Before the season started, Kansas baseball coach Ritch Price said he wanted to focus on extra-base hits and taking the extra base.
That strategy, mixed with some small ball, paid off Wednesday when Travis Metcalf hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning that proved to be the difference in a 10-6 victory over Western Illinois in the Jayhawks’ home opener at Hoglund Ballpark.
Kansas (6-3) took a 3-0 lead in the second by doing the little things right. Matt Tribble led off the inning by hustling into second base on a hit to shallow left. Casey Spanish followed with a bunt single, and Metcalf drove home Tribble and reached first on an error.
Brandon Shepard and Matt Baty each laid down a sacrifice bunt, with Baty’s sacrifice scoring Spanish. Lance Hayes continued the bunt-fest with a single down the third-base line that scored Metcalf.
Both teams scored a run in the third inning, and the Leathernecks (0-1) added two more in the fourth before tying the game on a home run by Joe Rooney in the fifth.
In the bottom of the inning, Ritchie Price led off with a single up the middle. Two batters later, Kevin Wheeler’s single moved Price to third, and Price scored on a sacrifice fly by Tribble.
Spanish reached on an error by WIU third baseman Kevin Koeneman, and Metcalf followed with a deep drive over the left-field fence.
Kansas added another run in the bottom of the sixth when Ritchie Price reached on an error that scored Lance Hayes, and one in the eighth on a single by Ryan Baty. Baty’s hit kept his hitting streak alive at nine games, which ties Tribble for the team lead this season.
Kansas next plays Louisiana State in a three-game series Friday through Sunday in Baton Rouge, La.
| Western Illinois | 001 | 211 | 000 | — | 6 6 4 |
| Kansas | 031 | 041 | 01x | — | 10 12 2 |
|
W — Pat Holmes (1-0). L — Steve Whitson (0-1). 2BH — WIU: Kevin Koeneman, John Bertulis; Kansas: Matt Tribble. 3BH — WIU: ; Kansas: . HR — WIU: Joe Rooney; Kansas: Travis Metcalf. Kansas highlights: Metcalf, 2-for-3, HR, 2 runs, 4 RBIs; Lance Hayes, 2-for-4, 2 runs, RBI; Ritchie Price, 2-for-4, 2 runs, RBI.
|
|||||
Last season, Kansas University’s baseball team dropped a three-game set to Baylor at Hoglund Ballpark and was outscored 30-6.
This season, the Jayhawks started 10-0, including a victory over then-No. 13 Texas A&M, and it appeared the team might be able to take at least a game from the Bears this weekend in Waco, Texas.
Kansas is winless over the last three games, though, losing the final two games of the Texas A&M series and falling to Southwest Missouri State on Tuesday, looking more like last year’s squad.
“That’s the way it is,” KU coach Bobby Randall said. “It’s amazing. You win 10 in a row, then, all of the sudden, the news is we lost three in a row. We’ve got some kinks to work out. There are some things we have to get better at.”
Pitching had been a strong suit for the Jayhawks until last Sunday’s doubleheader against the Aggies. Dan Olson and Jake Wright both pitched well early in the game, but the Kansas bullpen imploded late in both games.
Jeff Davis, who entered Tuesday’s game with a 3-0 record and 0.78 ERA, was roughed up by SMS for eight runs in 22*3 innings.
Randall wasn’t too worried about the senior starter’s performance, though.
“Jeff went down there, pitching on three days rest,” Randall said. “He hasn’t done that all year. That had a big effect on how he pitched.”
The Baylor offense may have a big effect this weekend against Olson (today’s starter), Davis (Saturday’s starter) and Wright (Sunday’s starter).
The No. 10-ranked Bears (14-6 overall, 4-2 Big 12) are hitting .314, lead by Ross Bennett at .477 and Mike Huggins at .400, and have outscored their opponents by 41 runs.
“Nobody knows how it’s going to end up,” Randall said. “We’ve got a group of guys (and) there isn’t any quit in them. I like coaching them. I push them. We’re going to strap it up, go down to Baylor and try to win some baseball games.”
Today’s start time has been moved from 7 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. so Baylor fans can watch the women’s basketball team take on Bucknell approximately 8:30 p.m. in the NCAA Tournament. Saturday’s game will be at 3 p.m. and Sunday’s will start at 1 p.m.
Last season, Kansas University’s baseball team dropped a three-game set to Baylor at Hoglund Ballpark and was outscored 30-6.
This season, the Jayhawks started 10-0, including a victory over then-No. 13 Texas A&M, and it appeared the team might be able to take at least a game from the Bears this weekend in Waco, Texas.
Kansas is winless over the last three games, though, losing the final two games of the Texas A&M series and falling to Southwest Missouri State on Tuesday, looking more like last year’s squad.
