, La. ? Senior Jeff Davis scattered seven hits over nine innings and Kansas University rallied for a 2-1 victory over Centenary on Friday night.
Davis, a Lawrence High graduate, struck out nine and walked three in a complete game effort.
Six of the Gents’ seven hits were singles.
“What an incredible game, right from the start,” KU coach Bobby Randall said. “We played great defense and had terrific pitching.”
KU (2-0) struggled at the plate. Centenary starter Nick Waak (2-1) allowed only four hits in eight innings, but walked four and had two costly wild pitches.
Centenary (4-4) scored one run off Davis (1-0) with three hits in the bottom of the fourth, but the right-hander escaped the jam with an inning-ending double play.
Kansas finally scored in the top of the sixth. Junior Lance Hayes led off and was hit by a pitch. He advanced on Matt Tribble’s sacrifice and a ground out by Casey Spanish before scoring on Waak’s first wild pitch.
Hayes scored the go-ahead run in the eighth after reaching base on a fielder’s choice. He took second on a wild pitch, moved to third on Tribble’s ground out and scored on an RBI single by Spanish.
The teams meet again at 1 p.m. today and noon Sunday. The Jayhawks are then scheduled to play eight home games in 13 days, beginning with a 3 p.m. contest Tuesday against Kansas Newman.
Kansas 2, Centenary 1
Kansas 000 001 010 2 5 0
Centenary 000 100 000 1 7 2
Jeff Davis and Cole Armstrong. Nick Waak, Robbie Buhl (9) and Larry Brandon. W Davis 1-0. L Waak (2-1). 2B Holmes, KU. Winterer, Centenary.
Shreveport, La. ? Senior Jeff Davis scattered seven hits over nine innings and Kansas University rallied for a 2-1 victory over Centenary on Friday night.
Davis, a Lawrence High graduate, struck out nine and walked three in a complete game effort.
Six of the Gents’ seven hits were singles.
“What an incredible game, right from the start,” KU coach Bobby Randall said. “We played great defense and had terrific pitching.”
KU (2-0) struggled at the plate. Centenary starter Nick Waak (2-1) allowed only four hits in eight innings, but walked four and had two costly wild pitches.
Centenary (4-4) scored one run off Davis (1-0) with three hits in the bottom of the fourth, but the right-hander escaped the jam with an inning-ending double play.
Kansas finally scored in the top of the sixth. Junior Lance Hayes led off and was hit by a pitch. He advanced on Matt Tribble’s sacrifice and a ground out by Casey Spanish before scoring on Waak’s first wild pitch.
Hayes scored the go-ahead run in the eighth after reaching base on a fielder’s choice. He took second on a wild pitch, moved to third on Tribble’s ground out and scored on an RBI single by Spanish.
The teams meet again at 1 p.m. today and noon Sunday. The Jayhawks are then scheduled to play eight home games in 13 days, beginning with a 3 p.m. contest Tuesday against Kansas Newman.
Kansas 2, Centenary 1
Kansas 000 001 010 2 5 0
Centenary 000 100 000 1 7 2
Jeff Davis and Cole Armstrong. Nick Waak, Robbie Buhl (9) and Larry Brandon. W Davis 1-0. L Waak (2-1). 2B Holmes, KU. Winterer, Centenary.
Shreveport, La. ? Senior Jeff Davis scattered seven hits over nine innings and Kansas University rallied for a 2-1 victory over Centenary on Friday night.
Davis, a Lawrence High graduate, struck out nine and walked three in a complete game effort.
Six of the Gents’ seven hits were singles.
“What an incredible game, right from the start,” KU coach Bobby Randall said. “We played great defense and had terrific pitching.”
KU (2-0) struggled at the plate. Centenary starter Nick Waak (2-1) allowed only four hits in eight innings, but walked four and had two costly wild pitches.
Centenary (4-4) scored one run off Davis (1-0) with three hits in the bottom of the fourth, but the right-hander escaped the jam with an inning-ending double play.
Kansas finally scored in the top of the sixth. Junior Lance Hayes led off and was hit by a pitch. He advanced on Matt Tribble’s sacrifice and a ground out by Casey Spanish before scoring on Waak’s first wild pitch.
Hayes scored the go-ahead run in the eighth after reaching base on a fielder’s choice. He took second on a wild pitch, moved to third on Tribble’s ground out and scored on an RBI single by Spanish.
The teams meet again at 1 p.m. today and noon Sunday. The Jayhawks are then scheduled to play eight home games in 13 days, beginning with a 3 p.m. contest Tuesday against Kansas Newman.
Kansas 2, Centenary 1
Kansas 000 001 010 2 5 0
Centenary 000 100 000 1 7 2
Jeff Davis and Cole Armstrong. Nick Waak, Robbie Buhl (9) and Larry Brandon. W Davis 1-0. L Waak (2-1). 2B Holmes, KU. Winterer, Centenary.
Shreveport, La. ? Senior Jeff Davis scattered seven hits over nine innings and Kansas University rallied for a 2-1 victory over Centenary on Friday night.
Davis, a Lawrence High graduate, struck out nine and walked three in a complete game effort.
Six of the Gents’ seven hits were singles.
“What an incredible game, right from the start,” KU coach Bobby Randall said. “We played great defense and had terrific pitching.”
KU (2-0) struggled at the plate. Centenary starter Nick Waak (2-1) allowed only four hits in eight innings, but walked four and had two costly wild pitches.
Centenary (4-4) scored one run off Davis (1-0) with three hits in the bottom of the fourth, but the right-hander escaped the jam with an inning-ending double play.
Kansas finally scored in the top of the sixth. Junior Lance Hayes led off and was hit by a pitch. He advanced on Matt Tribble’s sacrifice and a ground out by Casey Spanish before scoring on Waak’s first wild pitch.
Hayes scored the go-ahead run in the eighth after reaching base on a fielder’s choice. He took second on a wild pitch, moved to third on Tribble’s ground out and scored on an RBI single by Spanish.
The teams meet again at 1 p.m. today and noon Sunday. The Jayhawks are then scheduled to play eight home games in 13 days, beginning with a 3 p.m. contest Tuesday against Kansas Newman.
Kansas 2, Centenary 1
Kansas 000 001 010 2 5 0
Centenary 000 100 000 1 7 2
Jeff Davis and Cole Armstrong. Nick Waak, Robbie Buhl (9) and Larry Brandon. W Davis 1-0. L Waak (2-1). 2B Holmes, KU. Winterer, Centenary.
6Sports video: Snow affecting KU baseball team