CLEBURNE, Texas – Graduate pitcher Collin Baumgartner tossed five hitless innings Friday afternoon to lift Kansas to a 7-0 shutout win over Oakland in the first game of a four-game set at The Depot at Cleburne Station. Baumgartner walked two and struck out five over his brilliant five-inning outing, while redshirt sophomore catcher Jake English led the offense with his first career home run.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Collin Baumgartner (2-0)
Final line: 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 SO
Save: Thaniel Trumper (1)
Final line: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO
Loss: Travis Densmore (0-1)
Final line: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 4 SO
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Kansas built a lead in the first inning and never looked back. Sophomore Luke Leto was up with two outs and the bases loaded and delivered a 2-run single to center field to put Kansas ahead 2-0.
• The scoring continued in the second inning as English hit his first career home run on an opposite field shot to right.
• Baumgartner did not allow a baserunner through the first three innings, which allowed the Jayhawks offense to continue to work.
• In the fourth, Kansas pushed three more runs across to make the score 6-0. Freshman Kodey Shojinaga hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly that allowed all three runners to move up. Senior Cole Elvis then connected on a 2-run double to center field.
• Kansas scored its seventh and final run in the sixth inning on a sacrifice bunt from redshirt sophomore Mike Koszewski.
• Junior Thaniel Trumper came on in relief for Baumgartner to begin the sixth inning and was nearly as dominant. Trumper struck out six Oakland hitters over four scoreless innings for his first career save.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Collin Baumgartner: Baumgartner built off his opening day start from a week ago and did not allow a hit or run to Oakland over his five innings on the mound. He faced the minimum through the first three innings, retiring all nine Golden Grizzlies in order. The outing was the first time a Kansas starting pitcher threw five scoreless innings since Eli Davis on May 14, 2021 vs. Kansas State.
NUMBER OF THE GAME
0: The Kansas pitching staff recorded its first shutout of the season. The shutout was the first since May 14, 2021 vs. Kansas State when Eli Davis through a 7-inning no-hitter and the Jayhawks won 10-0.
QUOTABLE
“I thought we did a great job with competing in the strike zone and putting together some quality at-bats early. To put those two runs up in the first with two outs was huge. Then, Baumgartner with five innings pitched, two walks and five punchouts. I even thought on the walks they were really competitive at-bats. Then, four innings out of Trumper. He was outstanding as well with six punchouts. I thought he settled in after his first inning. I thought our hitters did a really nice job and once again we played really solid defense. I thought it was a great mentality win, good team win and our guys were ready from the first pitch.” – Coach Dan Fitzgerald
“We came out with a lot of energy. The defense was great behind me. We jumped out to a two-run lead right off the bat and we continued to score a lot of runs. It’s really easy to pitch when you have the lead like that. Coach Scott and Coach Fitzgerald really understand my game a lot. They understand what pitches work for me. They do a great job on the scouting reports week in and week out and they follow that to a tee. I just go out there and pitch at that point. I’m super thankful to have them.” – Collin Baumgartner
NOTES
• Kansas scored a season-high seven runs.
• Kansas pitched its first shutout of the season and the first since May 14, 2021 vs. Kansas State.
• Kansas held Oakland to only two hits on Friday. That’s the lowest number of hits since May 14, 2021 vs. Kansas State (0).
• English hit his first career home run in his first start of the season. He finished 2-for-4 with a home run, RBI and two runs scored.
• Elvis, in his first season with KU after transferring from Cal, recorded his second multi-hit game of the season after going 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored.
• Cranford, an LSU transfer, went 2-for-4 with a run scored for his first multi-hit game of the season.
UP NEXT
Kansas will play game two of its four-game series against Oakland on Saturday at The Depot at Cleburne Station. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.
