Jayhawks Complete Sweep of Alabama A&M, 16-2

May 15, 2011

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Box Score in PDF Format

Junior Colton Murray earned a win in his first collegiate start, while the Kansas offense matched a season-high 18 hits as the Jayhawks scored a 16-2 triumph over Alabama A&M in the finale of the four-game series at Hoglund Ballpark Sunday afternoon.

The Jayhawks swept the four-game set and improve to 26-27 overall, while the Bulldogs finish their season at 10-37.

After outscoring Alabama A&M, 44-7 over the first three games of the series, Sunday was more of the same. Kansas batted around in both the first and sixth innings, scoring five runs in each frame as 15 different Jayhawks recorded base hits.

Included in KU’s offensive barrage was senior pitcher Wally Marciel, who singled home a run in the sixth inning for his first career base hit. Fellow senior pitcher Scott Heitshusen recorded his first at bat as a Jayhawk in the inning as well.

After pitching in 78 games out of the Jayhawk bullpen, Murray made his first career start and allowed one run on two hits with a walk and three strikeouts over four innings. He may have thrown four shutout innings if not for a two-out error in the third, which led to Alabama A&M’s first run.

However, by that point, Kansas had built a 7-0 lead. KU plated five runs in the first after seven of the first eight hitters reached base. Senior Jimmy Waters gave the Jayhawks two more runs in the second inning with a mamouth two-run homer off the scoreboard in right field. It was his team-leading seventh round-tripper of the season.

Junior Chris Manship also played long ball, connecting on his second homer of the season in the fifth inning. Freshman Ka’iana Eldredge continued to swing a hot bat, going 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored. In the four-game series, Eldredge went 8-for-11 with three doubles, a homer and five RBIs.

Tucker Tharp and Jacob Dunnichay also collected two hits in the game for Kansas.

The Jayhawks will return to action next Friday when the team travels to Kansas State to open the final weekend of the regular season at 6:30 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium. K-State and KU sit in eighth and ninth-place, respectively, in the Big 12 standings. Both need a series win to clinch a spot in the Big 12 Baseball Championship, which is set to begin on May 25 in Oklahoma City.