Wednesday, April 22, 2009
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wednesday night Kansas spelled redemption L-A-N-D.
Senior first baseman Preston Land continued to prove why he’s been a starter the last four seasons, even if the last two haven’t been starter material.
Land’s sixth inning, three-run home run helped Kansas bounce back from an early deficit to defeat border rival Missouri 7-3 at Kauffman Stadium.
Photo Gallery
Kansas Baseball vs. Missouri
A photo gallery of the Kansas men's baseball team against Missouri Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
“Especially after making an error earlier in the game, redeeming yourself like that and getting the runs back on the board felt real good,” Land said.
Land has been looking for redemption all season after mediocre sophomore and junior seasons. After hitting .314 as a freshman and earning All-Big 12 preseason mentions before his sophomore season, Land struggled the next two years, hitting .206 and .221.
And this season started similarly. In Land’s last eight games, he was 2-for-23 with no home runs, one RBI and 13 strikeouts. Since the Texas Tech series last weekend, Land has gone 4-for-16 with three home runs and six RBIs. Wednesday night’s home run wasn’t even a sure thing. Land said he doubted whether he got enough of the inside fastball.
“When I was rounding first, I saw the guy at the wall and I was like ‘Oh come on, don’t tell me he’s going to rob this,’” Land said.
It wasn’t robbed and Kansas picked up its 27th victory of the season, only three back of last year’s total. Coach Ritch Price has stuck with Land all season, and he said he was glad his senior was able to get back into a groove, especially against the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium.
“I tell you what guys, it’s been a long four years too,” Price said laughing. “I feel really good for him.”
In Missouri’s two-run fourth inning, Land failed to make two plays he typically makes. One was a dropped ball on a Tiger bunt attempt as sophomore third baseman Tony Thompson made a strong throw to Land. The other was on a double-play attempt as Land was falling off the bag.
Junior shortstop David Narodowski, who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, said the team wasn’t pressing after the inning. The Jayhawks were held to one run through five innings.
“It was early still, it wasn’t slipping away — definitely not,” Narodowski said. “I mean we still had five, six innings left. A lot of at-bats, a lot of innings, no pressure definitely.”
Narodowski’s two-RBI single in the eighth inning was the clincher that provided much-needed insurance runs. Kansas scored six runs in the final four innings to Missouri’s one.
Narodowski hasn’t been around to watch Land’s previous three seasons. But he’s heard the struggles from other teammates and said it was good to see the old Land tonight.
“It’s awesome. It’s good to see him back,” Narodowski said. “He had a rough start to the season, and it’s good to see him start hitting the ball, getting guys in, getting some RBIs, hitting the ball out of the park.”
The energy level from the team was evident as Kansas repeatedly high-fived, yelled and cheered. The culmination of it all was Land’s long drive, when the entire dugout exploded in uproarious cheers.
“It’s just exhilarating for every person in the dugout,” Price said.
The Kansas bullpen made sure that Land’s home run would not be in vain. The Jayhawk relievers pitched three-plus innings. Freshman Colton Murray picked up his second victory of the season, and junior left-hander Travis Blankenship quieted the Missouri faithful down the stretch.
“He’s been outstanding. He’s only had two bad outings all year,” Price said. “He’s the only left-hander we have in the bullpen, and he’s really special.”
But the game was all about Land. From his teammates encouragements to his coach’s faith, Land’s story of the season, and the game, was all about redemption.
“I’d like to keep it up here the next four weeks down the stretch,” Land said. “See if I can continue to help the team win.”
— — Edited by Andrew Wiebe
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