⚾ Kansas Wins Karbach Round Rock Classic Opener 7-4

Box Score Season Statistics Press Conference Highlights

ROUND ROCK, Texas – In their opening game of the Karbach Round Rock Classic, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Texas State Bobcats 7-4 on Friday night at Dell Diamond.

A four-run first inning for Kansas built a lead that the Jayhawks were able to maintain all night. Evan Shaw and Hunter Cranton each worked out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth and eighth innings, respectively, with strikeouts to get out of the frame.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• After a leadoff single by Texas State to start the game, Reese Dutton struck out the next three batters to work a clean first inning.
• The Kansas offense took that momentum and got Dutton four runs in the bottom half of the first. Jake English and Collier Cranford each had RBI singles and Michael Brooks hit a 2-run double off the wall in left field to build a four-run cushion for Dutton.
• Texas State cut the KU lead in half in the third inning. An RBI double by Ryne Farber and an unearned run on a fielding error made the score 4-2.
• English continued to stay hot with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the third. Then, in the fourth English provided an RBI single to stretch the lead to 6-2.
• A solo home run by Texas State’s August Ramirez in the sixth inning brought the score to 6-3.
• After the homer, Shaw, who transferred from Cochise College this offseason, worked out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth by recording a strikeout with the go-ahead run at the plate.
• Kansas added an insurance run in the seventh inning on an RBI single by Brooks. The run-scoring hit pushed the Jayhawks’ lead to 7-3.
• Texas State got one final run in the ninth inning on a solo home run by Alec Patino to wrap up the scoring at 7-4.

PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Reese Dutton (1-1)
Final line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
Loss: Austin Eaton (1-1)
Final line: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 SO

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jake English: English finished the game 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored. He leads the team with four home runs this season, with all four homers coming in the last three games.

SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME

The team welcomed English back to the dugout after his home run in the third inning.

QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
“I thought it was a great team win. I thought there were things that we left on the field that we need to clean up, but overall, I thought our intensity was good and our preparation was great. Our team, these guys really like each other and they really work. It’s fun when it comes together with a great team effort. Texas State is a really, really good team and that’s a big win. Proud of our guys.” – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald

“I think it’s a great thing to start this weekend with a victory. We had a tough weekend last weekend, but the pitchers bounced back and the hitters came out early, which is something we didn’t do last weekend. I think that’s huge. In terms of hitting, we focused on what Coach Hancock and Coach Fitz talk about all the time, which is getting your pitch to hit and a lot of guys did that tonight which is why we were successful.” – Jake English

• Kansas pitching set a new season high with 13 strikeouts.
• Kansas improved to 4-0 all-time at Dell Diamond.
• English hit his team-leading fourth home run of the season.

UP NEXT
Kansas faces Washington State in its second game of the Karbach Round Rock Classic on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. CT at Dell Diamond. The game will be broadcast on D1Baseball.com and live audio will be available on the Jayhawk Sports Network.

Powered by WMT Digital