No. 5 Texas Tech blanks Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 5 Texas Tech used 14 hits, including seven extra-base hits to shutout the Kansas baseball team, 10-0, Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.
The Jayhawks (17-13, 2-6 Big 12) tallied a season-low four hits off three different Red Raider (26-6, 5-3 Big 12) pitchers and struck out a total of 14 times at the plate. Sophomore second baseman James Cosentino notched two of those hits, while junior designated hitter Rudy Karre and sophomore right fielder Brett Vosik had the other two.
“I was really disappointed in the non-competitive at bats that we had,” head coach Ritch Price said. “That was my biggest disappointment. I felt like we had too many non-competitive at bats with how well we have been swinging it all year.”
TTU starter Caleb Kilian (4-1) contributed to those non-competitive at bats as he pitched five shutout innings, striking out eight of the 18 batters he faced. He turned it over to Ryan Shetter for three scoreless frames with five strikeouts, before Jose Quezada finished the shutout bid with a perfect ninth.
Like Friday’s contest, Texas Tech wasted no time jumping on Kansas starter senior lefty Taylor Turski (1-5). The Red Raiders tagged him for two runs in the first, three runs in the second and then knocked him out of the game after a two-run third.
Turski allowed seven runs off nine hits, including three doubles and a home run. Sophomore righty Gabriel Sotomayor took over and pitched three innings of one-run ball, before freshman Steve Washilewski and senior Casey Douglas closed it out.
“Texas Tech has taken us apart the first two days,” Price said. “They came in ranked fifth in the country, and they are playing like a top-10 team, clicking on all cylinders. If we missed a spot with a pitch, they made us pay. That is how well they are playing.”
Prior to the start of the game, the Jayhawks honored their 1993 College World Series team as it was celebrating its 25th anniversary. Twenty-four members of that squad, including then-head coach Dave Bingham, made it back for the celebration.
“One of the great things about baseball is tradition,” Price said. “We have unbelievable respect for what that 1993 team did. They are the best team in Kansas baseball history and they set the bar that every team after has been trying to reach. It is a great group of guys and it was an incredible turnout.”
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will try and salvage the weekend against Texas Tech on Sunday, April 8, with a 1 p.m. first pitch. Sophomore righty Ryan Zeferjahn will make his eighth start as he tries to help Kansas avoid the sweep.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Middle game woes: The Jayhawks hold a record of 2-6 in the second game of a three-game series. In those eight contests, Kansas has been outscored by an average of 8.4 to 4.4, and has allowed 40 extra-base hits. In the first and third games of the weekend, KU holds a record of 12-3 and outscores its opponents by an average of 6.5 to 4.9.
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