⚾️ Jayhawks Suffer 10-7 Defeat to Mountaineers
LAWRENCE, Kan. — With the wind blowing out at Hoglund Ballpark on Saturday afternoon, the West Virginia Mountaineers came out with a 10-7 win against the Kansas Jayhawks. Redshirt freshman first baseman Cooper McMurray had his first career multi-home run day and has homered in each of the last three games.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Chris Sleeper (3-4)
Final line: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 1 SO
Save: Chase Smith (1)
Final line: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
Loss: Payton Allen (2-2)
Final line: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 0 SO
HOW IT HAPPENED
• West Virginia (25-16) got out to an early 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Victor Scott II in the top of the first.
• Kansas responded by taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first after an RBI double by redshirt senior Caleb Upshaw and an RBI groundout from Jack Hammond.
• WVU responded by hitting a solo home run in both the second and third innings to take a 3-2 lead.
• The Jayhawks tied up the game at 3-3 when redshirt junior Dylan Ditzenberger hit a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the third.
• Both teams would exchange three-run innings in the fourth. West Virginia’s Austin Davis hit a three-run homer in the top of the fourth inning. In the bottom half of the frame, redshirt freshman Cooper McMurray hit a solo home run to leadoff the inning. Then, Ditzenberger had an RBI double and sophomore Maui Ahuna had an RBI groundout.
• With the score tied 6-6 in the fifth, McMurray hit his second solo home run of the afternoon on a 3-0 pitch.
• The Mountaineers took back the lead with three runs in the sixth inning to make the score 9-7.
• In the seventh, Kansas had the bases loaded with only one out but were unable to score after a 4-6-3 double play ended the inning.
• West Virginia’s Grant Hussey added a solo home run in the ninth inning to seal the game.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Cooper McMurray: McMurray hit one of his home runs to center field and the other home run to left field. He now has eight home runs on the season, which is tied with Upshaw for the team lead. Four of those home runs have come in the last three games.
NUMBER OF THE GAME
3: Kansas hit three home runs on Saturday afternoon. Ditzenberger and Upshaw each had three hits on the day as well.
QUOTABLE
“It was a really good college baseball game in that wind today. It was a tough day to pitch. I thought both teams’ pitching staffs competed in those conditions. Both teams swung the bats well and we had a chance in the seventh with the bases loaded and one out and could not score when we had a chance to tie the ballgame. That was one of the crucial moments of the game. All we can do now is come back tomorrow and play as hard as we played today and hope we get a quality start from (Ryan) Vanderhei to try and win the series.” – Head Coach Ritch Price
NOTES
• Kansas has six multi-home run games in a single season for the first time since at least 2003. That has been accomplished by six different players. KU has not had six different players with a multi-homer game since at least 2003.
• McMurray hit two home runs in a game for the first time in his career. He has homered in three consecutive games and has four home runs in those contests. The last Jayhawk to hit a home run in three consecutive games was Blair Beck from Feb. 15 – Feb. 20, 2015.
• Josenberger extended his on-base streak to 19 games.
• Ditzenberger was a triple shy of the cycle. He went 3-for-4 with a single, double, home run, walk, two RBIs and two runs scored. He pushed his hitting streak to eight games.
• Upshaw had his fourth straight multi-hit game and his 13th multi-hit effort of the season.
UP NEXT
Kansas (18-25) wraps up its series with West Virginia at Hoglund Ballpark with the rubber match at 12 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ and live audio can be heard on the Jayhawk Sports Network.
