WRITER: David Rodish

Leipold provides progress report as KU football holds open practice for fans at Lawrence High

The Kansas football team took the mile-long trip south to Lawrence High School on Saturday for a spring practice session open for fans to watch and enjoy. “To get in front of people and see how people play in front of others in a lot of different situations... we got a lot done,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “The ‘oohs and aahs’ of the fans, the band being here also added a lot today. I think it ...

Cold offense leads Lawrence softball to 5-3 loss to Blue Valley West

Lawrence softball just couldn’t turn in hits, and a late push wasn’t enough in a 5-3 loss to Blue Valley West at home on Friday. “We really haven’t swung the bats well all year,” Lawrence coach Michael Byrn said. “Maybe we have to change our approach, do bunts, squeeze, something. We’re not getting runs.” Blue Valley West took the lead in the opening inning, which started with a leadoff single. ...

City Showdown: Free State softball survives late push to get 4-3 road win over Lawrence

Free State entered the bottom of the seventh on Thursday with a one-run lead after the Firebirds allowed Lawrence to score three runs the prior inning. Even then, with the game on the line, the Firebirds were confident. They trusted their pitcher, AJ Collins, to get the job done. “I trust her to get us out of any situation,” left fielder Sarai Preston said. “She trusts us behind her. We’re a ...

Free State girls swim and dive wins Topeka Invitational, Lawrence places fourth

TOPEKA — The Free State and Lawrence girls swim and dive teams took advantage of a fast pool on Wednesday as the Firebirds won the Topeka Invitational and the Lions placed fourth. The Capitol Federal Natatorium is a pool that hosts state events and is a faster pool than what the Lions and Firebirds have seen this season. That helped swimmers on both teams put up some best times as the work from the first few ...

Tag outs at home plate prove costly in Lawrence baseball's 4-2 home loss to Olathe South

Two tag outs at home plate ended up being the difference in Lawrence’s 4-2 loss to Olathe South on Tuesday in an otherwise solid outing for the Lions. Lawrence finished the game with nine hits and two walks but couldn’t bring enough runs home in the contest. In the later innings, there were two close calls at home plate that would’ve extended the game, but Lawrence coach Adam Green said that the team’s ...

Lawrence boys tennis hosts Free State, others in home quad

The Lawrence boys tennis teams hosted Free State, Olathe East and Shawnee Mission Northwest on Monday at Sports Pavilion Lawrence. It was Free State’s first competition of the season, while Lawrence is in its second week of action. Free State won all 12 matches in the quad, while Lawrence went 6-6. “We’ve seen some good things at practice, but you always want to see it transition to competition,” Free ...