Sunday, April 23, 2006
MANHATTAN -- The angry sea of purple leaving the stadium before the game ended would’ve been even angrier if they had stayed. Kansas defeated Kansas State, 5-2, and took the series on Saturday in Manhattan.
Amongst the chaos of the spring football game next door to game two of the Kansas (29-15, 9-8) vs. Kansas State (23-12, 3-10-1) rivalry, people in purple were everywhere.
Saturday’s game was sold out.
But it was the handful of Kansas fans behind the Jayhawk dugout, singing senior centerfielder Matt Baty’s famous walk-up song loudly before each of his at bats, who would get the most for their ticket money.
Kansas jumped on top early, capitalizing on a Wildcat error and a sophomore third baseman Erik Morrison two-run single in the top of the first and quieting the record setting crowd of 4,026. Morrison continued his terrific day at the plate all afternoon, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, his first three-hit day of the season.
“When we play as tough of schedule as we do on the road, you go on the road at Clemson and there’s 5,000 people chanting their fight song all wearing orange, it’s pretty intimidating,” Morrison said. “So to come in here and silence the place is awesome.”
In the meantime, the Wildcats did their best to keep up, loading the bases with two outs in the bottom of the second inning.
Senior right-hander Ricky Fairchild worked himself into trouble after collecting the first two outs of the inning. Wildcat freshman centerfielder Byron Wiley took a walk and eventually made his way back home to score as two more of his teammates benefited from Fairchild’s temporary loss of the strike zone while another was beaned to make four free passes on two outs.
Fairchild was taken out of the game for junior righty Brendan McNamara before he could get an out in the bottom of the seventh inning. Junior shortstop Eli Rumler would later score, but he was on base by mistake.
Losing the ball in the sun, senior infielder Jared Schweitzer allowed Rumler’s infield pop-up to fall to his side, allowing him to score later on a McNamara balk.
But by then, Rumler’s run didn't matter. In their half of the third, the Jayhawks used another Wildcats error to their advantage. After sophomore Brock Simpson lead off the top of the third with a walk, senior shortstop Ritchie Price drilled a ball to second that was too tough for Kansas State's Eddie Vasquez to handle.
Now two players were on base, making RBI opportunities available for Baty and Morrison. Baty, freshly serenaded by his fans, hit a sacrifice fly, which brought Simpson home. Then, the third baseman struck again.
Morrison doubled to the left field corner, which was more than enough to score Price.
“Last year I kicked the ball around here pretty good as a freshman and kind of let the fans get under my skin,” Morrison said. “So it’s nice to come out here and get a good team win, help the team win.”
A Simpson RBI single later scored senior outfielder Gus Milner in the fourth inning. No homeruns were needed on Saturday - just line drives and smart base running.
“We’re doing a better job of taking the ball the other way,” Price said. “You’ve got to use the whole field to be a good hitter.”
Price chose the lethal Paul Smyth/Don Czyz closing combination on Saturday. Czyz collected his 15th save, and second of the series, in his 25th appearance.
While Czyz’s senior leadership and multiple scoreless outings are commonplace, Smyth’s role as his setup man is impressing more than just the traveling Jayhawk fans.
“I’m really proud of Paul Smyth,” Price said. “He’s really emerged as an outstanding freshman. He’s perfect for the role that he’s in.”
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