⚾️ Late Home Run Lifts Mavericks Over Jayhawks

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Omaha’s Mike Boeve hit a two-out, two-run home run in the ninth inning on a windy Tuesday night to lift the Mavericks to an 11-10 win against Kansas at Hoglund Ballpark to snap a three-game winning streak for the Jayhawks. Sophomore shortstop Maui Ahuna went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs in the game to up his Big 12 Conference best batting average to .453 through 31 games.

PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Wyatt Sellers (2-0)
Final line: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO

Save: Joey Machado (2)
Final line: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO

Loss: Kolby Dougan (0-2)
Final line: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The visitors struck first Tuesday night when the Mavericks scored four runs in the second inning. Gerrett Kennedy opened the scoring with a three-run home run off Kansas starter Jake Adams. Leadoff hitter Drew Hmielewski then came through with a one-out RBI double to make it 4-0.
• Kansas answered back two innings later in the fourth. Jack Hammond singled to left to score Ahuna with one out to get the Jayhawks on the board. Caleb Upshaw then produced a two-run triple to right to score Hammond and Tom Lichty to make it 4-3.
• After Omaha plated a run in the top of the fifth, Kansas grabbed an 8-5 lead, by scoring five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Dylan Ditzenberger started it with an RBI double. Nolan Metcalf then drove in Ditzenberger with a double of his own. Three batters later, Upshaw came through again, this time with a three-run home run to give Kansas its 8-5 lead.
• An inning later, Omaha came right back with four more runs to again take the lead at 9-8.
• Kansas wasn’t finished, however, and scored a pair of runs in the seventh to take the lead back at 10-9. Ahuna came through for the Jayhawks with a two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded to score Sergio Rivera and Tavian Josenberger.
• Stone Hewlett then tossed a scoreless eighth to keep the score at 10-9, which remained the score until Boeve’s homer in the ninth.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Caleb Upshaw: The outfielder extended his hitting streak to six games with a 2-for-3 night. He drove in a career-high-tying five runs and has driven in at least one run in six of his last seven games. His home run was his fifth of the season, while his triple was his first of the season and second of his career.

NUMBER OF THE GAME
17: With his three hits on Tuesday, Maui Ahuna now has 17 multi-hit games this season and nine three-hit games. Ahuna also produced his ninth multi-RBI game, which also leads the team.

NOTES
• Kansas had 12 hits on Tuesday evening. The Jayhawks have recorded at least 10 hits in six straight games, which is the most since February 17-March 2, 2013 (eight games).
• Kansas scored double-digit runs for the ninth time this season. The Jayhawks are now 7-2 when scoring 10 or more runs.
• Kansas had its four-game home winning streak snapped.
• With the home run from Upshaw, Kansas now has home runs in six of its last seven games.
• Upshaw’s five RBIs matched his career high (March 13, 2021 at Morehead State).
• Sophomore second baseman Tavian Josenberger went 2-for-6 with a pair of runs and extended his hitting streak to seven games, which is the longest active streak by a Jayhawk. His two hits marked his 10th multi-hit game of the season.
• Ahuna extended his on-base streak to 11 games.

UP NEXT:
Kansas (13-18) will travel to Baylor for a three-game conference set against the Bears. The series is scheduled for Thursday, April 14-Saturday, April 16. All three games will be on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ and live audio can be heard on the Jayhawk Sports Network.