“That’s the way it is,” KU coach Bobby Randall said. “It’s amazing. You win 10 in a row, then, all of the sudden, the news is we lost three in a row. We’ve got some kinks to work out. There are some things we have to get better at.”
Pitching had been a strong suit for the Jayhawks until last Sunday’s doubleheader against the Aggies. Dan Olson and Jake Wright both pitched well early in the game, but the Kansas bullpen imploded late in both games.
Jeff Davis, who entered Tuesday’s game with a 3-0 record and 0.78 ERA, was roughed up by SMS for eight runs in 22*3 innings.
Randall wasn’t too worried about the senior starter’s performance, though.
“Jeff went down there, pitching on three days rest,” Randall said. “He hasn’t done that all year. That had a big effect on how he pitched.”
The Baylor offense may have a big effect this weekend against Olson (today’s starter), Davis (Saturday’s starter) and Wright (Sunday’s starter).
The No. 10-ranked Bears (14-6 overall, 4-2 Big 12) are hitting .314, lead by Ross Bennett at .477 and Mike Huggins at .400, and have outscored their opponents by 41 runs.
“Nobody knows how it’s going to end up,” Randall said. “We’ve got a group of guys (and) there isn’t any quit in them. I like coaching them. I push them. We’re going to strap it up, go down to Baylor and try to win some baseball games.”
Today’s start time has been moved from 7 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. so Baylor fans can watch the women’s basketball team take on Bucknell approximately 8:30 p.m. in the NCAA Tournament. Saturday’s game will be at 3 p.m. and Sunday’s will start at 1 p.m.
Last season, Kansas University’s baseball team dropped a three-game set to Baylor at Hoglund Ballpark and was outscored 30-6.
This season, the Jayhawks started 10-0, including a victory over then-No. 13 Texas A&M, and it appeared the team might be able to take at least a game from the Bears this weekend in Waco, Texas.
Kansas is winless over the last three games, though, losing the final two games of the Texas A&M series and falling to Southwest Missouri State on Tuesday, looking more like last year’s squad.
“That’s the way it is,” KU coach Bobby Randall said. “It’s amazing. You win 10 in a row, then, all of the sudden, the news is we lost three in a row. We’ve got some kinks to work out. There are some things we have to get better at.”
Pitching had been a strong suit for the Jayhawks until last Sunday’s doubleheader against the Aggies. Dan Olson and Jake Wright both pitched well early in the game, but the Kansas bullpen imploded late in both games.
Jeff Davis, who entered Tuesday’s game with a 3-0 record and 0.78 ERA, was roughed up by SMS for eight runs in 22*3 innings.
Randall wasn’t too worried about the senior starter’s performance, though.
“Jeff went down there, pitching on three days rest,” Randall said. “He hasn’t done that all year. That had a big effect on how he pitched.”
The Baylor offense may have a big effect this weekend against Olson (today’s starter), Davis (Saturday’s starter) and Wright (Sunday’s starter).
The No. 10-ranked Bears (14-6 overall, 4-2 Big 12) are hitting .314, lead by Ross Bennett at .477 and Mike Huggins at .400, and have outscored their opponents by 41 runs.
“Nobody knows how it’s going to end up,” Randall said. “We’ve got a group of guys (and) there isn’t any quit in them. I like coaching them. I push them. We’re going to strap it up, go down to Baylor and try to win some baseball games.”
Today’s start time has been moved from 7 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. so Baylor fans can watch the women’s basketball team take on Bucknell approximately 8:30 p.m. in the NCAA Tournament. Saturday’s game will be at 3 p.m. and Sunday’s will start at 1 p.m.
Last season, Kansas University’s baseball team dropped a three-game set to Baylor at Hoglund Ballpark and was outscored 30-6.
This season, the Jayhawks started 10-0, including a victory over then-No. 13 Texas A&M, and it appeared the team might be able to take at least a game from the Bears this weekend in Waco, Texas.
Kansas is winless over the last three games, though, losing the final two games of the Texas A&M series and falling to Southwest Missouri State on Tuesday, looking more like last year’s squad.
“That’s the way it is,” KU coach Bobby Randall said. “It’s amazing. You win 10 in a row, then, all of the sudden, the news is we lost three in a row. We’ve got some kinks to work out. There are some things we have to get better at.”
Pitching had been a strong suit for the Jayhawks until last Sunday’s doubleheader against the Aggies. Dan Olson and Jake Wright both pitched well early in the game, but the Kansas bullpen imploded late in both games.
Jeff Davis, who entered Tuesday’s game with a 3-0 record and 0.78 ERA, was roughed up by SMS for eight runs in 22*3 innings.
Randall wasn’t too worried about the senior starter’s performance, though.
“Jeff went down there, pitching on three days rest,” Randall said. “He hasn’t done that all year. That had a big effect on how he pitched.”
The Baylor offense may have a big effect this weekend against Olson (today’s starter), Davis (Saturday’s starter) and Wright (Sunday’s starter).
