⚾️ Kansas Beats Baylor 12-4 for First Conference Win
LAWRENCE, Kan. – In the home conference opener on Friday night in front of 1,541 fans, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Baylor Bears 12-4 at Hoglund Ballpark. A seven-run fourth inning helped propel KU to its first conference win of the season.
Kansas scored in the first four innings of the game. Two runs in the first, one in the second, two in the third and seven in the fourth had Kansas leading 12-1 after four innings.
An RBI double by senior Cal transfer Cole Elvis and an RBI single from freshman Kodey Shojinaga gave KU a 2-0 lead after the first inning. Kansas added another run in the second inning after an RBI fielder’s choice from redshirt sophomore and UCF transfer Michael Brooks.
Baylor (9-17, 2-5 Big 12) got on the scoreboard with an RBI groundout in the third inning to trim the lead to 3-1.
Two more runs came across the plate for Kansas in the bottom of the third on another RBI single by Shojinaga and an RBI double from redshirt junior and LSU transfer Collier Cranford. That pushed the Kansas lead to 5-1.
Kansas had a big inning in the fourth, beginning with loading the bases with no outs. Elvis hit a 2-run single to drive in Jackson Kline and Brooks. Then, junior Cowley Community College transfer Janson Reeder stepped up to the plate and hit a 3-run homer for his sixth home run of the season. Cranford came up three batters later and hit a 2-run shot himself to mark his fourth long ball of the season. Kansas built a 12-1 lead after four innings.
The Bears scored one run in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to eventually make the score 12-4. That would be where the score ended.
Graduate SIU-Edwardsville transfer Collin Baumgartner started for Kansas and threw 6.2 innings while allowing three runs. The outing was Baumgartner’s second quality start of the season. Junior Kolby Dougan came out of the bullpen and tossed 2.1 innings to finish off the game for the Jayhawks.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Collin Baumgartner (3-0)
Final line: 6.2 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 SO
Loss: Mason Marriott (1-4)
Final line: 3.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 SO
QUOTABLE
“I think if you look at what we did well today, we had a great approach and they stuck to and they didn’t come off of it. I thought the process was good and I thought obviously Baumgartner was awesome, as he has been, the only difference is we gave him runs support tonight.” – Coach Dan Fitzgerald
“Everyone on the team was feeling good tonight and barreled up the ball. It was a good start to the weekend…putting out 16 hits and scoring 12 runs really helps Collin throw the ball how he wants to throw it. I think he did a great job for us and we did a great job behind him and supporting him.” – Kodey Shojinaga
NOTES
• Kansas is 3-0 at Hoglund Ballpark this season.
• Friday’s attendance of 1,541 was the largest attendance at Hoglund Ballpark since April 13, 2019 vs. Oklahoma State (1,557).
• Kansas recorded 16 hits, its second most of the season and most at Hoglund Ballpark in 2023. That was the most hits by Kansas at home since March 20, 2021 vs. Creighton (16) and the most in conference play at home since May 5, 2018 vs. West Virginia (17).
• The 12 runs scored by Kansas matched its second highest run total of the season.
• Shojinaga had a career high four hits. The freshman went 4-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored.
• Reeder hit his team-high sixth home run of the season. He finished with two hits, three RBIs and two runs scored.
• Cranford had two extra-base hits which included his fourth home run of the season. Cranford went 3-for-5 with a double, home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
• Elvis finished 3-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and three runs scored. He has a team-high eight multi-hit games this season. Elvis also has five multi-RBI games this year.
• Baumgartner recorded his second quality start of the season.
• Dougan had his sixth relief outing of more than 1.0 inning pitched this season after throwing 2.1 innings out of the bullpen.
• Jans extended his on-base streak to 20 games, which is the longest of the sophomore’s career and the longest by a Jayhawk this season
UP NEXT
Kansas (10-14, 1-3 Big 12) plays game two against Baylor on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. CT. The game was originally scheduled to start at 2 p.m. CT. The adjustment was made to accommodate the women’s basketball WNIT Championship game on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. CT.
