Monthly Archives: April 2008

WSU at Oklahoma

April 30, 20085:37 p.m.

OU 12, WSU 11, a final: Another painful loss for the Shockers. They led 10-7 in the ninth and 11-10 in the 10th. OU wins it on a two-run double by Mike Gosse off WSU freshman Justin Kemp. Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments (0)

Northern Iowa’s baseball future

April 30, 200811:31 a.m.

UNI visits Eck Stadium this weekend for an MVC series between the teams tied for first place. The Panthers are playing while rumors about disbanding the program circulate. Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments (0)

Headed to Oklahoma

April 30, 200811:22 a.m.

Panic time after a disappointing loss to Kansas State? I think it’s too early to say the Shockers have blown a chance to host a regional. It’s easy to get caught up in WSU’s up-and-down play in recent weeks. It’s important to remember other teams are also struggling. Exhibit A is Missouri, which has lost five in a row. Tuesday, KU’s Shaeffer Hall shut out the Tigers for seven innings in a 3-0 victory. The first loss of that streak came to Southern Illinois. Missouri, once a lock to host, is wobbling. Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments (0)

WSU at Indiana State

April 25, 20084:41 p.m.

Saturday afternoon at Sycamore Field. Sunny. A little cool. The wind is not nearly the factor it was Friday. Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments (0)

WSU at OSU

April 23, 20087:03 p.m.

Final: OSU 5, WSU 3. OSU is fantastic hitting team. Make the slightest mistake, and they pound it. Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments (1)

Kansas at WSU

April 22, 20086:33 p.m.

Final: WSU 6, KU 4. Khol Nanney kept the game from getting nutty with 2 2/3 perfect innings. He struck out five. The Jayhawks rallied with a solo home run in the sixth and a two-run blast in the seventh off WSU reliever Matt Smith. Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments (1)

Bobby Maze and WSU

April 22, 200811:36 a.m.

Shocker fans who follow recruiting closely are buzzing about Hutchinson Community College point guard Bobby Maze. He is a free agent after Maryland backed out on the commitment. WSU appears to be in the picture, although the list of schools recruiting Maze reveals tough competition.

“It’s a long shot,” HCC coach Ryan Swanson said. “I would say right now he wants to go high-major. He’s a high-major player. That being said, I would also not be surprised if he’s interested in talking to Wichita State.”

Maze will visit Saint John’s this weekend. Swanson said Kentucky, Cincinnati and Southern Cal are also interested. Maze played at Oklahoma as a freshman. At Hutch, he averaged 20.7 points and was named NJCAA All-American.

Whether or not WSU lands Maze (What fun is recruiting without dreams?), this story seems to highlight the fact WSU coaches enjoy a strong relationship with the Jayhawk Conference. Swanson said he regularly talks with coach Gregg Marshall and assistant Chris Jans. Several Jayhawk teams, including Hutch, practiced at Koch Arena last season. Hutch came down when the Sports Arena was booked. As Swanson said, it’s a no-brainer to work the jucos in Kansas for WSU. But as WSU fans can attest, it hasn’t always been that way. Jans, a former Jayhawk coach, and the rest of the staff seem to put a priority on the jucos.

As for Maze and WSU, Swanson said the WSU coaches know about his availability. Swanson is not sure how Maze fits in at WSU. He is a point guard, and WSU already has two transfer point guards coming in for next season. Maze, according to Swanson, likes Marshall and Jans. He plays pickup with the Shockers and came to WSU games last season.

“He was impressed,” Swanson said. “He liked the way they played. He knows they’re going to get better.”

 

In another piece of recruiting news, Blair Academy coach Joe Mantegna said WSU has inquired about 6-9 forward Alex Vouyoukas and transcripts are on the way to Wichita. The Shocker coaches may want to see him play before progressing. He said his player would be very interested, should an offer materialize. Vouyoukas, from Greece, signed with Davidson but was not admitted.

 

You can read more about him at The Dallas Morning News’ North Texas blog. Sounds like the Mean Green are interested.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball, Recruiting | Comments (0)

WSU falls in polls

April 21, 200812:27 p.m.

Not surprisingly, a 3-2 week with two shutout losses and an NAIA win dropped WSU from its top 10 spot in the polls. WSU falls from No. 7 to No. 14 in Baseball America. Oklahoma State moves up to No. 13 from No. 18.

