The Saint Mary baseball team played virtually flawless defense against the University of Kansas and got at least one baserunner in every inning except the fifth, but the Jayhawks — who are receiving votes for the baseball writers’ top 30 poll in Division-I and are ranked 34th in the RPI — ultimately outmuscled the Spires for a 10-0 victory at Hoglund Ballpark on Tuesday afternoon.
KU center fielder Brian Heere went 3-for-3 on a trio of extra-base hits with at least one RBI in each of them, and starting pitcher Taylor Poppe threw five no-hit innings to help head coach Ritch Price claim his 250th career victory, moving him past Dave Bingham into second place on KU’s all-time list.
USM, meanwhile, continued to be victimized by games against opponents who have been able to play more often so far this season. It was their eighth straight loss to start the year, but head coach Rob Miller was encouraged by the progress they showed on Tuesday.
“I feel real good about coming out today. Obviously you lose 10-0 ... but they’re a heck of a quality ballclub. Coach Price does it the right way,” Miller said. “But I think the kids did a great job. ... We’ve struggled mentally. Everybody’s trying to figure it out, and some of them are starting to panic because we’ve never been (in a losing streak like this before), but today was a step in the right direction. ... Even only producing three hits, we hit the ball today better than we have all year long.”
USM hit the ball hard all day but couldn’t catch a break. Devin Hupp hit a fly ball that KU left fielder Jimmy Waters had to run into the wall to catch, and Hupp later launched one that had home-run distance but was foul down the left side. Hupp’s fellow Pleasant Ridge alum Josh Barnes also hit the ball hard and lined out to center, and Kevin Joyce flied out to the warning track in right before getting one of USM’s three hits.
USM didn’t break up the Jayhawk no-hitter until two were out in the seventh, when Jeremy Warren found a hole between third and shortstop off KU reliever Jordan Jakubov. Warren said he thought he was about to get victimized by another good play, but he was relieved to see it go through to finally get the Spires in the hit column.
“I thought the third baseman was about to snag it and throw me out...” Warren said. “It felt good. I thought it would’ve happened a lot sooner from some of these other guys and not me. We hit the ball well, it just seemed like we hit it right at people or they made good plays on it. I mean they’re D-I, they’re good.”
Once USM got that hit out of the way, it didn’t take long to get the next one. Winston Hines swung at the next pitch from Jakubov and singled to put Warren in scoring position, but USM couldn’t capitalize. They stranded six runners on the day.
It took KU (8-3) a while, however, to pull away. They still led only 1-0 in the bottom of the third after USM starter Evan Faulkner gave up just two hits and no walks in two innings, but the Jayhawks were able to rally for four runs in the third off Leavenworth alum Charlie Mildner.
“I think our pitchers did an OK job,” Miller said. “Charlie struggled a little bit. ... He’s got to find a way to adjust quicker. But I feel pretty strong that our kids are right there. We’re just a little behind on the weather maybe still.”
USM did get solid pitching performances, though, from Hupp and Steve Maurin. Hupp struck out four and gave up just one run, one walk, and two hits in two innings, and Maurin pitched one shut-out inning.
The Spire offense finished having gotten nine runners on base. Turner alum Jesse Castro did so three times: He walked twice, was hit by a pitch, stole a base, and lined out to center.
“Warren’s been real close to getting where we want to him to be, and (Hupp) hits a 500-foot foul ball, he put together some pretty decent at bats today,” Miller said. “Barnes had a couple pretty good hacks in there. Winston Hines, he comes into the game late, sees one pitch, and hits a line drive right over the shortstop’s head. That’s the kind of stuff we need to start thriving on.”
USM will head to Texas this weekend for a pair of 1 p.m. non-conference doubleheaders against Northwood University on Friday and Saturday. They’re then scheduled to play their first two home games against Benedictine next Tuesday, weather permitting.
Regardless of how soon the Spires can get it turned around, though, Tuesday’s game against the flagship school of the Sunflower State was still a thrill for the USM players.
“It’s a blast,” Warren said. “It’s absolutely amazing to come out here and play. It was fun.”
