⚾️ Kansas Welcomes Illinois State to Hoglund Ballpark for Three-Game Series
| Kansas (10-17, 1-5 Big 12) vs. Illinois State (12-11, 1-2 Missouri Valley) | |
| When | April 8-10 |
| Where | Lawrence, Kan. // Hoglund Ballpark |
| Live Video | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Radio | Jayhawk Sports Network |
| Live Stats | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Notes | Kansas | Illinois State |
| Social Media | @KUBaseball  | @kubaseball | Facebook   |
| Probable Starting Pitchers | |||||||||
| Day | Kansas | Illinois State | |||||||
| Fri. 6 p.m. CT | LHP Daniel Hegarty (2-3, 6.48 ERA) | RHP Derek Salata (2-3, 3.57 ERA) | |||||||
| Sat. 3 p.m. CT | RHP Cole Larsen (0-5, 6.20 ERA) | RHP Jordan Lussier (1-1, 5.17 ERA) | |||||||
| Sun. 1 p.m. CT | RHP Ryan Vanderhei (4-2, 4.54 ERA) | LHP Sean Sinisko (1-2, 4.44 ERA) | |||||||
LAWRENCE, Kan. — On the lone bye weekend in Big 12 Conference play, Kansas will host Illinois State for three games at Hoglund Ballpark. This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools in baseball.
Kansas is in the midst of playing eight of nine games at home after playing 21 of its first 22 on the road. The Jayhawks are 2-2 at home during the current stretch.
Kansas (10-17, 1-5) is coming off the Border Showdown on Wednesday night at Missouri. Redshirt senior catcher/first baseman Nolan Metcalf had a huge game. He went 3-for-5 with two homers and a career-high 5 RBIs. Metcalf was the fourth Jayhawk to have a multi-home run game this season.
Over the weekend, KU earned an 8-5 victory against No. 4 Texas Tech on Sunday. The win marked the first against a top five opponent at home since April 8, 2018 vs. No. 5 Texas Tech (17-3, 7 innings). The pitching staff recorded 10 strikeouts, including a career-high tying nine from redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Vanderhei.
Sophomore shortstop Maui Ahuna has been a force at the plate all season. Ahuna currently ranks seventh nationally in batting average (.446), 10th in on-base percentage (.537), 27th in hits (45), and is tied for 5th in triples (4).
Kansas will trot out the same rotation for the third consecutive week. Redshirt senior lefty Daniel Hegarty will go on Friday, redshirt senior righty Cole Larsen on Saturday and Vanderhei will close out the series on Sunday
Fans can purchase discounted $5 tickets for Wave the Wheat Weekend for all three games by clicking here. On Sunday, the first 250 fans will receive a Kansas pennant flag and kids will have an opportunity to run the bases following the game.
For those unable to attend, all three games will be streamed live on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ and live audio will be available on the Jayhawk Sports Network on KUAthletics.com and the Kansas Jayhawks app. Friday’s game can also be heard on KLWN 101.7 FM and 1320 AM.
UP NEXT
Kansas will play Nebraska-Omaha on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT for a midweek matchup at Hoglund Ballpark. The game will be streamed on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ and live audio will be available on the Jayhawk Sports Network.
