Jayhawk Baseball to Host South Dakota State

Feb. 15, 2005

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The University of Kansas baseball team will take the field for the first time at home this season as it hosts South Dakota State in a four-game series at Hoglund ballpark beginning Wednesday.

The two teams will open the series at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and return to action on Thursday with a scheduled 3 p.m. first pitch. The match-up will conclude with a doubleheader on Friday, the first game beginning at 2 p.m.

The Jayhawks (6-3) are fresh off an 11-day road trip in which they sweep six games from Hawaii-Hilo in the Aloha State before flying to Palo Alto, Calif., where they were unable to take a game from No. 6 Stanford.

Kansas junior outfielder and current Big 12 Player of the Week Matt Baty got off to a hot start in the Jayhawks’ 11-game season-opening road trip, posting a .400 batting average a team-high 10 RBI. Baty currently leads the Jayhawks in hits (16), RBI (10), at bats (40), stolen bases (3) and is currently on a team-high seven-game hitting streak. Senior catcher Sean Richardson leads the Jayhawks with a .440 average after posting 11 hits in 25 at bats in the team’s opening road trip. Junior outfielder Gus Milner has also been among KU’s offensive leaders, collecting a .400 clip at the plate and a team-leading two home runs, both of which came in the series opener against Stanford off of preseason All-American Mark Romanczuk.

Junior pitcher Kodiak Quick is slated to start game one of the series after posting a pair of wins and a 0.60 ERA in his first two starts. Seniors Clint Schambach and Mike Zagurski, who have each posted a win on the season, will join sophomore Sean Land to complete the KU pitching rotation.

South Dakota State, which has yet to play this season, is in its first season at the Division I level and is led by former KU volunteer assistant coach Reggie Christiansen. Last season, the Jackrabbits finished the season with a 12-36 overall record.