Dan Fitzgerald says his team is still in a good position
Kansas spent a good portion in recent weeks atop the Big 12 standings with a little cushion. Last week, that margin cut sliced down.
The Jayhawks dropped a midweek game at Creighton before being swept at home by West Virginia, finishing the week 0-4 and falling from No. 7 to No. 14 in the national rankings. But despite the rough stretch, Kansas still enters the final regular season weekend controlling its own path to a Big 12 title with a one-game lead and three games remaining.
Head coach Dan Fitzgerald said the response from his team over the last few days has been what he hoped to see after the difficult week.
“They’ve been great,” Fitzgerald said. “I met with some, jumped on the phone with some guys on Sunday, and then had some meetings yesterday, and it was business as usual yesterday. And honestly, by Sunday night, we addressed some things right after the game on Sunday, but they responded great, had a great practice.”
They returned to practice this week with good energy. Fitzgerald said there was little sign of frustration or panic around the program as they quickly turn their attention to a road series with BYU.
“Great spirits, got a lot of work done, and great energy,” Fitzgerald said. “You wouldn’t know. You’d have no idea whether we had won or lost last weekend being at our practice today. So, it was great.”
KU struggled offensively
The struggles last week were in big part to struggling offensively. Kansas had consistently pressured opposing pitching staffs throughout the season, but Fitzgerald said the Jayhawks didn’t do that in the four games.
“Well, we were bad all week offensively,” Fitzgerald said. “We weren’t great at Creighton, and then it carried into the weekend.”
Fitzgerald credited pitching from West Virginia but also believed his team pressed too hard at times after falling behind in games.
“I think it was guys trying to do a little too much,” Fitzgerald said. “I think playing from behind in some games where, you know, trying to swing momentum back by getting up there and trying to hit a home run instead of just moving the offense.”
Kansas has built much of its success this season by wearing down starting pitchers early in games and forcing opponents into their bullpens. Fitzgerald pointed to previous series as examples where the Jayhawks changed games simply by driving pitch counts up and consistently applying pressure offensively.
He used the first game against West Virginia as an example. Fitzgerald said it was the Mountaineers who got into the Jayhawks bullpen when usually it has been the other way around.
“But I think it was the lack of pressure, and our offense is built on just, you know, think of how many times we’ve gotten a starter out of a game by the fifth inning,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s kind of been our thing of just get to the starter and pass it along offensively. And we just didn’t apply enough pressure to do it.”
Kansas still in good position
Even after the sweep, Fitzgerald said the big picture has not changed inside the program. Kansas still sits in first place entering the final weekend and remains in strong postseason position with the possibilities still existing of hosting a regional.
The Jayhawks entered last weekend with a four-game conference lead. Now the margin is down to one game with three left to play, but Fitzgerald said most coaches would like to be in their position at this stage of the season.
“Our goal was never, ‘We’re going to win X amount of games’ or ‘win the Big 12 by X amount of games,’” Fitzgerald said. “It was always just… we want to play our best baseball at the end of the season.”
Fitzgerald said the program’s focus extends beyond finishing the regular season strong.
“And I mean the end of the season, not the end of the regular season,” Fitzgerald said. “Talking as late as we can possibly play, we want to be playing our best baseball.”
With one weekend remaining before postseason play begins, Kansas still controls everything it set out to accomplish entering the year.
“I think every coach in the country would take a one-game lead with three to play in their respective league,” Fitzgerald said. “I mean, it’s the exact spot you want to be in.”
