April 25, 2016

Kansas Ready for Midweek Action With Grand Canyon, Nebraska

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas baseball team welcomes Grand Canyon to Hoglund Ballpark, Tuesday, April 26, before heading to Kansas City Wednesday, April 27, to play former Big 12 foe Nebraska at Kauffman Stadium in the National College Baseball Hall of Fame Game.

The Jayhawks (17-22) are 4-4 all-time against the Lopes (19-18), and will be playing Nebraska (25-15) for the first time since April 10, 2011 – the Huskers last season as part of the Big 12 Conference. With the threat of severe weather Tuesday night, the game against GCU has been moved up to a 3 p.m. first pitch. Wednesday’s game against the Huskers is scheduled for 6 p.m.

JAYHAWK RADIO NETWORK
Both games can be heard on the Jayhawk Radio Network via KUAthletics.com/Radio with Mitchell Glessner calling the action.

ON THE WEB
KUAthletics.com/Radio

MOBILE
Kansas Jayhawks app – search “Kansas Jayhawks”

JAYHAWK TELEVISION NETWORK / ESPN3
The game against the Lopes can be seen on ESPN3 while the contest with Nebraska will be broadcast on the Jayhawk Television Network within the state of Kansas and Kansas City Metro area and EPN3 outside that coverage area. Steven Davis (play-by-play) and Kevin Wheeler (analyst) will have the call. Visit KUAthletics.com/JTV for info on affiliates.

ON TV
Amazon Fire TV; Apple TV; Chromecast; Roku; Xbox One; Xbox 360.

ON THE WEB
WatchESPN.com; ESPN3.com

ON MOBILE/TABLET
WatchESPN app; ESPN app

QUICK HITS

Kansas’ all-time record: 1,852-1,771-17.
Head coach Ritch Price’s record at Division I level: 648-618-3 (.512).
Price (432-389-2) is just seven wins from becoming KU’s all-time winningest coach (Floyd Temple, 438).
The Jayhawks and Lopes hold an even 4-4 record against one another and are 1-1 in games played in Lawrence.
KU and Nebraska haven’t faced one another since April 10, 2011.
Kansas hasn’t played in Kauffman Stadium since April 6, 2011 and holds a 4-1 record in the venue with the only loss coming against the Royals on April 18, 1979, in an exhibition contest.

SERIES HISTORY
Kansas and Grand Canyon have played eight games with the series split at four games apiece. The Lopes have only made the trek to Lawrence one time, in 2014, and in that two-game midweek set, the two teams split with the Jayhawks outscoring GCU, 10-6. The Huskers and Jayhawks haven’t played a game against one another since April 10, 2011, since Nebraska moved to the Big Ten. The Jayhawks have won eight of the last 10 games against NU including three-straight series. In addition, the Jayhawks haven’t played in Kauffman Stadium since that same year and hold a record of 4-1 in the venue – only loss came in exhibition play against the Royals in 1979. Head coach Ritch Price is 4-0 in games played in Kauffman Stadium, 14-15 against Nebraska and 2-2 against the Lopes.

SCOUTING REPORT
Grand Canyon rolls to town with a 19-18 record averaging 5.7 runs per contest. Three regulars in the lineup are batting over .300 with Paul Panaccione leading the way with a .355 clip. Three different players boast 20-plus RBIs while two can claim scoring at least 30 runs. As a staff, the Lopes hold a 4.83 ERA and give up 5.6 runs per game. Kansas will see Jake Wong (4.05 ERA, 1-2, 12 BB, 18 SO) on the mound, who has made three starts this year. Nebraska holds a 25-15 record, .290 team batting average and a 4.61 team ERA. Three players hit over .300 with Ben Miller at .333 with 11 doubles, five home runs and 28 RBIs. Scott Schreiber does most of the damage with nine home runs and 38 RBIs, while Ryan Boldt has scored a team-high 37 runs. Wednesday’s starter on the hill is yet to be announced.

INCREASING THE POWER OUTPUT
In its first 34 games, Kansas hit a total of eight home runs – an average of one home run every 4.25 games. In the five games the Jayhawks played last week – including a resumption game from March 23 against Baker – the team hit a total of seven home runs, nearly doubling its season total. Kansas belted at least one home run in four of the five games and hit two home runs in three of those contests. Eight different players have now hit at least one home run with six Jayhawks tied for the team lead with two round trippers to their name.

BABY GRAND
In his last two plate appearances, freshman Ty Denzer hit back-to-back grand slams with the most notable coming Sunday at Samford. With the score tied 5-5 and all the momentum with the Bulldogs in the top of the ninth inning, KU skipper Ritch Price needed some magic. That burden fell to the switch-hitting Denzer, who entered the day with just three hits in 11 at bats. On the third pitch he saw, Denzer smoked the ball deep over the wall in right field for his second grand slam in as many at bats during the week. The last three grand slams the Jayhawks have hit have come from a freshman with now-sophomore TJ Martin hitting one at Northwestern May 6, 2015.

SAY IT’S SO JOE
Senior right fielder Joe Moroney continues to embrace the role as the Jayhawks’ new leadoff man. Moroney has started 10 of the last 11 games Kansas has played and in each of those 10 contests batted No. 1 in the lineup. KU is 5-5 in those games and Moroney is batting .356 with two home runs, seven RBIs and nine runs scored. Prior to taking over in the leadoff spot, Moroney started 17 games and hit .311 with nine RBIs and 12 runs scored. His two home runs are tied for the team lead while his nine double rank fourth. His recent success has bolstered his season average to .330 and ranks second on the squad.

FIVE FOR FOYLE
Freshman left fielder Devin Foyle is one of six players to boast multiple five-plus RBI games in a career during the Ritch Price era as he ranks tied for second with three. What makes it unique is Foyle has had three five-RBI games in his freshman campaign while the rest of the chart spans three-to-four year careers. Erik Morrison had the most with four during his four-year career, while Travis Metcalf and Foyle are tied with three. There have been a total of 31 five-plus RBI games in Price’s tenure with 21 different players achieving the feat of having at least one.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks return to Big 12 play when they play host to Oklahoma Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1, at Hoglund Ballpark for a three-game weekend series. All three contests can be seen on ESPN3 with Saturday and Sunday’s contests on the Jayhawk Television Network.

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