Morovick Fans 10 in Eighth-Straight Win for the Jayhawks Baseball Recap

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – In the final game of the Snowbird Classic, junior right-handed hurler Drew Morovick struck out a career-high 10 batters as the Kansas baseball team defeated St. Bonaventure, 9-4, Monday afternoon at North Charlotte Regional Park.
 
Morovick tossed five innings, allowing six hits, three runs and two walks to pace the Jayhawks (8-0) to their eighth-straight win to start the 2014 campaign, the most since 2002 when the squad started 10-0. In two starts this season, Morovick has tossed 12.1 innings, allowing nine hits, four runs and has recorded 15 strikeouts.
 
“My changeup was really what I was using for those lefties,” Morovick said. “It kind of looked like they have never seen a changeup before. Early on, the umpire had a wide strike zone, so we were working the outside corner to see how far we could get it off.”
 
KU recorded double-digit hits for the second-straight game and fifth time this season tallying 11 against St. Bonaventure (0-3). Junior left fielder Michael Suiter (3) and senior pitcher/designated hitter Dakota Smith (2) had multiple hits on the day for the Jayhawks, with Smith driving in two runs. Junior right fielder Connor McKay and senior centerfielder Tucker Tharp also put up a two spot in the RBI column, while sophomore first baseman Ryan Pidhaichuk had the game’s lone home run, coming in the sixth inning with two outs.
 
“It all starts with Skip (head coach Ritch Price),” Tharp said. “He talks about it every day to come out and get better than the previous day and our team takes it to heart. It starts with our seniors and then all the way down the line. I think if you approach every game with the right mentality no matter who you are playing, things should end up your way.”
 
Asa Johnson (0-1) started on the bump for the Bonnies and tossed six complete innings and is charged with the loss. He allowed eight hits and six runs, two of them earned, while recording two strikeouts.
 
In four games in Florida, Kansas scored 43 runs off of 52 hits, including eight doubles, four triples and three home runs for a .535 slugging percentage. The .318 team batting average ranks atop the Big and is a testament to the maturity and toughness of this team.
 
“You look across the country we are seeing national powers getting beat and to our guy’s credit we could have three losses, but we made three come from behind wins in our last at bat,” Price said. “Tucker Tharp had two game-winning hits, Ka’iana Eldredge had two game-winning hits. Guys have set the table ahead of them to put them in a position to do that. When you have guys that are juniors and seniors that have played as much as those guys have, this is the year they are supposed to take their game to the next level, and through the first eight games that’s what’s taken place.”
 
With the upcoming weekend forecast looking dim, Kansas has elected to move its home-opening series to Grand Prairie, Texas, where the team will play four games against Houston Baptist Friday, Feb. 28 – Sunday, March 2.
 
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