The No. 10-ranked Bears (14-6 overall, 4-2 Big 12) are hitting .314, lead by Ross Bennett at .477 and Mike Huggins at .400, and have outscored their opponents by 41 runs.
“Nobody knows how it’s going to end up,” Randall said. “We’ve got a group of guys (and) there isn’t any quit in them. I like coaching them. I push them. We’re going to strap it up, go down to Baylor and try to win some baseball games.”
Today’s start time has been moved from 7 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. so Baylor fans can watch the women’s basketball team take on Bucknell approximately 8:30 p.m. in the NCAA Tournament. Saturday’s game will be at 3 p.m. and Sunday’s will start at 1 p.m.
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoBaty’s back.
Second baseman Ryan Baty returned to action for the first time in more than a year with a 4-for-5 effort at the plate and led the Kansas baseball team to a 10-6 season-opening victory over Ottawa on Tuesday at Hoglund Ballpark.
“It felt good to get out,” Baty said. “It felt real good to get out here.”
Baty, who suffered shoulder injuries in both the middle of the 2000 season and prior to the 2001 season, had a single, two doubles, a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored.
“I guess he had fun today,” KU coach Bobby Randall said with a laugh. “I guess he enjoyed it. He’s been really swinging the bat (well). He has unreal bat speed.”
With KU down 4-0 in the fourth, Baty’s solo shot to dead center put the Jayhawks (1-0) on the scoreboard, and his bases-clearing double off the right-centerfield wall tied the game at 4-4 in the fifth.
Kevin Wheeler followed with a run-scoring single to put Kansas ahead, and Ryan Klocksein’s liner, a carbon copy of Baty’s hit two batters earlier, drove home Wheeler.
“I’m pleased we didn’t panic,” Randall said of the Jayhawks’ comeback. “I’m pleased that we just kept playing the game.”
Baty wasn’t the only Jayhawk to go deep, as Wheeler, Matt Tribble and Pat Holmes also hit home runs against the Braves (0-2). It was KU’s first four-homer game since Feb. 28, 1998 against Oklahoma State.
“We hit some balls awful hard.” Randall said. “I think that’s an understatement. Even some outs were some rockets.
“I told them before the game, ‘If you don’t worry about home runs, it can happen.’ I think we were trying to make good hard contact for the most part and we hit some, as they say, long taters. There was a glimpse of what I hope we can do offensively.”
Wheeler and Holmes both hit Dustin Prothe pitches over the right-field wall for solo shots in the seventh inning, and Tribble a two-run homer in the eighth.
After allowing four early runs, just two of which were earned, Dan Olson settled down and shut out the Braves through the sixth and picked up the victory.
“I felt like I pitched all right. I had a little trouble locating today leaving the ball up a lot and that was evident early,” Olson said. “I’m not dissatisfied with the first outing.”
Kansas will travel to Shreveport, La., for a three-game series Friday through Sunday against Centenary.
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoBaty’s back.
Second baseman Ryan Baty returned to action for the first time in more than a year with a 4-for-5 effort at the plate and led the Kansas baseball team to a 10-6 season-opening victory over Ottawa on Tuesday at Hoglund Ballpark.
“It felt good to get out,” Baty said. “It felt real good to get out here.”
Baty, who suffered shoulder injuries in both the middle of the 2000 season and prior to the 2001 season, had a single, two doubles, a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored.
“I guess he had fun today,” KU coach Bobby Randall said with a laugh. “I guess he enjoyed it. He’s been really swinging the bat (well). He has unreal bat speed.”
With KU down 4-0 in the fourth, Baty’s solo shot to dead center put the Jayhawks (1-0) on the scoreboard, and his bases-clearing double off the right-centerfield wall tied the game at 4-4 in the fifth.
Kevin Wheeler followed with a run-scoring single to put Kansas ahead, and Ryan Klocksein’s liner, a carbon copy of Baty’s hit two batters earlier, drove home Wheeler.
“I’m pleased we didn’t panic,” Randall said of the Jayhawks’ comeback. “I’m pleased that we just kept playing the game.”
Baty wasn’t the only Jayhawk to go deep, as Wheeler, Matt Tribble and Pat Holmes also hit home runs against the Braves (0-2). It was KU’s first four-homer game since Feb. 28, 1998 against Oklahoma State.
“We hit some balls awful hard.” Randall said. “I think that’s an understatement. Even some outs were some rockets.
“I told them before the game, ‘If you don’t worry about home runs, it can happen.’ I think we were trying to make good hard contact for the most part and we hit some, as they say, long taters. There was a glimpse of what I hope we can do offensively.”
Wheeler and Holmes both hit Dustin Prothe pitches over the right-field wall for solo shots in the seventh inning, and Tribble a two-run homer in the eighth.
