Kansas Suffers First Setback of the Season to Omaha

Friday, February 28

Lawrence, Kan.

3 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

8-1

Omaha

3-6

Omaha

Kansas

Kansas Suffers First Setback of the Season to Omaha

2/28/2025 7:12:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas dropped its first game of the 2025 season as the Jayhawks fell 9-5 on Friday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark in front of a raucous crowd of 2,078 fans. Despite the loss, Jackson Hauge, Tommy Barth and Michael Brooks did hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Kansas got off to a promising start with a run in the first inning. Sophomore Brady Ballinger scored on a wild pitch to give the Jayhawks a 1-0 lead.
• Omaha (3-6) was able to takeover that lead with a big third inning. The Mavericks tied the game on a Tyler Bishop RBI double. Then, Trent Burkhalter hit a grand slam to left field to build a 5-1 advantage that Omaha would hold onto the rest of the game.
• The Mavericks added one more run in the fourth on an RBI single by Jackson Trout. That extended the lead to 6-1.
• KU was able to close the gap in the bottom of the fourth inning when Hauge, Barth and Brooks led off the frame with back-to-back-to-back solo home runs. Hauge drove one out to center field, while Barth went to right field and Brooks to right-center field. The three solo blasts made it a 6-4 ballgame.
• Omaha scored one run in the sixth on a throwing error to make it 7-4. Omaha's first seven runs of the game came with two outs.
• Kansas capitalized on an error in the bottom of the sixth when Ballinger came in to score on a ball that got past the shortstop. The run brought the game to a two-run deficit.
• The Mavericks scored two more runs in seventh inning to build a four-run lead that they held onto the rest of the way.

PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Tanner Foerstch (1-0)
Final line: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
Loss: Dominic Voegele (1-1)
Final line: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 6 SO

SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS ??????

x3 home runs in a row as @mkbrooks0225 hits a solo home run to right center!

BOT 4 | Omaha 6, Kansas 4 https://t.co/EmJCsMhZjS pic.twitter.com/NvLtlBohL3
— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) February 28, 2025

QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
"I just told them I know in the back of our minds we all thought we were going to run the table. In reality, we would have been the first team in the history of the game of baseball to do that. This day was going to come and it is always about how you respond…I evaluate how we play and then try to get the guys to understand that it's literally about how you prep and then how you execute what you prep. The message tonight was real simple, 'guys this unfortunately is part of our 56-game regular season and because it's part of it, it just becomes your chest is out, your chin is up and you walk out of here super confident'. Confidence should not in any way be shaken by the outcome on a scoreboard. Now, if the process is bad, if you don't prepare the right way, then confidence should be shaky, but we are A+ in terms of our prep and how these guys are getting after it." – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald

"It has been really awesome. All the guys at KU have brought a ton of support and we're all about growing the game. It's really cool to see all those people out here. I don't think we've played in front of a crowd that electric." – Jackson Hauge

• Kansas dropped its first game of the season.
• Kansas hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning. It is the first time since at least 2003 that Kansas has hit three consecutive home runs. The last time Kansas had three home runs in the same inning was May 12, 2023 at Samford.
• Kansas had 2,078 fans in attendance, which was the eighth-largest crowd in Hoglund Ballpark history.
• Hauge hit his team-leading fourth home run of the season.
• Barth launched his second home run of the season. He finished 3-for-4 with a double, home run, RBI and run scored.
• Brooks connected on his first homer of the year.

UP NEXT
Kansas and Omaha will play the third game of the series on Saturday at Equity Bank Park in Wichita, Kansas. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and live audio will be available on the Jayhawk Sports Network.