June 1, 2007

Shockers keep faith in Banwart
BY PAUL SUELLENTROP AND JEFFREY PARSON
The Wichita Eagle

Wichita State right-hander Travis Banwart's past four starts don't feel as bad in his head as they look on paper.

Banwart is 1-3 with a 5.76 ERA in that span. His performances against Northern Iowa and Cal State Fullerton don't bother him so much. He is unhappy with the way he pitched against Illinois State and Missouri State.

"Illinois State and Missouri State, I was definitely not on my game," he said. "I've been leaving the ball up a little bit. My off-speed (pitches) hasn't been quite as good. That's all going to change. I've got a better mindset now. It's going to be a totally different ballgame."

Banwart (9-5, 2.66 ERA) starts tonight for Wichita State. It is his third regional start. As a freshman, he won an elimination game against Austin Peay. Last season, he took a 17-3 lead into the seventh inning against TCU and earned the victory. His NCAA experience helps his preparation for tonight.

"It kind of takes the pressure off of you," he said. "I don't like to use pressure as an excuse, but with more experience, I'm a junior, I've been there and done that."

WSU pitching coach Brent Kemnitz isn't bothered by Banwart's recent performances. Banwart earned WSU's No. 1 spot on the weekends with a dominating series of starts earlier in the season. He gave up two earned runs in seven starts and struck out 57 in 46 innings.

With that in mind, Kemnitz kept Banwart as the top starter.

"He's just got to pitch his game," Kemnitz said. "He's a guy everybody believes in. If it was a deal where he just wasn't pitching well and he was just getting blistered, we would reassess the whole thing. We're not going to have blind loyalty."

Banwart seems confident that loyalty will pay off tonight.

"No worries," he said. "I'm all positive right now."

Money ball -- WSU may have been the final choice to host a regional, beating out Louisiana-Lafayette. Geography and money helped WSU.

Competition for regionals in the South is heavy, and Louisiana-Lafayette was sent to Texas A&M as the No. 2 seed.

"We're trying to promote college baseball across the country," NCAA selection committee chairman Larry Templeton told the Omaha World-Herald. "As you can see, we do not have any sites in the East or Northeast, and we were struggling to find some for the Midwest. In the case of Wichita State, geography was a deciding factor."

The minimum bid for a regional is $50,000. Athletic director Jim Schaus said WSU's bid exceeded $100,000.

"I don't think there was any question our bid was a real factor this year," Schaus said. "I bid these things to break even. If we go out early, we'll lose money, and that's OK."

The minimum bid for a super regional is $35,000. WSU is matched with the regional hosted by Texas. The Longhorns, because of stadium renovations on campus, are playing the regional at the nearby Dell Diamond in Round Rock. Should Texas host a super regional, it will host in Corpus Christi -- about 215 interstate miles from Austin.

Going fast -- As of Thursday afternoon, WSU had sold 2,095 all-session passes for the regional and 4,200 tickets for tonight's game.

Don't go to Koch Arena if you are looking for tickets today. Ticket operations move to the west side of Eck Stadium. Fans who want to buy tickets after tonight's game are advised to visit www.goshockers.com. The tickets office opens at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Winning in Wichita -- Arizona assistant coach Mark Wasikowski can't help having a good feeling about a trip to Wichita.

He asked his wife to marry him at the Hyatt in 1998, the same summer he coached the El Dorado Broncos to the NBC World Series title.

"I've got good memories," he said.

Wasikowski coached the Broncos for two summers and worked with former Shockers Kevin Hooper, Steve Foral, Jeremy Troutman and Joey Blue. Thursday, he talked with Shocker radio broadcaster Terry Elliot, who also played for the Broncos.

Wasikowski is no stranger to playing against the Shockers. He played for Pepperdine in 1992, when it defeated WSU in the College World Series. He was an assistant coach at Southeast Missouri State in 1998, losers to WSU in a regional at Eck Stadium.

Tough trip -- The New Orleans players were not looking forward to waking up Thursday morning.

That was due to a tough Wednesday. The Privateers arrived at the New Orleans airport at 10 a.m. for a scheduled noon flight. That was canceled, and the team was booked on a 6:30 p.m. flight, which was delayed twice.

"Some of us spent 10 hours at the airport," UNO starter Bryan Cryer said.

The Privateers reached their Wichita hotel at 2 a.m. Thursday.

A football mindset -- Arizona sophomore Daniel Schlereth has tried being a starter.

"I didn't really fit there," he said. "I'd just go out there and blow my guts out for two or three innings. Now closing, that fits my personality pretty well."

That is not a total surprise. Schlereth is the son of Mark Schlereth, an offensive lineman who played 12 seasons in the NFL. Mark won three Super Bowl rings with the Redskins and Broncos and is now an analyst for ESPN.

Daniel said growing up in a football house taught him about determination and intensity, which show up in his pitching.

"Every week was a grind for dad in the NFL," Daniel said. "I definitely saw that, and it's something I adapted to. I played football in high school, too. In baseball, there's not too many positions where you give it 100 percent on every pitch, so that's why closing fits me best."

Schlereth is one of the rare left-handed closers. He is 2-0 with a 2.53 ERA and team-high eight saves.

While many of the Wildcats were hoping to host a regional, Schlereth was sporting a wide smile Thursday. He said he cannot wait to pitch in an NCAA Tournament with his family in the stands.

"Plus, we took a chartered flight to get here, so how bad can it be?" he said. "And coming to a (stadium) like this is great. We're excited. We can't complain about anything."

Painful memory -- As the Oral Roberts players were getting settled into the Hyatt Wednesday, third baseman Carter McQuigg looked at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium beneath them and asked second baseman Jake Kahaulelio if he remembered playing in the NBC World Series.

"So I look down there," Kahaulelio said, "and I go, 'Oh man, that's where I broke my hand.' "

Yes, the NBC can create many special memories for players. For Kahaulelio, the first thing that pops in his head was taking a pitch off his right wrist last year, fracturing it.

Kahaulelio was playing for the Kenai Peninsula (Alaska) Oilers after being named co-Player of the Year in the Alaska Baseball League. It was not an easy trip.

"Well, first of all, we got here at like 10 o'clock at night and played our first game at 3 in the morning," Kahaulelio said. "We lost that and then had to play like at 8 a.m. It was tough."

The Oilers rebounded to go 2-2, but Kahaulelio was gone before the fourth game due to the injury. It also forced him to miss a month of fall drills at Oral Roberts.

"Since it was my throwing hand, there wasn't much I could do," he said. "I could field balls and them drop them into a bucket with my glove. That was about it."

That has not prevented Kahaulelio from a solid season. He has started every game and is hitting .323 with 11 doubles and 65 runs scored.