After allowing four early runs, just two of which were earned, Dan Olson settled down and shut out the Braves through the sixth and picked up the victory.
“I felt like I pitched all right. I had a little trouble locating today leaving the ball up a lot and that was evident early,” Olson said. “I’m not dissatisfied with the first outing.”
Kansas will travel to Shreveport, La., for a three-game series Friday through Sunday against Centenary.
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoBaty’s back.
Second baseman Ryan Baty returned to action for the first time in more than a year with a 4-for-5 effort at the plate and led the Kansas baseball team to a 10-6 season-opening victory over Ottawa on Tuesday at Hoglund Ballpark.
“It felt good to get out,” Baty said. “It felt real good to get out here.”
Baty, who suffered shoulder injuries in both the middle of the 2000 season and prior to the 2001 season, had a single, two doubles, a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored.
“I guess he had fun today,” KU coach Bobby Randall said with a laugh. “I guess he enjoyed it. He’s been really swinging the bat (well). He has unreal bat speed.”
With KU down 4-0 in the fourth, Baty’s solo shot to dead center put the Jayhawks (1-0) on the scoreboard, and his bases-clearing double off the right-centerfield wall tied the game at 4-4 in the fifth.
Kevin Wheeler followed with a run-scoring single to put Kansas ahead, and Ryan Klocksein’s liner, a carbon copy of Baty’s hit two batters earlier, drove home Wheeler.
“I’m pleased we didn’t panic,” Randall said of the Jayhawks’ comeback. “I’m pleased that we just kept playing the game.”
Baty wasn’t the only Jayhawk to go deep, as Wheeler, Matt Tribble and Pat Holmes also hit home runs against the Braves (0-2). It was KU’s first four-homer game since Feb. 28, 1998 against Oklahoma State.
“We hit some balls awful hard.” Randall said. “I think that’s an understatement. Even some outs were some rockets.
“I told them before the game, ‘If you don’t worry about home runs, it can happen.’ I think we were trying to make good hard contact for the most part and we hit some, as they say, long taters. There was a glimpse of what I hope we can do offensively.”
Wheeler and Holmes both hit Dustin Prothe pitches over the right-field wall for solo shots in the seventh inning, and Tribble a two-run homer in the eighth.
After allowing four early runs, just two of which were earned, Dan Olson settled down and shut out the Braves through the sixth and picked up the victory.
“I felt like I pitched all right. I had a little trouble locating today leaving the ball up a lot and that was evident early,” Olson said. “I’m not dissatisfied with the first outing.”
Kansas will travel to Shreveport, La., for a three-game series Friday through Sunday against Centenary.
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoBaty’s back.
Second baseman Ryan Baty returned to action for the first time in more than a year with a 4-for-5 effort at the plate and led the Kansas baseball team to a 10-6 season-opening victory over Ottawa on Tuesday at Hoglund Ballpark.
“It felt good to get out,” Baty said. “It felt real good to get out here.”
Baty, who suffered shoulder injuries in both the middle of the 2000 season and prior to the 2001 season, had a single, two doubles, a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored.
“I guess he had fun today,” KU coach Bobby Randall said with a laugh. “I guess he enjoyed it. He’s been really swinging the bat (well). He has unreal bat speed.”
With KU down 4-0 in the fourth, Baty’s solo shot to dead center put the Jayhawks (1-0) on the scoreboard, and his bases-clearing double off the right-centerfield wall tied the game at 4-4 in the fifth.
Kevin Wheeler followed with a run-scoring single to put Kansas ahead, and Ryan Klocksein’s liner, a carbon copy of Baty’s hit two batters earlier, drove home Wheeler.
“I’m pleased we didn’t panic,” Randall said of the Jayhawks’ comeback. “I’m pleased that we just kept playing the game.”
Baty wasn’t the only Jayhawk to go deep, as Wheeler, Matt Tribble and Pat Holmes also hit home runs against the Braves (0-2). It was KU’s first four-homer game since Feb. 28, 1998 against Oklahoma State.
“We hit some balls awful hard.” Randall said. “I think that’s an understatement. Even some outs were some rockets.
“I told them before the game, ‘If you don’t worry about home runs, it can happen.’ I think we were trying to make good hard contact for the most part and we hit some, as they say, long taters. There was a glimpse of what I hope we can do offensively.”
Wheeler and Holmes both hit Dustin Prothe pitches over the right-field wall for solo shots in the seventh inning, and Tribble a two-run homer in the eighth.
After allowing four early runs, just two of which were earned, Dan Olson settled down and shut out the Braves through the sixth and picked up the victory.
“I felt like I pitched all right. I had a little trouble locating today leaving the ball up a lot and that was evident early,” Olson said. “I’m not dissatisfied with the first outing.”
Kansas will travel to Shreveport, La., for a three-game series Friday through Sunday against Centenary.
