Baseball: KU (15-9) vs. Chicago State (3-15)

by James Quinn on Mar 25, 2008 9:34 AM CDT in Baseball Comment 5 comments

vs.

Kansas Jayhawks (15-9) vs. Chicago State (3-15)

Kansas will host two games vs. Chicago State on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both games have a 3PM start time. Sam Freeman and Hiarali Garcia will start for the Jayhawks. Chicago State enters the series with a record of 3-15 and an RPI ranking of #276. To my eyes the Cougars represent both the best and the worst of college baseball. [Update: Wednesday's game has been changed to a 1PM start time]

Last year when Chicago State visited Lawrence for a four game weekend series they could only bring 21 players. Kansas dominated the weekend, winning all four games. Three of the four were ended early due to the run-rule. This was pretty much par for the course for the Cougars last year. They finished the year with an NCAA record of 3-51. Midway through the season their head coach quit and the team had to complete the season under the intern leadership of hitting coach Husain Mahmoud. Mahmoud was named head coach during the off-season. Like last year, Chicago State will play almost the entire 2008 season on the road. They will only host three NCAA games, the first not occurring until April 9th. The university simply does not support the baseball team. Home games are played at a high school park located near campus. The university does not budget money for little but expected things, such as web site maintenance. This is a team fighting an uphill battle every week simply fielding a roster and making game dates.

Paradoxically, everything I wrote above also makes Chicago State represent the best of college baseball. The only reason a player would battle through adversity like this is due to personal pride and love of the game. These players will be away from campus probably 20 or 25 class days this semester touring. Even the paper roster is only 25 players deep, ten below the NCAA limit. Their university does as little as it can for the team without being charged with criminal neglect. Yet the Cougars DO function as a team, and do complete. Already this year they have won at Cincinnati and taken a three game series at Texas Southern.

Last year I had a nice talk with the father of Chicago State infielder Trenton Sanders. The Sanders and several other CSU supporters made the trip to Lawrence to watch their sons play. They told me they were enjoying their time in Kansas and found themselves on the road a good deal watching games. Young men playing a game they love for no reason other then it is a game they love, followed around the country by supportive parents - really, isn't this what we all want to see when we look into the heart of college baseball?

I am afraid I can only provide scouting information on the Chicago State roster based on limited statistics and my notes from last year. Thomas Creal (LF - 6) made several spectacular plays in the outfield last year. Josh Appelbaum (IF/P 7) and Johathan Wilson (DH/OF -3) got off to good starts at the plate this year - both hitting over .400 last time the CSU stat sheet was updated. Robert Vargas was the starting pitcher in two of the team's three wins. He looked very good in both games, going seven and six innings. He looks to be their senior ace. I do not know if he will get a start this week in Lawrence but if so, he is capable. The weather looks to be baseball friendly. Breezy but temperatures around 60 for both games. It will be nice to get back into the stands after the long road trip. See you at Hoglund. Texas A&M comes to town this weekend so plan ahead for this important conference series.

0 recs | Comment 5 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Final Score: KU 6 - Chicago State 4

Frustratingly, Kansas had its hands full this afternoon facing Chicago State. The Jayhawks built a 6-1 lead through five innings but they could never quite put the Cougars away. Their inability to stretch the lead almost came back to haunt them when Daniel Manos and Paul Smyth jointly melted down in the ninth inning. All ended well with a 6-4 KU victory, but this was not a game I expected to stay interesting until the final pitch.

Sam Freeman pitched very effectively through six innings to earn the win. Jimmy Waters hit his first homerun as a Jayhawk and John Allman collected three RBIs on the day. Robby Price laced two very solid base hits. And it was a nice day at the park, 60ish degrees with only a light breeze. That pretty well takes care of the positives.

A lot of frustration at the plate for Preston Land, Tony Thompson and Erik Morrison. All three wore a collar today.

The ninth inning was an adventure. Daniel Manos loaded the bases with one out on a walk, single and hit batter. Paul Smyth entered the 6-1 game needing two outs to secure the win. He got those two outs but not before allowing all three inherited runners to cross the plate. Single - Hit Batter - Hit Batter - Strikeout - Groundout.

Freeman goes to 4-0 on the year and the Jayhawks improve to 16-9. They get Chicago State again tomorrow at 1PM, and then will face Benedictine, a late added NAIA opponent, at 6PM. The Benedictine game will replace one of the two rainouts from Florida. Admission to the late game will be free.

KU recap and boxscore.

by James Quinn on Mar 25, 2008 6:22 PM CDT reply actions

Friday vs A&M

Fridays game has been moved up to 4pm because of the KU basketball game. Just FYI.

Beak Em' Hawks!

by bkmhoxx on Mar 26, 2008 2:37 PM CDT reply actions

Final Score: KU 12 - Chicago State 0

Finally KU blows a team out.

I was not able to make this game so I will just pass on the boxscore:
http://kuathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/032608aaa.html

Nice day at the plate for Allman, Ryne Price and Preston Land. Shaeffer Hall, Matt Lane, Thomas Marcin and Max Ellenbacker combine on the shutout.

The Hawks improve to 17-9 in anticipation of their big weekend series vs. A&M.

by James Quinn on Mar 26, 2008 5:42 PM CDT reply actions

Final Score: KU 7 - Benedictine 2

KU won the night cap game vs. Benedictine 7-2. Benedictine College is an NAIA from Atchison, Kansas so the game will not be factored into KU's RPI or NCAA standings. Just the same it gave the Jayhawks a chance to see several players in extended action.

T.J. Walz followed up his impressive start vs. Dartmouth with an equally impressive outing tonight. He came in to start the 4th inning and did not leave until one out into the ninth. In 5.1 innings he only gave up one hit while striking out six. Price must be liking what he is seeing out of this freshman.

Offensively Preston Land went 2-3 in the game. This capped a 4-5 day overall for Land and allowed him to rise his batting average about thirty points. Nick Faunce and Tony Thompson also both collected two hits.

KU recap and boxscore.

KU improves to 18-9 (16-9 in NCAA games).

by James Quinn on Mar 26, 2008 10:18 PM CDT reply actions

Quick little RPI note

KU has trouble scheduling mid-week games due to geography. There are just a handful of NCAA programs within a four hour drive of Lawrence. Because of this KU has to search hard to find teams able to travel to Lawrence for games on Tuesday and Wednesdays. A lot of the club who do agree to come are pretty low ranking teams, such as Chicago State.

These games hurt KU's RPI. Case in point, even though KU won both games against Chicago State they actually fell 10 slots in the RPI from 121 to 131.

This is just one of the geographic obsticles KU must overcome each year. Teams in the South East, in Texas and on the West Coast do not have similar scheduling problems.

by James Quinn on Mar 27, 2008 9:32 AM CDT reply actions