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Jayhawks drop opener to Coastal Carolina 11-3. Face an uphill battle to advance.

Kansas’ first NCAA game since 2006 went very badly for the Jayhawks.  Coastal Carolina took advantage of an off day by T.J. Walz to score six runs in the first three innings.  The Hawks were unable to get anything going offensively the entire game.  Only David Narodowski accounted for himself well in the batter’s box, going 3-3 with two solo homeruns.  In the end the Chanticleers won 11-3, and if anything the game was less competitive than that score indicates.

 

Kansas was pushed into the loser bracket of the regional today and now must win four games in three days if they are to advance.  The Hawks will face Ivy League champions Dartmouth today at Noon.  The game will be broadcast live on KLWN (AM 1320).  Coastal Carolina will face North Carolina at 4PM in the winner’s bracket.  Should KU defeat the Big Green today they will face the loser of this afternoon’s game tomorrow at Noon.  North Carolina defeated Dartmouth yesterday in a fairly tight game 5-2. 

 

A quick look at Dartmouth (27-17).  This is the Big Green’s first trip to the NCAA tournament in 22 years, although they did play in the College World Series in 1970.  They won the Ivy League regular season crown to claim an automatic bid.  The team’s strength is their offense.  They hit .311/.402/.485 this season, although one must keep in mind the level of competition they faced in most games.   They set new school records for most runs scored (339) and home runs (43) in a season.  Nick Santomauro (Jr. RF), the Ivy League player of the year ( .365/.445/.603 with 8 HRs and 40 RBIs) and  Ray Allen (Sr. DH), (.336/.408/.612 with 10 HR and 44 RBIs) led the offense.

 

Dartmouth started Robert Young yesterday so the Jayawks will see likely see Kyle Hendricks (6-2, 4.14 ERA) today.  Hendricks gives up a good number of base runners, 63 innings, 78 hits and 15 walks.  The Dartmouth pitching staff is not deep and they did use Ben Murray, their number three starter, for an inning in yesterday’s game, so KU can expect to score today.

 

After the jump, additional KU baseball notes and a yesterday’s box score. 

Narodowski ending the season hot: Junior shortstop David Narodowski only hit three home runs in his first 53 games but now has hit four in his last four games.  He has put together a very impressive year at the plate, going .354/.429/.537 with 7 homeruns, 40 RBIs, 19 doubles and six stolen bases.  His work in the field has been inconsistent, but everyone who has followed the team knows he has made more than a few outstanding plays at shortstop.  Narodowski is draft eligible and will likely hear his name called.  Personally I would be very happy if he stayed at KU for his senior season but would not be surprised to see him tempted away by a professional offer after one year in the Crimson and Blue.

 

Travis Blankenship sets record:  Travis appeared in his 38th game of the year yesterday setting a new KU single season record for most appearances by a pitcher.

 

Big-12 Scores:

Oregon State 9 - Texas A&M 8

Oklahoma State 10 - Alabama 6

Kansas State 16 - Xavier 8

Western Kentucky 11 - Missouri 5

Texas 3 - Army 1

Baylor 5 - Minnesota 0

Oklahoma 5 - Wichita State 4

 

Link to yesterday’s KU recap.

 

May 29, 2009 at Chapel Hill, NC (Boshamer Stadium)

Kansas 3 (37-23)

Player   ab    r    h  rbi   bb   so   po    a  lob 
Narodowski, David ss 
Price, Robby 2b 
Heere, Brian rf 
Afenir, Buck
Thompson, Tony 3b 
Lytle, Casey lf 
Faunce, Nick dh 
Land, Preston 1b 
  Waters, Jimmy ph 
Brunansky, Jason cf 
  Lisher, Brett ph 
Walz, T.J.
  Bollman, Brett p 
  Murray, Colton p 
  Bochy, Brett p 
  Burk, Kevin p 
  Blankenship, Travis p 
Totals  32  24 
  

Coastal Carolina 11 (47-14)

Player   ab    r    h  rbi   bb   so   po    a  lob 
NOEL, Rico cf 
RICE, Adam dh 
ANDERSON, David 1b 
BORTNICK, Tyler 3b 
BOWMAN, Daniel rf 
IGLESIAS, Jose c 
MOTTER, Taylor ss 
DAVIS, Steve 2b 
WOODWARD, Scott lf 
McCULLY, Nick p 
  FLEET, Austin p 
  ALTMAN, Kent p 
Totals  36  11  15  27  12 

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Kansas.............. 001 010 010 -  3  6  1
Coastal Carolina.... 312 013 01X - 11 15  1
-------------------------------------------
E - Thompson, T.(10); ANDERSON, D.(6). DP - Kansas 3. LOB - Kansas 6; CCU 12. 2B - Heere, B.(12); BOWMAN, D.(14); IGLESIAS, J.(17). HR - Narodowski 2(7); ANDERSON, D.(21); BOWMAN, D.(12). HBP - NOEL, R.; RICE, A.; BORTNICK, T.; BOWMAN, D.; IGLESIAS, J.; WOODWARD, S.. SB - NOEL, R.(47); BORTNICK, T.(10).

Kansas   ip  er  bb  so  wp  bk  hbp  ibb  ab  bf  fo  go  np 
Walz, T.J. L,8-3  2.2  12  19  75 
Bollman, Brett   2.1  14  14  46 
Murray, Colton   1.0  22 
Bochy, Brett   1.0  13 
Burk, Kevin   0.2 
Blankenship, Travis   0.1  10 
  
Coastal Carolina   ip  er  bb  so  wp  bk  hbp  ibb  ab  bf  fo  go  np 
McCULLY, Nick W,8-1  7.1  26  30  15  113 
FLEET, Austin   0.2 
ALTMAN, Kent   1.0  10 

Win - McCULLY, N. (8-1). Loss - Walz, T. (8-3). Save - None. WP - Murray, C.(3). HBP - by Walz, T. (RICE, A.); by Walz, T. (BORTNICK, T.); by Burk, K. (BOWMAN, D.); by Burk, K. (IGLESIAS, J.); by Blankenship (WOODWARD, S.); by Blankenship (NOEL, R.). BK - ALTMAN, K.(1). Pitches/strikes: Walz, T. 75/38; Bollman, B. 46/34; Murray, C. 22/13; Bochy, B. 13/8; Burk, K. 8/5; Blankenship 10/5; McCULLY, N. 113/78; FLEET, A. 5/4; ALTMAN, K. 10/9.

Umpires - HP: Mike Conlin 1B: Greg Charles 2B: Tim Catton 3B: Dale Luker
Start: 2 pm Time: 2:58 Attendance: 903
Weather: Mostly sunny, 79 degrees
Bollman, B. faced 3 batters in the 6th.