⚾ Diggins, Shojinaga Help Lift Kansas Past Cincinnati 14-4

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CINCINNATI – A strong offensive showing led Kansas to a 14-4 victory against Cincinnati on Friday night at UC Baseball Stadium. Kansas had season highs of 14 runs, 15 hits and 13 walks to improve the Jayhawks to 10-6 on the season and 3-1 in Big 12 play.

Jake English tied a program record with five walks, Chase Diggins and Kodey Shojinaga both had four hits and four RBIs and Reese Dutton gave Kansas another quality start with six innings on the mound.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Kansas took the lead in the second inning and never looked back. Diggins’ big day began in the second inning when he gave KU a 2-0 advantage on a 2-run single.
• The Jayhawks scored four more runs in the fourth. Three consecutive run-scoring hits from Diggins, John Nett and Shojinaga and a 2-out RBI single from Collier Cranford made it a 6-0 game.
• Cincinnati (10-9, 1-3 Big 12) got one run back in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double from Hunter Jessee.
• Shojinaga drove in his second RBI of the day in the top of the fifth on an RBI single to score Diggins and put the Jayhawks ahead 7-1.
• KU stretched its lead even more with a five-run sixth inning. Diggins had an RBI single and Shojinaga had a two-run double, while Ben Hartl and Nett each hit sacrifice flies. That pushed the score to 12-1.
• The Bearcats were able to score three runs on a 2-run double by Landyn Vidourek and another on a passed ball.
• Kansas added two more runs in the ninth on an RBI single by Michael Brooks and a wild pitch. That made the score 14-4.

PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Reese Dutton (4-1)
Final line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO
Loss: Seth Logue (0-2)
Final line: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 2 SO

PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Chase Diggins and Kodey Shojinaga: Both Shojinaga and Diggins had four hits and four RBIs on Friday evening. The four hits for Shojinaga matched a career high, while Diggins’ four hits, four RBIs and three runs scored were all his most as a Jayhawk. Shojinaga also had his 100th career hit.

SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME

QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
“I thought we did a pretty good job with the strike zone. I thought our guys were on time and aggressive in the strike zone and on time and patient outside the strike zone. I love the zero in the error column. Reese gave us six strong innings and Cashero did a nice job after that. Then, it was really fun to see J’Briell (Easeley) make his debut. He’s worked really hard and he’s been a great teammate. Love to see guys get rewarded for that. I thought it was a great team effort and we prepared really well.” – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald

“I think I just slowed the game down. I tried to take it one pitch at a time. We’ve prepared well to this point, especially throughout the week. We took that into the game, taking it pitch-by-pitch and sticking to my approach.” – Chase Diggins

• Kansas scored a season-high 14 runs.
• Kansas had a season-high 15 hits.
• Kansas set a season high with 13 walks.
• English tied a program record with five walks. The record was set by Pat Karlin on May 6, 1988 vs. Oklahoma.
• Shojinaga finished 4-for-6 with a double, four RBIs and a run scored. The four hits matched Shojinaga’s career high. His fourth hit was also his 100th career hit.
• Diggins went 4-for-5 with a double, four RBIs and three runs scored. Diggins’ four hits, four RBIs and three runs were all his most as a Jayhawk.
• Dutton recorded his fourth consecutive win and his third-straight quality start.
• English and Nett have reached base safely in all 16 games.
• Nett and Cranford are tied for the most multi-hit games on the team with eight multi-hit games.
• J’Briell Easley threw a scoreless ninth inning in his first career appearance as a Jayhawk.

UP NEXT
Kansas will play game two of the three-game series against Cincinnati on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and live audio will be available on the Jayhawk Sports Network.

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