Kansas hosts Baylor to open up Hoglund Ballpark

vs BAYLOR
March 29-31
3 p.m., 2 p.m., 1 p.m.
Lawrence, Kan.
Hoglund Ballpark
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Game Notes

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas baseball team opens up Hoglund Ballpark March 29-31 when the Jayhawks play host to Baylor in their first home series of 2019.

The Jayhawks (14-10, 0-3 Big 12) have played 24-straight games away from Lawrence while Baylor (18-6, 3-0 Big 12) comes to town on a five-game winning streak.

Due to the threat of weather, Friday’s contest has been moved to a 3 p.m. first pitch.
 
Fans can watch all three games on ESPN+ or tune into a live audio broadcast on the Jayhawk Radio Network via KUAthletics.com/Radio with Brian Hanni and Nick Springer calling the action.
 
QUICK HITS

  • Kansas’ all-time record: 1,926-1,853-18
  • Head coach Ritch Price’s record in Division I: 723-698-4
  • Price’s record at Kansas: 506-470-3
  • All-time record in March: 507-415-4
  • Kansas wrapped up 24-consecutive games away from Hoglund Ballpark to start the season when the Jayhawks defeated Missouri State, 9-5, Wednesday night (March 27) at Hammons Field.
  • BU enters the weekend leading the Big 12 Conference in offense and ranking second in pitching. KU ranks last in hitting and seventh in pitching.
  • The Jayhawks average 5.4 runs per contest in 24 games played this season while Baylor enters the game averaging 7.6.
  • Conversely, Kansas’ opponents average 4.4 runs per game while the Bears give up 3.5 runs per contest.
  • According to the Kansas archives, KU and Baylor have met 75 times on the diamond with the Bears edging the all-time series 54-21.
  • 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.

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 (9) and RBIs (30) with both leading the conference.

Back in Lawrence for Big 12 Play
Kansas is hosting their home opener against Baylor March 29-31. After six weeks and 24 games on the road, they will start Big 12 play at home with a 14-10 record following a long stint on the east coast.

Big 12 Home Run Leader
Kansas catcher Jaxx Groshans leads the Big 12 in home runs with nine. He surpassed his career high of four home runs five games into the season. Through 25 games, Groshans has put together a .361 batting average with six RBIs and is currently on an eight-game hit streak.

Big 12 Saves Leader
Jayhawk closer Jonah Ulane is the Big 12 leader in saves with six. Since his move to late inning relief, Ulane has amassed a 1.54 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched. The redshirt-sophomore was also recently put on scholarship during the Northern Illinois series in Texas.

Groshans Career High RBI
Junior catcher Jaxx Groshans knocked in a career high six RBI’s against Missouri State 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, striking out a career-high eight batters. The six-foot southpaw is 2-0 on the 2019 season with a 2.86 ERA.

Jayhawks Come Close
The Jayhawks are on a seven-game winless streak but have lost four of those seven games by two runs or less runs. Two of those games went into extra frames, with one being decided by a wild pitch. With strong pitching performances by Ryan Zeferjahn and Ryan Cyr, Kansas has struggled with the bats to give some run support.

Favored Record in Home Openers
Kansas is 8-2 in its home openers the last ten season. In those ten games, the Jayhawks have outscored their opponents 68-32. In that ten-season span, this is the first time the Jayhawks have faced a Big 12 opponent in their home opener.

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 will play their first home game Friday, March 29 against Baylor. In March alone, Kansas spent 22 of 27 days away from Lawrence.

Longest Road Span Since 1978
The home opener against Baylor Friday, March 29th is the latest the Jayhawks have opened up Hoglund Ballpark since the 1978 season when they played Benedictine College, also 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.

Zeferjahn Starting in the Opener
Since his freshman season, junior starting pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn has a 2-0 record in his season debut at Hoglund Ballpark. Zeferjahn is taking the mound Friday, March 29th against Baylor.

Seasoned Veteran
Kansas head coach Ritch Price is the most tenured skipper in the Big 12 Conference as he has coached in 407 league games – 260 more than any other current coach.

1. 407 – Ritch Price, Kansas (17th season)
2. 147 – Tim Tadlock, Texas Tech (Seventh season)
3. 145 – Jim Schlossnagle, TCU (Seventh Season)
4. 143 – Randy Maze, West Virginia (Seventh Season)
5. 142 – 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 67 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 host in-state rival Wichita State on Tuesday, April 2, before continuing Big 12 play at Texas Tech (April 5-7).

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