Kansas shut out at No. 24 Wichita State
WICHITA, Kan. – The Kansas baseball team matched a season-low four hits Wednesday night at Eck Stadium as the Jayhawks lost to the No. 24-ranked Wichita State Shockers, 11-0.
Kansas (19-17) recorded one extra-base hit in the loss while the Shockers (26-9) hit for eight doubles, including four-straight with two outs in a five-run fifth.
“It is amazing to me that we didn’t score here today,” head coach Ritch Price said. “That is as poor of an offensive performance as we have had the entire season. Once we got behind, we weren’t even able to compete at the plate to get back in the game. Wichita State completely dominated us.”
The Jayhawks struck out six times the first time through the order and finished the day with 13 punch outs compared to four hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Sophomore designated hitter Jaxx Groshans recorded the lone extra-base hit for KU – a double in the sixth inning.
Sophomore second baseman James Cosentino (1-for-3), junior defensive replacement Blake Shinkle (1-for-3) and senior first baseman Owen Taylor (1-for-2) notched the other three hits.
Freshman lefty Conner VanCleave (0-2) started on the bump and pitched two innings of two-run ball. He struck out the first hitter he faced while only one of the runs he surrendered was earned. Redshirt-freshman Jonah Ulane came on in relief and tossed his best outing of his career.
Ulane struck out five hitters in his first two innings of work, with his only blemish coming via a leadoff walk in the fourth. However, another leadoff walk and a hit-by-pitch in the fifth set the table for a Shocker big inning. Ulane got tagged for three runs in that frame while striking out a career-best six hitters.
“I thought VanCleave and Ulane did a really nice job for us,” Price said. “I was really pleased with their effort. It was a big step forward for those two men.”
That five-run frame put a dagger in any momentum Kansas had on offense and the Jayhawks were shutout for the second-straight time at Eck Stadium.
UP NEXT
Kansas continues its trip south to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for a three-game conference series against Oklahoma State, April 20-22 at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Nineteen scoreless: Kansas has not scored a run at Eck Stadium since the eighth inning of its 7-6 loss to the Shockers on May 17, 2016. That game snapped a seven-game winning streak the Jayhawks had strung together against WSU and started a streak of 19 scoreless frames for KU at Eck Stadium.
Four hits: For the third time this season and second time in their last three games, the Jayhawks tallied a season-low four hits. In all three instances, Kansas has lost the contest.
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