Completed Event: Football versus LIU on September 4, 2026 , Win , 51, to, 6
Football
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vs LIU
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LAWRENCE, Kan. – With the score tied, 3-3, in the bottom of the seventh inning, freshman third baseman Skyler Messinger launched a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall for his first-career bomb, as the Kansas baseball team swept No. 20 St. John’s, 6-5, Sunday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.
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Messinger’s home run came in the home half of the seventh inning after the Red Storm (8-4) had just tied it up. Then with two outs and runners at first and second, the rookie battled to a 3-2 count off of St. John’s ace reliever in Jeff Belge (0-2).
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The southpaw hurler Belge sat at 92-94 MPH in his two and 1/3 innings of relief, and prior to the two, two-out walks he surrendered in the seventh, he had retired six-straight batters, four via the strikeout. Messinger knew he had a tall task ahead of him.
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“I was just trying to stay calm and relaxed up there,” Messinger said. “They have a lot of good arms, and I was just trying to see something I could hit.”
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Messinger found that hit in a 3-2 pitch fastball that Belge left over the outer half of the plate and pulled it over the left field wall for the three-run home run – a day after recording his first-career RBI. That blast put the Jayhawks (11-4) up by three runs and would be all they would need to hang on for the series sweep.
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“It was great to see a young man who is invested and works hard every day clutch up and help his team win,” head coach Ritch Price said. “He railed that 3-2 fastball into left field, and obviously, that is his biggest hit of his college career so far.”
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That may have been the biggest hit of the game, but it was all KU from the start, backed by a strong starting performance from pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn. The righty worked six innings and allowed just two runs off six hits and two walks, while striking out five batters.
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Zeferjahn battled through six innings before turning the ball over to redshirt-sophomore Ryan Cyr (2-1) for the seventh, and junior closer Zack Leban for the eighth and ninth.
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Sophomore catcher Jaxx Groshans started the early rally for KU in the first inning after he drilled a two-out pitch up the middle to get on base, extending his hit streak to 12 games. Then redshirt-sophomore Brendt Citta forced a fielding error and junior left fielder Devin Foyle singled to center field to drive in Groshans to give Kansas the lead, 1-0.
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The Jayhawks tacked on one run in each the fourth and fifth innings, respectively, before Messinger chalked up a three-spot in the seventh with his home run.
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“I can’t tell you how pleased I am with our offense,” Price said. “You look at the arms we have seen this season – the last five games should set it up for the power arms we are going to see in conference play.”
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St. John’s stormed back for two runs in the ninth, but Leban was able to force a groundout with two outs and the tying run at third to pick up his Big 12-leading seventh save.
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Kansas is back on the field Wednesday March 14, for a midweek matchup against Omaha. First pitch Is slated for 3 p.m. Fans unable to attend can watch the game on ESPN3, available at WatchESPN.com or streaming live on multiple devices via the ESPN app. In addition to a video broadcast, the contest can also be heard on the Jayhawk Radio Network via KUAthletics.com/Radio.
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MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Bring out the brooms: For the first time since 2014 (then-No. 19 Texas Tech), the Jayhawks swept a ranked opponent when they defeated No. 20 St. John’s Sunday afternoon. That sweep also marked the second-consecutive weekend series sweep for KU this season, another first since that 2014 campaign where it closed conference play sweeping three-consecutive weekends.
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Ten-plus streaks: Sophomore catcher Jaxx Groshans and redshirt-sophomore right fielder Brendt Citta extended their hitting streaks to 12 and 11 games, respectively. They are the first tandem to hold 10-plus-game hitting streaks at the same time since Colby Wright (14) and Michael Tinsley (10) accomplished that feat on May 6, 2016.
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