| Junior second baseman Colby Wright wore four pitches against No. 2 LSU, with two coming in the series finale. |
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| Kansas Impact Players |
| Name |
AVG |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
| B. Beck (1B) |
.375 |
8 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
| C. Wright (2B) |
.300 |
10 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
| J. Protacio (SS) |
.214 |
14 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
| Rotation |
| Kansas |
W-L |
ERA |
IP |
K |
| H. Edwards (Jr.) |
0-0 |
0.00 |
2.0 |
0 |
| D. Morovick (Sr.) |
0-1 |
6.00 |
6.0 |
4 |
| B. Krauth (Jr.) |
0-1 |
8.31 |
4.1 |
3 |
| S. Rackoski (So.) |
0-0 |
6.23 |
4.1 |
3 |
| Pac-12 Pitchers |
|
|
|
|
| T. Rallings (UW) |
1-0 |
1.50 |
6.0 |
1 |
| D. Carrol (Utah) |
0-1 |
11.57 |
2.1 |
2 |
| J. Pistorese (WSU) |
0-1 |
20.25 |
1.1 |
0 |
| TBA (OSU) |
|
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LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas baseball team heads west to the land of Spring Training Feb. 19-22, to battle four Power Five conference schools as part of the Big 12/Pac-12 Challenge.
The Jayhawks open up against Washington on Thursday (Feb. 19, 2 p.m.), followed by Utah on Friday (Feb. 20, 5:30 p.m.), Washington State on Saturday (Feb. 21, 5:30 p.m.) and round out the weekend against perennial power Oregon State on Sunday (Feb. 22, 12 p.m.).
The first two games for the Jayhawks will be played at Sloan Park, the Chicago Cubs’ Spring Training facility in Mesa, Arizona, while the Saturday and Sunday games will be played at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona, the spring homes of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals.
Growing up in the land of the Pac-12, Kansas’ freshman third baseman Matt McLaughlin, the San Jose, California native, knows what the conference is all about.
“Every year the Pac-12 is good, whether it is Utah or Oregon State, no matter who we are playing it is going to be tough,” McLaughlin said. “I think if we can find a way to win Thursday and get off to a good start, it will lend itself to having a good weekend.”
Being familiar with the conference, the rookie infielder will be especially acquainted with a few members of the Washington squad, as his uncle, Lindsay Meggs, is the head coach and his cousin, Jack Meggs, patrols the Huskies’ outfield.
“Its funny, our families took a vacation together in Mexico and we were talking about being 4-5 years old playing catch in the front yard of my Grandpa’s house,” McLaughlin recalled. “Now we are going to be playing a big-time college baseball game against each other. I am looking forward to it, it is going to be a lot of fun playing against family.”
Making his first collegiate start on Thursday against Washington, junior right-hander Hayden Edwards is looking forward to the opportunity to prove himself on the bump.
“I have been preparing for my first start for a long time and (associate head coach) Ryan Graves has prepared me well,” Edwards said. “I am going to let everything I’ve been working on take over and try not to get too psyched out about it, I’m going to be myself and enjoy the moment.”
One thing Edwards will enjoy is getting back to Arizona and facing a tough Pac-12 school.
“My favorite trips are always the Arizona ones because its always perfect weather,” Edwards said. “With all of the opponents being Pac-12 teams they’re all going to be quality opponents. Obviously there has only been a few games played so far, so it is hard to tell who’s who really, but we just have to expect every opponent to be good so that is how we are going to prepare.”
Fans can tune in to all four games of the trip to Arizona live on the Jayhawk Radio Network via KUAthletics.com/Radio or on the official Kansas Jayhawks mobile app.
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.
