Club baseball team splits against Missouri state
Home runs cure game one woes for close victory in game two
The team came out in the second game with a new attitude, which resulted in a 6-7 victory.
Monday, April 28th, 2008
The University of Kansas club baseball team didn’t know what defeat felt like until Saturday when Missouri State ruined the Jayhawks’ perfect season during a doubleheader.
Kansas ended its season by losing 9-7 in game one, but came back in the second game and clenched a 7-6 victory. The team now has a 10-1 season record and is 12-1 overall.
In the first game against Missouri State, Kansas was up 6-4 until the top of the sixth inning. The Bears made five runs in the sixth inning, making it hard for Kansas to take the lead again.
“We didn’t hit with runners in starting positions, and we’ve been known to do that,” Kevin Sterk, Oak Lawn, Ill., outfielder, said.
By the time game two came around, the first loss left a bitter taste in the team members’ mouths. The team knew it had to come out sharper and play tougher.
In the first game, Sterk said, the atmosphere was tense and tight and it showed out on the field.
Known for being a loose team that jokes around and has fun, the team decided to forget about the first game defeat and work on having fun in the second game.
Mike Irvine, Chicago catcher, setting the pace of the game and started the game with a home run, which was the senior’s first of the season.
Sterk followed Irvine’s lead and hit a two-run home run during the fourth inning, making it his first home run of the season. The success and production of the team got better with each inning, and Sterk was 3-3 in home runs and had four RBI by the end of game two against the Bears.
Defense is usually a big problem for the team, but in both games, the defense stepped up and showed Missouri State that it wasn’t going to lose the second game. The offense, though, didn’t get going at a steady pace until the fourth inning in the second game.
“Our bats came alive more in the second game,” Irvine said.
Overland Park pitcher Jeff Moyer pitched for the entire duration of the game and helped the team with its victory. By the seventh inning, Missouri State caught up to Kansas and scored three runs. It was down to the wire when Missouri State hit a run on third that would tie the game. Coffeyville center fielder Dylan Dicharry, however, made a nice play that won the game for Kansas and kept its record to only one loss. Dicharry made a game-winning running catch in deep right-center field that sealed the deal for Kansas.
Kansas will play at Missouri in a doubleheader Wednesday night at 6 and 8. Missouri is in first place. Kansas will play a single against Missouri in Lawrence at 7:15 p.m. Friday to complete the three-game series. To prepare for the games against Missouri, Kansas will play Rockhurst University’s JV baseball team on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Kansas City, Mo.
“Rockhurst has good off-speed stuff, which will, most likely, be better than the pitching we’ll see from Missouri’s pitching,” Irvine said.
If Kansas can beat Missouri in two of the three games, it will win the conference championship title. The team will then advance to the regional tournament in Topeka from May 10 to 11. Irvine said that with solid defensive play and the team playing with the loose and fast mentality that it’s known for, the games against the Tigers should lead them to the conference title.
— Edited by Matt Hirschfeld
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