Baseball homestand continues with Wichita State
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas baseball team continues its four-game homestand when the Jayhawks welcome in-state rival Wichita State to Hoglund Ballpark for a Tuesday night tilt.
Kansas (15-12) fell short to the Shockers (16-12) in its previous matchup on March 20 that lasted 13 innings, and looks to build upon its Sunday (March 31) 12-7 victory over then-No. 25 Baylor.
Fans can watch the game live on the Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN+ or tune into a live audio broadcast on the Jayhawk Radio Network via KUAthletics.com/Radio.
QUICK HITS
- Kansas’ all-time record: 1,927-1,855-18
- Head coach Ritch Price’s record in Division I: 724-670-4
- Price’s record at Kansas: 507-472-3
- All-time record in April: 606-694-6
- After playing 24-straight games away from Hoglund Ballpark to start the season, the Jayhawks finally opened their home slate with a three-game series against Baylor (March 30-31).
- Kansas looks for revenge against Wichita State after falling short in the first season meeting, 3-2, in 13 innings on March 20.
- The Jayhawks struck out a season-high 20 times in that contest while registering nine hits.
- Five different starters in the Kansas lineup struck out three or more times against Shocker pitching in that March 20 meeting.
- KU averages 5.3 runs per contest in 27 games played while Wichita State enters the midweek bout averaging 6.3 in 28.
- The Shockers have nine regulars batting .250 or better while the Jayhawks have four players with a .250 clip or better.
- Twenty-four of the Jayhawks’ 56 games slated for 2019 will be against 2018 NCAA Tournament teams, including six against squads that advanced to the College World Series.
Ray of Sunshine
Sophomore right fielder Blaine Ray hit his first home run Saturday against Baylor (March 30) en route to turning in a career day. Ray finished with a personal-best two hits and two RBIs to go along with the first four-bagger of his career – he was responsible for all of KU’s offense in the loss.
Double-digit Bombs
Junior catcher Jaxx Groshans reached double figures in home runs after his 10th bomb of the season against then-No. 25 Baylor (March 31). Those 10 dingers ranks Groshans first in the Big 12 Conference and t-13th in the NCAA. In addition, Groshans ranks second among catchers nationally in home runs trailing only Kyle McCann of Georgia Tech (12).
D1baseball week 6 power ranking: catcher
Junior Jaxx Groshans ranks sixth out of 30 on D1Baseball.com’s Week 6 Power Ranking for catchers and is the No. 2 backstop in the Big 12 Conference. Groshans ranks second in the NCAA among catchers in home runs (10) and RBIs (32).
Groshans Career High RBI
Junior catcher Jaxx Groshans knocked in a career high six RBI’s against Missouri State (March 27) roping a three-run home run and a three-run double.
Washilewski tosses eight K’s in a win
Sophomore starting pitcher Steve Washilewski tossed five and 1/3 innings against Missouri State (March 27), striking out a career-high eight batters. The six-foot southpaw is 2-0 on the 2019 season with a 2.86 ERA.
Jayhawk Travelers
The Kansas baseball team spent 31 of the first 42 days of the season on the road after weather forced two home series to be moved to Texas. The season opened on Feb. 15 and the Jayhawks played their first home game Saturday, March 30 against Baylor. In March alone, Kansas spent 22 of 27 days away from Lawrence.
Longest Road Span Since 1978
The home opener against Baylor Saturday, March 30 (DH) is the latest the Jayhawks have opened up Hoglund Ballpark since the 1978 season when they played Benedictine College on March 29th.
Racking Up the Miles
That long road span forced the Jayhawks to travel a total of 12,680 miles round trip the first six weeks of the season. To put that into perspective, the United States is 2,680 miles wide while Earth is 24,901 miles around at the Equator. Kansas could have traveled coast-to-coast almost five times (4.73) or about halfway around the world.
Seasoned Veteran
Kansas head coach Ritch Price is the most tenured skipper in the Big 12 Conference as he has coached in 410 league games – 260 more than any other current coach.
1. 410 – Ritch Price, Kansas (17th season)
2. 150 – Tim Tadlock, Texas Tech (Seventh season)
3. 148 – Jim Schlossnagle, TCU (Seventh Season)
4. 146 – Randy Maze, West Virginia (Seventh Season)
5. 145 – Josh Holliday, Oklahoma State (Seventh Season)
Bring Out the Brooms
Kansas earned its first three-game series sweep over an opponent when the squad took three-straight from Northern Illinois (March 1-2) in Grand Prairie and Melissa, Texas. It was the team’s first sweep since March 9-11, 2018, against St. John’s.
The Price is Right
With the sweep over Northern Illinois (March 1-2), head coach Ritch Price reached the 500-win mark as the Jayhawks’ skipper. Price is already the all-time winningest coach in program history with 69 more victories than legendary head coach Floyd Temple (438).
Player of the Week
After a three-home run performance opening weekend, junior catcher Jaxx Groshans was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week (Feb. 18). Groshans reached base seven times in 13 plate appearances, including four hits and three walks during the first three games of the Jayhawks’ season-opening series at USC Upstate. Groshans finished with a league-best three homers and six RBIs in those three contests, while batting .400 (4-for-10). In addition, Groshans scored the second-most runs in the conference on the weekend at four. In the Monday finale, Groshans batted 1-for-1 with a single and a RBI while drawing a career-high three walks. He is the first Kansas Big 12 Player of the Week since 2013 when Michael Suiter earned the same distinction (March 11).
Preseason All-American
Junior righty Ryan Zeferjahn became the first Kansas baseball player to earn a Preseason All-America Team recognition from Baseball America when the publication announced he landed on its third team. Zeferjahn was one of 42 players from around the country representing 35 different schools to be honored.
Preseason All-Big 12
Junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn earned his second preseason recognition when the league’s coaches voted him to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. The team consists of 18 players from across the conference with Zeferjahn earning one of the six pitching spots.
Up Next
The Jayhawks continue Big 12 play when they travel to Texas Tech April 5-7.
