Getting even: Morovick pitches KU past ’Pokes

By Matt Tait     Apr 12, 2015

John Young
Kansas senior pitcher Drew Morovick, left, slaps hands with senior outfielder Connor McKay as they come off the field in the third inning during the Jayhawks' game against Oklahoma State Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.

Heading into the 2015 season, there was hope inside the Kansas University baseball clubhouse that senior right-hander Drew Morovick, with his experience and unflappable demeanor, would emerge as the Jayhawks’ Friday-night starter.

A few weeks into the season, it became clear that such a role wasn’t in the cards, and Morovick moved to the weekend for his next five outings, which included Saturday’s 3-2 victory over No. 9 Oklahoma State at Hoglund Ballpark, during which Morovick shut the Cowboys down for seven consecutive innings.

That it happened on Saturday instead of under the lights on Friday night had no bearing on how Morovick, or his teammates, felt about the outing. His seven scoreless innings came at a crucial time and put the Jayhawks (14-21 overall, 2-6 Big 12) in position to play for a series victory over a top-10 team this afternoon.

“I don’t care if I’m throwing on Wednesday or Friday or Saturday,” Morovick said. “I’m gonna go out and compete for my team, and I know they’re gonna compete for me, and that’s all that matters.”

KU coach Ritch Price, who called Saturday’s outing “clearly the best of the season” for Morovick, said the 6-foot-5, 250-pound hurler on Saturday did all of the things that have made him successful throughout his KU career.

John Young
Kansas players line up outside their dugout to congratulate senior Connor McKay (7) after McKay scored a run during the Jayhawks' game against Oklahoma State Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.

“He doesn’t have Friday-night stuff,” Price said. “So he has to go out and locate and command and mix, and today he was really good at it.”

Of course, Morovick did not take down the Cowboys (24-10, 8-3) by himself. He admitted that a strong wind blowing in from right field helped keep a couple of balls in play and allowed him to worry less about being perfect. And the defense behind him was solid throughout the day, helping Morovick get out of mini-jams time after time. None was more impressive than the back-handed stab and throw second baseman Colby Wright made to end an OSU threat in the sixth inning.

All of the offense KU needed in this one came in the first three innings. After scoring KU’s first run on the day from second base on an Oklahoma State error in the second inning, senior first baseman Blair Beck doubled home two more runs in the bottom of the third to put KU up 3-0.

From there, it was all about Morovick and the zeros on the scoreboard.

Closer Stephen Villines found trouble in the eighth inning, but added another scoreless inning by shutting down the Cowboys in order in the ninth to preserve the victory.

John Young
Kansas senior pitcher Drew Morovick, left, slaps hands with senior outfielder Connor McKay as they come off the field in the third inning during the Jayhawks' game against Oklahoma State Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.

So far this weekend, Kansas has held OSU scoreless in 15 of 18 innings.

“I think that tells a lot of people that we’re growing as a team, and we’re competing really hard and staying with the plan and trying to win every game,” Beck said.

Added Morovick: “That’s how you win. Throw up zeroes and find a way to scratch out a couple of runs. We’ve been preaching it all year and for the last four years. That’s just the mind-set you gotta have.”

The mind-set for the Jayhawks now shifts to showing up at 1 p.m. today looking to win their first Big 12 series of the season.

“Skip preaches all the time that it’s all about Sunday,” Beck said. “So we’re gonna come out and compete as hard as we can and try to win the series.”

Added Morovick: “We need this one. We just want to go out and have some fun. Nobody picked us to beat these guys.”

Oklahoma State 000 000 020 — 2 9 3

Kansas 012 000 00x — 3 7 0

W – Drew Morovick, 3-3. L – Michael Freeman, 6-1.

2B — Corey Hassel, OSU 2; Blair Beck, KU, TJ Martin, KU.

Kansas highlights — Drew Morovick 7 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 5 K; Blair Beck 3-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, R; Connor McKay 1-for-4, R; Matt McLaughlin 1-for-4, R; Dakota Smith 1-for-3.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.