Postseason play not

By By Joe Bant

Friday, April 29, 2005

It was a big week for the Kansas softball team, undoubtedly the biggest of any so far this season.

First there was last weekend’s sweep of Oklahoma, which, before it happened, seemed an impossible outcome. The Sooners were the fifth-ranked team in the country, and the Jayhawks hadn’t swept a ranked opponent since 2001. Oklahoma was also the top-hitting team in the Big 12 Conference heading into the match-up, leading the league in batting average, runs, RBI and on-base percentage. Kansas, meanwhile, was ranked near the bottom in pitching.

The Jayhawks’ first victory on Saturday seemed improbable enough — a blown lead in the top of the seventh inning, a comeback home run in the bottom of the eighth, capped with junior second baseman Jessica Moppin’s game-winning hit in the ninth.

That’s not how the balls are supposed to bounce for a team that’s only 3-7 in conference when it’s playing a national powerhouse. And heck, the second game in the series wasn’t even close. Freshman pitcher Christina Ross shut down the Sooners with her four-hitter in the 4-1 victory. So much for that dynamic Oklahoma offense; chalk up the sweep for the Jayhawks.

But then came the hard part. Fluke victories are one thing. The worst team in the country can beat the best team on a given day. Sustained success, on the other hand, is far more difficult to come by.

After all, the sweep against Oklahoma was certainly the biggest pair of victories Kansas has enjoyed this season, but they were not the only big victories. Kansas’ 5-3 victory at Missouri earlier this month was big, as was Ross’ three-hit shutout at Nebraska last week.

But what those victories had in common is that each was followed by a loss. After beating the Tigers, the Jayhawks were swept by the Bears of Baylor, and after shucking the Huskers, they fell to Blue Jays of Creighton.

Again, it comes back to sustained success — the difference between winning isolated games and winning consistently.

Following the climactic series last weekend, it would have been easy to come out flat this week in two nonconference double-headers against Arkansas and North Dakota State. Neither of those teams is Oklahoma. Arkansas has twice as many losses as victories, and North Dakota is a .500 team. It would have been easy to not get sufficiently pumped up, to not work hard enough after the epic victories against the Sooners.

But not this time. Kansas swept its double-header against Arkansas on Tuesday and did the same against North Dakota State yesterday. The Jayhawks beat the Razorbacks with their bats, scoring a combined 13 runs during the two games. They beat the Bison with pitching and defense, allowing only two runs the first game and winning with a shutout in the second.

By sweeping yesterday, the Jayhawks pushed their win streak to six, their largest such streak of the season, and have momentum on their side with five games remaining in the regular season.

“This is the time of the year when you want to be hot,” coach Tracy Bunge said after yesterday’s victories.

And it’s a good thing the Jayhawks are hot, because they’ll possibly need to win out for a shot at playing in the postseason. But if they can hit the home runs — like they did with four yesterday — and continue to shut down opposing offenses, well then, five more victories in a row doesn’t seem out of the question.

Bant is a Colorado Springs, Colo., senior in journalism

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