Monday, February 25, 2008
Kansas departed for Hawaii having won 24 of 31 games all-time against Hawaii-Hilo. By the time the Jayhawks returned home from their five-game series with the Vulcans, Kansas had lost its first-ever series to Hawaii-Hilo.
In a series that saw both teams combine for 18 errors, it was only fitting that defensive mishaps on the Hawaii-Hilo (4-4) side helped spark the Kansas (2-3) offense to a 16-4 victory. On the mound, junior left-hander Sam Freeman (1-0) was one of a select few Jayhawk pitchers to tame the Vulcan bats as he cruised to victory.
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For an in-depth look at the Jayhawks' games, check out the Wrap-Up.
After three innings of scoreless baseball, Kansas exploded for eight runs in the fourth.
Junior first baseman Preston Land singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on an error by Vulcan pitcher Jesse Moon (0-1), but Land’s biggest hit was yet to come while Moon’s problems would only multiply.
Moon followed up his error with a walk to senior right fielder Ryne Price and found the bases loaded when senior shortstop Erik Morrison reached on a fielder’s choice that failed to net an out. Vulcan third baseman Peter Rodgers didn’t do Moon any favors, committing an error on a ball hit by Kansas freshman third baseman Tony Thompson, letting Land cross the plate for Kansas’ first run.
Three Kansas runs later, and Moon handed the ball off to Casey Koizumi. Koizumi faired no better.
In addition to hitting a batter and throwing a passed ball, Koizumi allowed the Kansas offense to bat back around to Land – a mistake the Kansas cleanup hitter made him pay for. With two men on, Land brought everybody in with a home run to center field. The home run was Land and Kansas’ first of the season and gave Freeman a comfy 8-0 lead to work with.
After sitting through two extra inning losses earlier in the series, Freeman eliminated any chances for a Hawaii-Hilo comeback. Freeman, who transferred to Kansas at semester, pitched four scoreless innings before Hawaii-Hilo scratched its first run in the fifth.
In all, Freeman threw six innings, striking out four, while allowing two runs on nine hits and a walk. Not bad, considering Kansas’ three previous starting pitchers combined to allow 11 runs on 19 hits and seven walks in 12.2 innings, while striking out eight.
For good measure, Kansas added six runs in the sixth, batting around for a second time, and two runs in the seventh. Six Jayhawks collected hits in the sixth, including senior catcher Joe Southers, who led the inning off with a triple and added a single later on. In the seventh, senior first baseman Justin Ellrich followed Land’s lead with a two-run shot of his own to right field.
The Vulcans added a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh off freshman right-hander Brett Bochy, but never threatened to take their fourth game of the series. As part of a doubleheader, the game went seven innings, rather than nine.
Kansas’ 16 runs in the series finale surpassed the 10 combined runs the Jayhawks scored the first four games of the weekend. Kansas coach Ritch Price can only hope the 16-run onslaught will kick start his offense with the likes of No. 21 Arkansas, No. 6 Vanderbilt, Xavier and Iowa coming up this week.
— Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
Baseball wrap-up
Here's a look at the baseball team's games in Hawaii.
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