Ritch Price doesn’t throw any change-ups when he talks about the University of Texas.
“I think they’re the best team in baseball,” Kansas coach Price said of the powerful Longhorns, who will be at Hoglund Ballpark this weekend for a three-game series.
Game times are 6 tonight, 6 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday. ESPN2 (Sunflower Broadband channel 34) will show a delayed telecast of the last game at 5 p.m. Sunday.
“They were voted the top team before the season,” Price continued about the Longhorns. “They’ve played the toughest schedule in the country. They have a lot of the top players, pitchers. I think it’s pretty easy to say that they’re the top team.”
Texas boasts a 38-9 overall record with seven of those losses coming against Big 12 teams. The ‘Horns are 13-7 in league play, a game and a half behind first-place Baylor. Kansas is 31-21 overall and 6-11 in the league, but the Jayhawks have won seven of their last eight.
“We’re playing as well as we have all year long,” Price said. “And we definitely know that we have to play our best ball this weekend if we want to accomplish something really special.”
Junior first baseman Jared Schweitzer, who has compiled a 20-game hit streak and could tie Ryan Baty’s school record tonight, has been KU’s hottest hitter, but the Longhorns are loaded with bats.
Senior infielder Seth Johnson leads UT with a .403 average and team-best 40 RBIs. Outfielder Drew Stubbs has hit 10 home runs to go with his .320 average.
Texas pitchers boast a team ERA of 2.65 and Kyle McCulloch, who will pitch tonight’s opener, is tied for team honors with eight victories. Closer J. Brent Cox leads the Big 12 with 11 saves and has a 6-1 record with a 1.81 ERA in 28 appearances.
| Who: Kansas (31-21 overall, 6-11 Big 12 Conference) vs. Texas (38-9, 13-7)When: 6 tonight, 6 p.m. Saturday, noon SundayTV: Delayed telecast of Sunday’s game at 5 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2 (Sunflower Broadband ch. 34) |
Left-hander Sean Land (4-4) will start tonight for the Jayhawks with lefty Mike Zagurski (5-4) and right-hander Kodiak Quick (9-5) scheduled for Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Kansas still has two Big 12 series after this one — against Missouri and Oklahoma State — and the Jayhawks have to start making a move if they hope to qualify for the Big 12 Tournament at the end of the month.
  6Sports video: Czyz’s a recipe for success 6Sports video: KU baseball in dogfight for spot in Big 12 |
“If we can win a game early,” Zagurski said, “and then maybe pull one out on Sunday to win the series against them, then I would think we would put ourselves in the driver’s seat of getting into the Big 12 tourney.”
