Jayhawks fall short against South Dakota State
Feb. 10, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS –
Senior Kyle Murphy went 3-for-3 with a triple and junior Erik Morrison hit a three-run homer, but it was not enough as the University of Kansas fell to South Dakota State, 6-5 in the opener of a three-game series at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome early Saturday morning.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
KU falls to 5-1 on the season, while the Jackrabbits earn a victory in their first game of the season.
In the second game of the doubleheader, KU leads 3-2 after eight innings. Play had to be suspended because the field needed to be cleared at 7 a.m. Saturday morning. Junior John Allman had just given KU the lead with a two-run single in the eighth.
The ninth inning of the game will be played beginning at 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning, with game three of the series to follow.
In the first game, Jake Rogers’ two-run homer to left field erased a 5-4 Jayhawk lead and lifted Jackrabbits to a come-from-behind victory over previously unbeaten KU.
After spotting the Jacks a 2-0 lead, the Jayhawks came back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. After an error and a walk, Morrison belted a 0-1 pitch into the left field bleachers to give KU a 3-2 advantage. It was the junior shortstop’s first homer of the season; last year he led the team with 14.
SDSU tied the score in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by Tyson Fisher, but the Jayhawks reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning after a three-base hit by Murphy and a sacrifice fly by junior Brock Simpson. In five starts this season, Murphy is hitting .429 with a double, a triple and a home run.
KU broke another tie in the bottom of the seventh on Joe Servais’ RBI-single which scored Ryne Price, who led off the inning with a walk. However, the team could not recover from the <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Rogers home run in eighth despite putting runners on in both the eighth and ninth innings.
Sophomore relief pitcher Kevin Morsching earned the victory in relief, while KU senior Ryotaro Hayakawa was saddled with the loss. Jayhawk starting pitcher Zach Ashwood allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings, but struck out seven of the 23 batters he faced. In two starts this season, Ashwood has allowed four walks, while striking out 14.
Game Notes: The three-game series, which was originally scheduled for Hoglund Ballpark, had to be moved to the Metrodome due to inclement weather in Lawrence. Start times for the games were scheduled around the Hurricane Winter Invitational, a college baseball tournament which features several Division II and NAIA schools from the upper Midwest … This series will mark the first of two Major League parks the Jayhawks will visit during the 2007 season. On April 25, KU is scheduled to face Missouri at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
