Jayhawks host Creighton in midweek contest
GROSHANS ON FOUR-GAME HIT STREAK
Junior catcher Jaxx Groshan’s is currently on a four-game hit streak. In that span, Groshan’s is batting 7-for-18 (.389) with a double and a walk.
FIVE FOR FIGHTING
Senior center fielder Rudy Karre holds the longest active hitting streak for the Jayhawks at five games. In those contests, Karre is batting .412 (7-for-17) with a double, home runs and six RBIs.
METCALF HEATING UP
Sophomore first baseman Nolan Metcalf started two games at then-No. 20 West Virginia (April 20-21) and batted 5-for-10. In those two games, he scored two runs and drove in four with a home run and a double.
MULTI-HIT SEMS
Junior shortstop Benjamin Sems has put together six multi-hit performances in his last 10 games. This season, Sems has a total of 11 multi-hit contests, leading the Jayhawks in that category.
JAYHAWKS HOT IN SERIES FINALES
The Jayhawks hold a 7-2 record in series finales of three games or more this season. In those games, they have outscored their opponents by a narrow 55-52 margin.
JAYHAWK BATS KEEP SWINGING
In their last 10 games, the Kansas bats have scored 59 runs averaging just below six runs per contest.
FIVE ONE-RUN GAMES
The last five games the Jayhawks have played have been decided by one run. In that span, Kansas has a 3-2 record.
DITZENBERGER WALKS IT OFF TWICE
Redshirt-freshman Dylan Ditzenberger walked it off twice for the Jayhawks in their first Big 12 series win against Oklahoma State (April 13-14). In the second game of the series Ditzenberger singled to send in the winning run and doubled to win it in the series finale.
COME BACK KINGS
This is the second time in two seasons the Jayhawks have lost a Friday opener giving up more than 20 runs and coming back to win the series. The last time came against West Virginia (May 4-6, 2018) where KU lost Friday, 21-3, but won Saturday (13-3) and Sunday (5-2) to complete the series victory.
ZEFERJAHN TIES A CAREER HIGH IN STRIKEOUTS
Junior starting pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn punched out a career-high 14 batters against Oklahoma State (April 13th). In his six innings of work, he faced 25 batters striking out more than half of them.
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 played their first home game Saturday, March 30 against Baylor. In March alone, Kansas spent 22 of 27 days away from Lawrence.
LONGEST ROAD SPAN SINCE 1978
The home opener against Baylor Saturday, March 30 (DH) is the latest the Jayhawks have opened up Hoglund Ballpark since the 1978 season when they played Benedictine College 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.
SEASONED VETERAN
Kansas head coach Ritch Price is the most tenured skipper in the Big 12 Conference as he has coached in 419 league games – 260 more than any other current coach.
1. 419 – Ritch Price, Kansas (17th season)
2. 159 – Tim Tadlock, Texas Tech (Seventh season)
3. 154 – Jim Schlossnagle, TCU (Seventh Season)
4. 155 – Randy Maze, West Virginia (Seventh Season)
5. 154 – Josh Holliday, Oklahoma State (Seventh Season)
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 74 more victories than legendary head coach Floyd Temple (438).
PRICE NAMES 2019 CAPTAINS
Head coach Ritch Price announced that James Cosentino, Ryan Cyr and Rudy Karre will represent the 2019 squad as captains. The trio is each holding the honor of captain for the first time in their careers and represents what the Kansas baseball program is all about.
UP NEXT
Kansas takes advantage of a bye week in conference play and travels to Furman for a three-game series against the Paladins April 26-28.
