Thursday, February 26, 2009
On the bright side, things can only get better for Paul Smyth
The senior closer struggled again, giving up a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning as Kansas lost 9-8 to No. 21 Arkansas yesterday afternoon. Smyth blew his second save in as many chances and is now 0-2 with a 20.25 ERA in two appearances.
“Obviously, it’s a devastating loss,” coach Ritch Price said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t close the deal.”
Smyth wasn’t alone in his struggles. Sophomore pitcher T.J. Walz relieved starting pitcher Shaeffer Hall in the sixth inning and gave up two runs. All four pitchers that appeared for Kansas gave up at least one earned run.
Hall left the game after five innings with a 4-2 lead, but the Jayhawks bullpen gave up seven runs with Smyth allowing three runs in the final two innings to the Razorbacks.
“A couple of balls got away from him,” Price said. “They hurt him like good teams do.”
The offense gave Hall, who once again provided a quality start, an early lead with a four-run second inning. His performance wasn’t as dazzling as last weeks no-hitter, but Hall left the game in line to earn the victory, giving up two runs while striking out five and walking none. He also received another national player of the week award before the game, this time from collegebaseballinsider.com
Price said he was more impressed with this start than last week’s no-hitter.
“I thought he was better today than he was last Friday,” Price said, “because of the caliber of the opponent and pitching on four days rest.”
The Jayhawks used a big inning to get the offense rolling. They struck in the top of the second, putting up four runs on five hits with the big blow coming from senior centerfielder Nick Faunce’s two-out, two-run double. Once again, Kansas put up runs without hitting a home run.
“I can’t remember the last time we played five games without hitting a home run,” Price said. “We have to play a little bit differently than we played before.”
That small-ball approach was put to the test in the top of the ninth inning. Down by one run, Kansas used a single, a passed ball on a strikeout and another single, all with two outs, to send the game to extra innings. Sophomore third baseman Tony Thompson, who reached first and kept the inning alive on the wild pitch, said he liked the Jayhawk’s resiliency so far.
“I think it shows a lot of how our team has improved this week,” Thompson said. “We’re not just going to lay down and die in any games this year, and that’s going to be a big plus for us.”
After a week-long road trip in which Kansas has traveled from Tennessee to Arkansas, Price’s team will finally be able to enjoy the comforting confines of Hoglund Ballpark next week. Price said he hopes Kansas’ consistent improvement will continue in Lawrence.
“We’re definitely a lot better than we were last Friday,” Price said. “Now we need to go out next week and get better next week.”
— — Edited by Andrew Wiebe
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