The weather never hampered Kansas University baseball coach Ritch Price much while he was at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and the elements weren’t much of a bother to Price during the winter.
“I was really proud of myself,” Price said. “In January, when it was 25 degrees out, I took my team outside every day.”
Then the weather turned really bad.
“Last week was the first time the weather has gotten to me,” Price said.
Nevertheless, despite ice and snow that forced the closing of local and area high schools Wednesday, Price plans to start a four-game series against Western Michigan this afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.
The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m., but the players will report long before that. Price has scheduled times for his players to show up and help shovel snow off the field.
Price figures too many games have been weathered-out already. KU had to cancel a game with Arkansas last week and the Jayhawks’ scheduled trip to Omaha, Neb., Tuesday for a doubleheader with Creighton also had to be scrapped because of the cold and wet weather.
“We’re concerned about those games affecting our RPI rating,” Price said.
As usual, KU (13-4) will send a slew of left-handers to the mound against Western Michigan. Ryan Knippschild (3-0, 4.00 ERA) is the scheduled starter today, with senior Kevin Wheeler (2-0, 3.62) slated for Friday and junior Josh Duran (1-1, 3.63) for Saturday. Sunday’s starter hasn’t been determined, although senior Pat Holmes, yet another southpaw, is a possibility.
