Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Erik Morrison, junior infielder, rounds third to celebrate with coach Price after hitting a home run.
If anything was as impressive as Kansas’ offensive output Tuesday, it was the performance by junior pitcher Andres Esquibel.
In his second start of the season, Esquibel (3-0) cruised as the Jayhawk offense lit up the scoreboard behind him. Best of all for coach Ritch Price, Esquibel didn’t have to use up too much energy to earn the victory.
“He’s been very special and we’re going to use him a lot,” Price said. “The best thing that happened tonight was he only pitched four innings. We didn’t think we’d have him available for Friday night. Now he’ll be completely ready.”
Tuesday was the first start for Esquibel, a right-hander who’s been used predominantly out of the bullpen, since Feb. 4 against Hawaii-Hilo. In that game, Kansas put up nine runs of support in Esquibel’s five innings.
Against Penn State, though, the Kansas offense put that number to shame posting 14 runs during Esquibel’s four-inning outing. As a result, Esquibel had to try to keep from cooling off on the bench during Kansas’ four- and five-run innings.
“The long innings kind of hurt,” Esquibel said. “It was hard to get back on track once I got back out there, but it was nice to have some runs.”
The down time didn’t appear to have any ill effects on Esquibel, a transfer from Palomar Junior College, as he put up some impressive numbers of his own on the mound.
In his four innings of work, Esquibel allowed only two Nittany Lions to reach base — one by way of a walk and the other on a single in the first inning. After that, he was perfect, retiring 11 straight batters — five via the strikeout.
And while Kansas took its time to pile up the runs, Esquibel worked quickly, averaging only 13 pitches per inning. He was taken out after throwing just 52 pitches, but not because he was on a pitch count.
pullquote
I think my role right now is helping the team win, so I’m fine with it.
-junior pitcher Andres Esquibel
“I think we just had so many runs we wanted to get some more guys in,” Esquibel said.
To top it off, he lowered his team-leading ERA to 1.16.
Tuesday’s performance was yet another solid one from Esquibel, who continues to close in on a starting spot in the weekend rotation. In addition to his perfect record and team-best ERA, he’s gone 12 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.
Esquibel is content as a midweek starter and weekend reliever if that’s where his coaches want him.
“I think my role right now is helping the team win,” Esquibel said, “so I’m fine with it.”
But the wheels are already in motion for Esquibel to take over a weekend spot. Price said he talked about it with pitching coach Ryan Graves, but instead of adding Esquibel to the rotation just yet, they will switch junior left-hander Zach Ashwood and sophomore left-hander Nick Czyz around in the weekend rotation so Ashwood will pitch on Saturday and Czyz will pitch on Friday.
Because Czyz has been an innings-eater for Kansas, Price said that should save him from using too many of his relievers until Saturday to support Ashwood, who’s gone six innings only twice this season.
“I was actually going to make the switch and put him in the rotation,” Price said of Esquibel, “but Coach Graves talked me out of it. He thinks we need to give Ashwood another opportunity. Our feeling about it is it protects our bullpen the best.
“Right now we’re going to leave it as it is and if it doesn’t work here in a week or two, we’ll look at it again,” Price said.
Kansan sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@kansan.com.
— Edited by James Pinick
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