Friday, April 28, 2006
Kansas
Offense:
The Jayhawks offense had an opportunity to break out again against Kansas State and its midweek opponents, Southeast Missouri State and Creighton, scoring 32 runs in its last five games. Although the boys in blue can swing the bat (they’ve blasted 51 long balls as a team), they have a poor habit of swinging and missing. They lead the Big 12 with 325 strikeouts. Sophomore second baseman Ryne Price is the only Jayhawk with at least a .300 average against the Sooners. But because it’s possible that Price’s recovery from wrist surgery two weeks ago may not yet be complete, the Jayhawks will have to find their bats amongst the tough Sooner pitching.
Defense:
Despite a successful week, the Jayhawks did not take their best defense with them to Manhattan or Kansas City. Kansas tallied a season-high four errors in the series finale against Kansas State on Sunday. Those errors contributed to the Wildcats three unearned runs, pushing them past the Jayhawks 5-4. The eight errors and seven unearned runs that Kansas was responsible for in its last five games simply will not fly against Oklahoma. The 62 errors Kansas has committed as a team is in contrast with the 26 Oklahoma has committed, which is the best in the Big 12.
Coaching:
Tuesday’s victory against SEMO in game one of the Best of the Midwest tournament marked the Jayhawks 30th victory of the season. Kansas has crossed that threshold in each of the four years coach Ritch Price has coached the Jayhawks. It is the longest streak of 30-win campaigns in school history.
— Alissa Bauer
Oklahoma
Offense:
Six Sooners (who qualify for the league batting title) are batting better than .300, and two are just shy of that mark. Oklahoma has only 27 home runs, though, in 43 games. To put runs on the board, the Sooners play small ball by stringing together hits and stealing bases. Oklahoma is third in the Big 12 with 470 hits and 85 stolen bases and fourth in the conference with 86 doubles and 17 triples. As a result, the Sooners have scored 324 runs – second most in the Big 12. Seniors Chuckie Caufield and Ryan Rohlinger lead the Oklahoma offense with a combined .375 batting average, 94 runs, 10 home runs, 181 total bases and 20 stolen bases.
Defense:
With a 33-10 record, the Sooners aren’t beaten by their opponents often. Even more rare are the times Oklahoma beats itself with mistakes on defense. Oklahoma leads the Big 12 in fielding with only 28 errors and a .983 fielding percentage. Oklahoma catchers are next-to-worst in the conference with 12 passed balls but are nailing would-be base stealers nearly one-third of the time. Despite astonishing support from their defense, Oklahoma’s team ERA is 4.57. With 302 strikeouts as a staff, though, Sooner pitchers have the ability to dominate games when they’re on.
Coaching:
Coach Sunny Golloway is in his first season as Oklahoma’s skipper and has his club sitting in third place in the Big 12 at 11-4, with an outside chance of catching either Texas or Nebraska to move up in the conference standings. No matter where or who his team plays, Golloway’s team wins. The Sooners are 19-5 at home, 9-3 on the road, 5-2 at neutral sites and have a 22-6 non-conference record to go with their winning conference record. Although his offense has limited power, Golloway constructed a lineup that can score with relative ease. And in case his offense isn’t clicking and his pitchers aren’t striking batters out, Golloway has instilled a defense-first mentality that is paying huge dividends, especially in close games.
— Shawn Shroyer
KU KSU Rankings
Softball to face fifth-straight ranked opponent
After two weekend losses to Oklahoma State, the Jayhawks look for their ...
Missouri plays the role of underdog against ...
Repeat of last year’s Big 12 Championship gives Sooners a clear path ...
Game day: Sept. 26, 2009
Kansas has rolled through its first games without much resistance. That should ...
KU vs. OU Gameday
All Big 12
The All Big 12 First Team
Defense will make or break Big 12 ...
Both the team and its defense are ranked 4th in the conference.
Gameday: squaring off against UTEP for game ...
Taking an informative look at both teams' lineups before the game
Shroyer: Ryne Price is only man for ...
Ryne Price has been criticized for his strikeouts and defensive blunders. However, ...
Gameday: Sept. 19, 2009
An in-depth look at this weekend's match-up between Kansas and Duke.
Baseball enters key weekend against Alabama A&M
The Jayhawks are trying to leap over Kansas State for the final ...
Jayhawks hope to regain swagger
Baseball team hopes a victory over Northern Colorado will get them back ...
Sooners sweep weekend series against Jayhawks
After a close game Sunday, Kansas falls to Oklahoma, hurting opportunity for ...
Kansas to face another stiff defense
The Kansas football team lost its perfect season when it played Missouri ...
Baseball takes first Big 12 victory
After a notoriously bland conference season, the Jayhawks brought home their first ...
KU vs. NU Gameday
Foes and friends, Kansas seniors have shared ...
Kansan baseball players Erik Morrison and Ryne Price have a long history ...
Baseball drops game one to Oklahoma St.
In their first Big 12 Conference home game, the Jayhawks couldn't get ...
Jayhawks cannot seem to shake Sooners
After another loss to the Sooners, the softball team is now 27-12 ...
Defense important in upcoming trip to Texas
Kansas travels to San Antonio for Irish Baseball Classic.
Freshman baseball player looks promising
Teammates say freshman player Wes Benjamin is a mature player for his ...
Baseball splits series with Northern Colorado
Last season, Northern Colorado defeated Kansas twice, but this year it could ...
Gameday: Kansas vs. Niagara
Kansas plays Niagara in its first round NCAA tournament game. Both teams ...
New Baylor team faces challenges
Although their nonconference schedule appears easy, it’s doubtful the Texas team will ...
Baseball doesn’t control its postseason
The Jayhawks' hopes are dependent on how Oklahoma, Baylor and Texas Tech ...
Jayhawks drop weekend series to Eastern Michigan
Kansas lost two of three in a series that left players and ...
Kansas, Baylor split baseball double-header
Ryne Price redeems defensive errors by hitting a big home run in ...
Missed opportunities doom Kansas baseball
Kansas goes 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position in a 5-0 loss.
Baseball struggles to qualify for tournament
The baseball team is the defending Big 12 conference champion, but the ...
Big 12 baseball season looks bright
Weather can't stop the start of the Jayhawks' new season.
Softball swept in weekend set vs. Mizzou
In three games, Kansas was outscored 24-0 and have lost the last ...
Baseball team to face Missouri this weekend
Kansas has the opportunity to place in the top half of the ...
Jayhawks hope for a series sweep
The softball team will face UMKC in a doubleheader today.
Early error costs Jayhawks in loss to ...
The Jayhawks battled it out Tuesday night in the College World Series ...
Slugger in the spotlight
Junior third baseman Tony Thompson leads by example.
Jayhawks lose Big 12 three-game series to ...
Kansas would not go out without a fight, but Texas’s strong offense ...
Postseason play not
A battle of the birds
Jayhawks to face Golden Eagles in match-up of one-loss teams
Kansas baseball reaches it pivotal point
The Jayhawks face a weekend of play that will either make or ...
Baseball leans on pitchers
Batters taking pressure off the pitching staff is key to success in ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID