Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Jayhawks travel to Wichita today to compete in their last nonconference series of the year. The doubleheader against the Shockers begins at 5 p.m.
Wichita State currently resides in eighth place in the Missouri Valley Conference and is riding a two game winning streak, both coming against its conference rival Drake. Wichita State hasn’t fared well against the Big 12 Conference this season, going 1-4.
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Kansas vs. Wichita State
Wilkins Stadium
Game 1: 5 p.m.
Game 2: 7 p.m.
Junior first baseman Amanda Jobe tags a runner in Saturday's game against Baylor. Kansas split the doubleheader, and plays another against Wichita State today, but Kansas hasn't won any of its five games against Missouri Valley Conference teams this season.
The Shocker offense is led by second baseman Kara L’Huillier and catcher Heather Gerritse. Kersti Rowan leads the Missouri Valley in steals and has yet to be thrown out this season, going a perfect 15-15. It’s clear that Wichita State has a potent offense. It has a team average of .272, good for second in the Missouri Valley. However, the same can’t be said of its pitching and defense.
The Shocker pitching staff has a dismal ERA of 3.99 and has given up 385 hits in only 328 innings pitched, making Wichita State’s staff the worst in the Missouri Valley Conference. Defensively, it doesn’t get much better for the Shockers, who have committed 56 errors in 48 games.
Kansas comes into the doubleheader following its fifth conference series split against Baylor on Senior Day. On the season, the Jayhawks are 0-5 versus opponents in the Missouri Valley Conference.
“We haven’t had any success this year against teams from the Valley and we’ve struggled,” Coach Tracy Bunge said of the team’s record. “That’s one of the biggest differences between this year and last year.”
Over the last five games the Jayhawks are 2-3, losing to Drake and splitting Tulsa and Baylor. In those games, Kansas played poor defense but had a strong offensive output.
The team racked up 10 errors in the last five games. From the batter’s box, however, the Jayhawks have been hot. Over the last five, Kansas has hit a team average of .250 and knocked in an impressive 20 earned runs. Jayhawks combined to hit seven home runs, four of which came in Sunday’s losing effort against Baylor.
Kansas now sits at eighth in the Big 12, one game behind Oklahoma State. Kansas hopes to use the last three series of the season against Wichita State, Texas A&M and Iowa State, to help bolster its postseason resume.
— — Edited by Melissa Johnson
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