Baseball struggles to qualify for tournament

Kansas faces Kansas State at home on Saturday

By KANSAN

Friday, May 4, 2007

University of Kansas

The postseason and whether or not Kansas will take part in it is at stake every single day. The Jayhawks’ performance in Norman, Okla. last weekend will help their chances of landing in the top eight and making the conference tournament, but it will take more than that. Kansas State holds a half-game lead over Kansas in the standings, which leaves plenty of room for the Jayhawks to switch them places should they pick up the sweep. Right now, nothing is more important to the Jayhawks than making the tournament in which they are the defending champs.

Kyle Murphy, senior center fielder, proved his worth again in his team’s last time out. His two-run bomb in the top of the eighth inning last Sunday put the Jayhawks out of the Sooners’ reach. Murphy had at least a hit in each contest of the series and drove in four runs. He alone accounts for one-third of Kansas’ stolen bases.

On the offensive front, Ryne Price, junior second baseman, continues to be helpful. Price went just 1-for-6 last weekend, but he also scored three times and accumulated six walks. However, last Saturday Price committed a pair of errors, bringing his total on the season to 19. That is more than double any other Jayhawks’ error count. His bat is there, but his glove could be a possible liability.

52—April 3 was the last time Kansas traveled to Kansas State. The opening inning lasted 52 minutes.

20—The Jayhawks have played in three more games than the Wildcats, but have tagged 20 more homeruns.

36—Saturday’s game will be shown on basic cable, Fox Sports Net, on channel 36.

1—The number of games that Kansas State has won in Lawrence in the past five years.

3—Kansas’ starters did not allow more than three runs in any of their outings last weekend.

Kansas State University

This series is a must-win if the Wildcats hope to reach the Big 12 Tournament. After Kansas, only No. 13 Texas A&M and Baylor remain on Kansas State’s conference schedule. The Wildcats are battling the Jayhawks and Bears for the last two spots in the tournament and have a leg up, sitting in seventh place, just thousandths of percentage points ahead of them. A series victory this weekend would give Kansas State the inside track to making the tournament.

Kansas State’s offense revolves around sophomore outfielder Byron Wiley. He leads the Wildcats in 11 offensive categories and by a wide margin in most of them. In 151 at-bats this season, he has a .377 batting average, 36 runs, 57 hits, five home runs, 33 RBI, 80 total bases, 32 walks, a .530 slugging percentage, a .500 on-base percentage, and 12 stolen bases. As Kansas State’s everyday center fielder, Wiley has only two errors on the season.

What kind of start will Kansas State get out of Trevor Hurley? The sophomore right-hander (1-2) only has two starts this season, but put up solid numbers out of the bullpen. Hurley has a 3.44 ERA in 34 innings this season with 27 strikeouts to 10 walks. However, those numbers didn’t translate in his last start. Against Nebraska last weekend, he surrendered three runs in 4.2 innings, striking out one and walking three.

.973 —The Wildcats’ fielding percentage this season, which is third best in the Big 12.

4 —The number of wins Kansas State has against ranked opponents in 13 tries this season.

19 —The number of home runs Kansas State has hit this season, which is worst in the conference.

28 —The highest ranking the Wildcats have earned this season, jumping into the NCBWA Poll in the third week of March, only to lose their first two games of that week and fall back out of the poll.

2002 —The last season Kansas State qualified for the Big 12 Tournament.

Comments

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Advertisement