From Omaha, comes news the Bluejays quarreled a bit during Sunday’s loss to Northern Iowa. Creighton is out of the MVC race and it really needs to get hot to salvage the season. Injuries to pitchers Ben Mancuso and Casey Schmidt really hurt the Jays.

Northern Iowa says it deserves to be considered a contender after winning two of three from Creighton. The Panthers are in first place in the MVC at the halfway point.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments (0)

SIU at WSU, Game 3

April 20, 200812:42 p.m.

Final: WSU 8, SIU 3. WSU wins its 13th straight MVC series. Gillaspie drove in three runs. Coleman and Bascue two each.

In other news, Tim Kelley will be moved back to Wednesday to face Oklahoma State. Tyler Fleming or Justin Kemp will start Tuesday against Kansas. Kelley earned the shot to face the Cowboys, plus KU has already seen him. The Shocker bullped pitched 1 1/3 innings over the weekend, so it is fully ready to help out in the mid-week.

WSU 8, SIU 1 after six: Bret Bascue drove in two more with a single to left. Dirks has scored three runs. Capra still pitching for WSU. He has retired 10 straight entering the inning.

WSU 5, SIU 1, after four: Andy Dirks records WSU’s first extra-base hit of the series with a double off the top of the wall. He scored on a double by Gillaspie. Kenny Williams, who hustled out an infield single, should have scored from first on Gillaspie’s blast to left. He did not, and Gene Stephenson aired him out a third.
WSU 3, SIU 1, after three: Conor Gillaspie bounces a two-RBI single into left to give WSU a 2-1 lead. He then steals second and broke for third, moving the shortstop, to allow Dusty Coleman to bounce one into the hole and score another run.

Tyler Hill goes back to first base after a day off for the Shockers. Bret Bascue will DH. SIU is going with right-hander Andrew Dunn instead of right-hander David Kington as its starter. Dunn is 2-4 with a 3.37 ERA. Opponents are hitting .301 against him. He has 12 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings.

Here’s my thought on the rest of the week: Tim Kelley should flip with Clint Maune and start Wednesday at OSU. Kelley proved himself, in my mind, at Nebraska. WSU’s bullpen should be rested and ready to help out Tuesday. Or, maybe it’s time to think about starting Tyler Fleming. WSU’s weekend starters eat up so many innings, Fleming may not be as crucial as he once was. He started at Cowley and has thrown more than four innings twice this season in relief. Are you getting maximum production out of his arm on the weekends? Can the bullpen work without him? We’ll see if there is any enthusiasm for these moves from WSU coaches.

While we’re waiting, here’s a column from the Topeka Capitol-Journal on why minor-league baseball didn’t work in Wichita. Shocker fans take the hit.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments (0)

SIU at WSU, Game 2

April 19, 20081:38 p.m.

Final: SIU 3, WSU 0. Topekan Shawn Joy baffles the Shockers. That’s the second shutout in three games for the Shockers. There are lots of guys in this lineup that need to get their bats going. The return of Josh Workman, perhaps Sunday for a pinch hit, is looking crucial. WSU needs his bat and it needs somebody to hit as the DH and the first baseman.

SIU 3, WSU 0 going to the bottom of the seventh: The Salukis break through against Shafer with three hits, all singles, in the top of the seventh. SIU is sticking with Shawn Joy.

0-0 after six: Joy continues to work through the Shockers. WSU had men on first and second in the fifth. Kyle Sisney hit into a double play to end the inning.

0-0 after three: WSU pitcher Aaron Shafer is dominant. No hits. He got ahead 0-2 on five straight batters and struck them all out. SIU’s leadoff batter reached on catcher’s interference in the first and that’s it. THe Shockers aren’t doing much against Shawn Joy. Andy Dirks has both of WSU’s hits.

Clinton McKeever gets a try at first base today in place of Tyler Hill. Hill provides an enormous sense of security with his defense. His averages dropped to .248 (batting) and .315 (on-base) after Friday’s 0-for-3 performance. He hasn’t two hits in a game since March 30 against North Dakota State.

Tyler Weber will DH and Cody Lassley will catch.

The Shockers stole nine bases Friday. Today, SIU will try Tyler Bullock behind the plate and Mark Kelly goes to DH. Bullock has thrown out three of six on the basepaths. He has started six games at catcher.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments (0)