Allman, Ashwood Spark Jayhawks Past No. 14 Oklahoma State

March 24, 2007

Final Stats

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Junior John Allman went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while junior Zach Ashwood pitched six strong innings as the University of Kansas upended No. 14 Oklahoma State, 6-3 in front of 1,039 fans at Hoglund Ballpark Saturday. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

The Jayhawks improve to 15-13 and 2-3 in the Big 12, while the Cowboys fall to 18-6 and 1-1 in conference play.

Ashwood, who earned his third victory of the season and first since March 4, scattered seven hits over six innings and allowed just one earned run while striking out four. The 6-foot-4 lefty dropped his season ERA by nearly a run with the strong performance.

The Cowboys tagged Ashwood for two runs in the top of the second on Dylan Brown’s single to center field. OSU scored another run on a throwing error to take a 2-0 lead.

The Jayhawks came back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third. After an error, sophomore Justin Ellrich doubled into the right field corner to put runners on second and third. After two outs and a hit batsman, junior John Allman tied the game with a two-run single into right-center field.

KU took a 4-2 lead in the fourth with a pair of RBI hits. Junior Ryne Price started the inning with a double off the right field wall, and scored on Ellrich’s double to the gap in left-center. The sophomore designated hitter had two doubles in the game, marking his fourth multi-hit game of the season.

Ellrich scored on Preston Land’s single up the middle as the Jayhawks scored a pair of runs for the second straight inning.

OSU cut the lead to 4-3 on an error in the fifth, however the home team stretch the advantage to three runs in the bottom of the sixth on Allman’s sacrifice fly and an error by Oklahoma State Rebel Ridling.

In the seventh, Ashwood gave way to closer Paul Smyth, who allowed a walk and a single, but retired the final eight hitters he faced to pick up his fifth save of the season. Smyth struck out three of the 11 Cowboys he faced.

The teams will play the rubber game of the three-game series tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Hoglund Ballpark.