Jayhawks down Cardinals for seventh win in a row
PORT CHARLOTTE, Florida – Strong pitching and timely hitting paced the Kansas baseball team to victory Sunday morning as the Jayhawks defeated Ball State, 6-1, at North Charlotte Park in the Snowbird Classic.
The Jayhawks (11-3) rode redshirt-freshman lefty Eli Davis (2-1) through a career-high seven-inning outing to their seventh-straight victory. Davis struck out six batters in the performance compared to one walk and four hits.
The lone run Davis gave up came in the first inning when Ball State (8-8) second baseman Noah Navarro hit a home run to left field. That stood as Davis’ only blemish as he pitched six-consecutive shutout innings for the win.
Kansas broke open the scoring with a two-spot in the top of the first via a two-run triple by junior left fielder Brett Vosik. KU added a run in each the fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to seal up the victory.
Junior shortstop Benjamin Sems led the Jayhawks with three RBIs while No. 1 through No. 7 in the order each recorded one base knock.
NOTABLES
- Kansas extended its winning streak to seven games – its longest since winning eight in a row in 2017 (April 30 – May 13).
- Redshirt-sophomore Jonah Ulane struck out the side in the ninth on 12 pitches – he now has 15 strikeouts in eight and 1/3 innings pitched.
- During the seven-game winning streak, Jayhawk pitchers have combined for a 1.29 ERA in 63 innings pitched.
QUOTES
Head coach Ritch Price
On getting up early and getting to the field:
“We played the late game last night and the early game this morning, and I wanted our guys to get up and get to the field and treat it like a normal day. We did our normal pregame and played flawlessly. I was proud of the toughness our guys showed.”
On winning seven in a row:
“We need good starting pitching if we are going to meet our goals this season. We have had strong pitching the last couple of weeks and that has allowed us to get our bats moving. We faced three really good arms this weekend, the type we will see in conference play. I am proud of how our guys have handled themselves this weekend.”
UP NEXT
Kansas continues the Snowbird Classic with a 9 a.m. (CT) first pitch against Central Connecticut State on Tuesday, March 12.
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