CLEBURNE, Texas – After clinching the series win on Sunday, Kansas fell on Monday afternoon 6-3 to Oakland in the series finale at The Depot at Cleburne Station. Sophomore and LSU transfer Luke Leto hit his second home run in as many days.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Brandon Decker (1-1)
Final line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 SO
Loss: Ethan Bradford (0-1)
Final line: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 SO
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Kansas scored in the first inning for the fourth game in a row. The Jayhawks loaded the bases in the first and redshirt sophomore Jake English hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring freshman Jackson Kline to give KU a 1-0 lead.
• Oakland would answer back in the third inning with four runs. After the Golden Grizzlies loaded the bases, junior Kolby Dougan entered the game in relief of junior Ethan Bradford. Dougan hit the first batter he faced to even the game.
• Then, after Dougan struck out the next batters, Luke Malmanger hit a two-out, two-strike, bases-clearing double to give Oakland a 4-1 lead.
• In the sixth inning, Leto hit a solo home run to lead off the inning. That homer cut the score to 4-2.
• Later in the inning, freshman Kodey Shojinaga singled to left field with runners on second and third and two outs. Sophomore Chase Jans came in to score from third base, but redshirt sophomore and UCF transfer Michael Brooks was thrown out at the plate. The RBI single from Shojinaga cut the Jayhawks deficit to 4-3.
• The Golden Grizzlies responded with two runs of their own in the top of the seventh. Brandon Nigh and Thomas Green each hit solo home runs to bring the score to 6-3.
• Kansas was unable to get a runner on base over the final three innings.
QUOTABLE
“This loss doesn’t change anything in terms of where we need to go. We have to learn from it and move on. Winning baseball is simple, but it’s often tough to execute. We are like every baseball team of all time – if we play winning baseball we will be just fine, and if we don’t, we will struggle like we did today.” – Coach Dan Fitzgerald
NOTES
• Kansas won three out of four games against Oakland.
• Kansas has won each of its first two series of the season. KU beat Valparaiso two out of three games last weekend.
• Leto hit his second home run of the season in as many days. He finished the four-game series with six RBIs.
• Cole Elvis, a transfer from Cal, hit .500 in the four-game series against Oakland with eight hits, including four doubles and a home run, and five RBIs.
• English also hit .500 (6-for-12) with a double, three home runs and six RBIs in three games against Oakland.
• Cranford has reached base safely in all seven games this season.
UP NEXT
Kansas will head to Nashville, Tennessee, to face Belmont in a three-game series. The three-game set is scheduled to begin on Friday, March 3 at 4 p.m. CT.
