Friday, April 11 @ Millersville:
Game 1: L 1-5
Phil Rummel allowed just one earned run, but five KU errors allowed the Marauders to muster up five runs en route to the 5-1 win. Rummel threw the entire six innings for the Golden Bears and allowed just four hits, while striking out six. KU managed just three hits with Jeff Kistle accounting for two of them and Chap Lightcap recording the other.
Game 2: L 0-6
The offense was even worse in game two as it managed just two hits in a 6-0 loss. James Quigley and Garrison Rausch each had a single in the second inning. Justin Jachowicz started for KU and took the loss. He allowed just one run on three hits in four innings of work. Mike Bucklin got rocked for five runs on six hits in 1.2 innings of relief.
Saturday, April 12 vs. Millersville:
Game 1: W 3-2
Seven different Golden Bears recorded at least one hit as KU won game one on Saturday 3-2. Jeff Kistle was the only Golden Bears with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI. Matt Kulbacki was 1-of-2 and had the other two RBIs. Darin Gorksi continued his stellar play on the hill, allowing just two runs, one earned, on five hits in a complete game effort. He struck out 10 Marauders.
Game 2: L 1-3
KU managed eight more hits in game two, but could get just one run across and fell 3-1. Scott Kacelowicz was 3-for-3 at the plate and drove in the only KU run. Garrison Rausch showed he is beginning to heat up by scoring the team’s lone run in a 2-for-3 effort at the dish. Derek Reis took the loss for KU
, allowing three runs on 12 hits in just over six innings of work.
What we liked:
Although it only resulted in wins in one of the four games, the starting pitching was stellar as usual. Darin Gorski continues to dominate and is now 6-2 with a 2.61 ERA this season. Derick Reis had a rough outing, but is still 1-2 with a 2.43 ERA in 2008. Phil Rummel had a nice outing if you ignore the five KU errors and is 4-3 with a 3.40 ERA this season. If the Golden Bears have a chance to come back and make the playoffs, it’s going to be the continued efforts of the pitching staff. Garrison Rausch has struggled on the hill and at the plate this season, but that wasn’t the case against Millersville. He wasn’t called on to pitch, but he was 3-of-6 (.500) at the plate and scored a run. Jeff Kistle was one of the top hitters as well, going 4-for-8 (.500) at the plate while driving in a run.
What we didn’t like:
The young offense has not been able to produce against the PSAC East pitching and it is costing them in the standings. Against Millersville, seven regulars (at least six total at-bats over the four games) batted .200 or worse. Mike Kacelowicz was 1-for-11 (.091), Chad Lightcap was 2-for-12 (.167), Jared Frey was 1-for-13 (.077), James Quigley was 2-for-10 (.200), Corey Buletza was 1-for-10 (.100), Mark Renda was 1-for-7 (.143), and Mike Dugan was 0-for-6 (.000). KU scored just five runs on 21 hits in the four games.
Impact:
The Golden Bears needed a split with the Marauders just to remain tied with them for the third and final playoff spot in the East. Instead, they fall to 5-7 and are tied with
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2 comments:
Dear editor,
As an avid fan and supporter of the KU Golden Bears baseball team I feel you have underestimated the hitting abilities of the players. I understand your comments about how bad they hit in the series but at the same time they had no luck. Batters 1-6 Mike Kacelowics, Jared Frey, Chad Lightcap, Corey Buletza, James Quigley, and Mike Dugan all did struggle that series I would agree. What you can't count on though is hard hit balls getting caught. Hitters 1-6 squared up at least 10 balls which could have accounted for 5 or 6 runs the team needed. Sometimes that is just the way the cookie crumbles. :o)
Thanks for the comment.
I'm not going to disagree that bad luck in placement of hits can cost a team from time to time, but we are talking about a team which has been poor offensively all season. I'm not saying they don't have the talent, but it is an extremely young offense that will come into it's own with time. No one could honestly have expected these kids, many who were either redshirted or playing at the high school level a season ago, to automatically contend with the top teams in the region. It's just unrealistic.
Here are some numbers to support the offensive struggles.
Of the 10 PSAC teams, this is where KU ranks in several major categories:
Batting Avg: 7th
Slugging: 9th
On base %: 7th
Runs: 8th
Hits: Last
RBIs: Last
Triples: Last
Homers: Last
Total Bases: 9th
You can't honestly say that is a product of bad luck. Fortunately for KU, they rank near the top of the PSAC in most pitching categories, which could be their saving grace towards making the playoffs. With that said, you can't win if you don't score.
Hope that helped.
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