Price Falters Again in Postseason 2018
In what started as a close, back-and-forth game, Kansas fell to Wichita State 14-5 on Tuesday.
In their last meeting, the Shockers defeated the Jayhawks 11-0 in a completely one-sided affair at Eck Stadium. The second meeting proved to be more of the same.
Head coach Ritch Price has noticed the level of competition that Wichita State is and how the Shockers improved over the past several years.
"They're a good team, they're off to a good record," Price said. "I know they're disappointed in their conference record, but they've got to keep grinding just like we've gotta keep grinding to get back in this thing. We've pretty much beat them up pretty good the last six years, and they've beat us up both times this year."
The Jayhawks struck first on the offensive side, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Senior first baseman smacked a fly ball to left field, which was deep enough to score junior left fielder Devin Foyle from third base.
Junior Devin Foyle scores a run during the game against Wichita State on Tuesday, April 24. Kansas lost 14-5.
In the top of the third inning, the Shockers responded. Center fielder Travis Young launched a ball to the gap in right-center field and scored second baseman Jordan Boyer, tying the game at 1-1.
Yet, the scoring didn't stop there for either said. Kansas sophomore shortstop Benjamin Sems started the bottom of the third inning off with a double to left-center field. Junior center fielder Rudy Karre then laid down a bunt, beat the throw and put runners at the corners with no outs.
Just a few batters later, sophomore designated hitter Brett Vosik hit a bloop single to right field, scoring Sems and giving the Jayhawks a 2-1 lead.
Continuing the back-and-forth nature of the game, Wichita State took the lead right back in the fifth inning. Kansas pitcher Jonah Ulane left a pitch up in the zone and Wichita State infielder Luke Ritter got all of it, sending the ball over the left-center field wall, giving the Shockers a 3-2 lead.
Through the first five innings, Price was pleased with the play that he got out of his freshman pitchers, starter Conner VanCleave and reliever Jonah Ulane.
"We needed our starter to give us three good innings," Price said. "That's a big step forward for the freshmen. [Ritter] hits the home run off [Ulane], but it's a learning experience for him. He left that fastball right out over the middle of the plate. When you're throwing 87 mph, when you elevate the ball in the middle of the plate, you're going to get hurt."
Behind the performances of the young pitchers, the defense stood out. Junior third baseman David Kyriacou made several key defensive plays, including beating Young to the bag in the third inning and a diving stop to save a hit in the fourth inning.
For Price, this was a sight for sore eyes when it comes to Kyriacou's glove, as he has struggled this year in the field, even affecting his playing time.
"Obviously his bat is ahead of his glove and he's had a really tough time defensively for us during the course of the year," Price said. " He's struggled defensively and it was nice to see him play well today. We could definitely use his bat on the weekend, but in order to play in our league you've got to play defense."
Eventually, however, Kansas faltered on the defensive end, a trend that has plagued the team all season. Wichita State scored four runs, three with two outs, in the top of the sixth inning. Through a mix of walks, a sacrifice fly, a double, a single and Jayhawk miscues, the damage was done.
Senior Tyler Davis stepped in after the freshmen to pitch 1 1/3 innings, and Price was pleased with the effort, especially considering Davis had pitched over the weekend.
"We didn't want to use him," Price said. "But we were still in the game and we were trying to get out of the inning and give us a chance to hit again. He was our best chance to get out and that was a lot to ask for him when he pitched on Friday and Sunday."
Things got even worse for Kansas in the eighth inning, when Wichita State scored six runs and had 10 batters up at the plate, extending the lead to 14-2. Four runs were scored with no outs in the inning.
In the bottom half of the eighth inning, the Jayhawks knocked in three runs to cut the lead to 14-5, but it would prove to not be enough to overcome the deficit.
Kansas will next play St. Mary's on Wednesday at Hoglund Ballpark. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Source: https://www.kansan.com/sports/kansas-baseball-falters-once-again-to-give-wichita-state-/article_44910548-483c-11e8-b03b-43824f47df15.html
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