Jayhawks bash Bluejays by seven runs

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

With warm, sunny weather setting the scene, the Jayhawks got off to an explosive start Tuesday against the Tabor College Bluejays at Hoglund Ballpark.

Senior right-hander Hiarali Garcia, (9-5) sent the Bluejays (5-12) down in order in the first and set the tone for what would lay ahead.

Photo Gallery

Kansas Baseball vs. Tabor College

A photo gallery of the Kansas baseball game against Tabor College Tuesday afternoon.

Leading off the bottom of the first with back-to-back bunt singles by junior center fielder Nick Faunce and sophomore second baseman Robby Price, senior left fielder John Allman took the plate and crushed a deep shot to left field to give Kansas a 3-0 lead.

“I was looking for something middle ten and something I could put a good swing on,” Allman said. “I got a ball that was elevated enough and was able to put it over the fence. It was a good job of those first two guys getting on base and getting in scoring position.”

The Jayhawks managed to carry the momentum into the top of the third inning, when Bluejays junior first baseman Alfred Wilson tripled, scoring junior second baseman Travis Schafer.

With the Bluejays climbing back into the game 3-1, the Jayhawks responded in the next half-inning. After an Allman walk, junior first baseman Preston Land sent a ball screaming down the left-field line for a double and put two runners in scoring position. The next batter to the plate was senior right fielder Ryne Price, who got an RBI on a one-hopper to the Tabor second baseman.

The Jayhawks would add another run when Land came around to score on a wild pitch and finished the inning up by four.

The Bluejays would continue to go quietly as the Jayhawk bullpen ran through a number of its pitchers to silence Tabor’s bats.

Allman led the Jayhawks, who had 10 hits, at the plate, going 2-2 on the day with two BB, three RBI and a home run.

With the bats cooling, senior shortstop Erik Morrison re-energized the team with a solo shot to left in the sixth. Morrison’s home run marked his first of the season and the 24th of his career as a Jayhawk.

“I normally struggle with guys who throw mid-70’s to low 80’s,” Morrison said. “I got lucky and caught one that hung up inside and I guess I put a decent swing on it.”

In the eighth inning, after a double from freshman left fielder Blake Slage moved sophomore second baseman Robby Price to third, senior first basemen Justin Ellrich singled home both runners.

The offensive effort was more than enough, as the Hawks finished off the Bluejays 8-1, giving Garcia his first win of the season.

Other than just getting a victory, the day proved to be beneficial, as 19 position players saw playing time and six different pitchers took the mound.

“These games are very helpful,” Land said. “It’s a good opportunity for some of our younger guys to get in and get some playing time.”

While these games may seem to be blowouts to the average fan, coach Ritch Price thinks differently.

“I think they are a lot better than a practice,” Price said. “You’re playing these games to try and give the opportunity to some of your young guys to emerge. For us today it was an important outing for T.J. Walz. He has struggled after Christmas and hasn’t been sharp in the games he has been in and today he goes out there and threw the ball like the guy we thought were recruiting and that is important for him. It gave him a chance to gain some confidence.”

The Jayhawks got their seventh win in a row and will try to keep momentum going to Missouri State today and then head to Austin on Friday to face the Longhorns at 6:05 p.m. in the first game of a three-game weekend series.

— Edited by Daniel Reyes

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