Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Statistically out of the chase for the Big 12 Conference regular season title, the Kansas Jayhawks now have to jockey for position.
With six conference games left, the Jayhawks (16-25, 4-8) could finish as high as 10-8 in the conference, and a favorable seed may give Kansas hope to bring home the Big 12 postseason title, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 2006. Luckily for the Jayhawks, they’ll have the next three games to build momentum.
Kansas arrived in Tulsa last night eager to play Tuesday’s doubleheader, seeking to shake off being swept by No. 24 Texas over the weekend.
Senior outfielder Dougie McCaulley dives for a catch during the Jayhawks' April 11 game against Oklahoma. The Jayhawk's won 4-2 over the Sooners, but a string of losses earlier in the season will prevent the team from winning the Big 12 Conference regular season title.
“We need to focus on the fundamentals and play our game,” senior outfielder Dougie McCaulley said Monday. “We’ve got to build momentum before this last stretch. As a team, we can’t beat ourselves like we did against Texas.”
Beating Tulsa would provide a much needed confidence boost and a solid start to the nonconference three-game stretch. The Hurricane Golden Hurricane (28-14, 10-4) are second in the Conference USA, seven games behind East Carolina. Pending a monumental collapse by East Carolina, it looks like Tulsa is jockeying, too.
Riding a five-game winning streak, Tulsa has been executing in all three facets of the game. The Golden Hurricane offense is led by corner outfielders Lauren Lindsay and Brooke Smart, who hit .378 and .375 respectively. The team has a batting average of .290. Jackie Lawrence (12-4) leads the pitching staff in wins and innings pitched while maintaining a stellar 1.55 ERA. Behind her, the Golden Hurricane defense has committed only 36 errors, successfully completing 96.5 percent of its defensive plays.
So far this season, Tulsa is 2-4 against the Big 12. Highlights include a split with Texas A&M and a victory over Oklahoma State.
Though inconsistent, the Jayhawks have proven that they can beat any team on any given day and are fully capable of making a strong push, not only in the last 11 games but in the conference tournament as well.
“When we’ve won we’ve focused on the details, made key plays and had timely hitting,” senior right fielder Stevie Crisosto said. “When we’ve lost we haven’t had that. That’s a big difference for us.”
Kansas will need two quality starts from pitchers Val George and Sarah Vertelka. George (9-12) leads the team with 141 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.71 in 25 appearances. Vertelka (6-8), who has appeared 26 times, has a 3.10 ERA.
Third baseman Val Chapple and center fielder Dougie McCaulley lead the Jayhawk hitters. Chapple has a .319 batting average, 20 RBIs and has scored 20 runs; McCaulley bats .310 and has scored 25 runs. Liz Kocon and Allie Clark both have team-high 22 RBIs. Clark also leads the team in home runs with five. As of late, that timely hitting has come from the bat of catcher Elle Pottorf.
— — Edited by Susan Melgren
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