Kansas Wins First Conference Series; Drops Series Finale 9-7 to Baylor

Sunday, March 16

Lawrence, Kan.

1 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

17-3, 2-1

Baylor

14-5, 1-2

Baylor

Kansas

Kansas Wins First Conference Series; Drops Series Finale 9-7 to Baylor

3/16/2025 5:24:00 PM | Baseball

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas baseball suffered its first loss in conference play this season as Baylor defeated Kansas 9-7 on Sunday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark. Brady Counsell and Derek Cerda each homered despite the loss.

Kansas took a 5-0 lead in the game before Baylor scored seven runs to take a 7-5 lead. The Jayhawks were then able to even up the game at 7-7 after six innings. However, Baylor would score two runs in the eighth inning to take a 9-7 lead that would stand for the remainder of the game. Kansas moved to 17-3 on the season and 2-1 in conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• For a second day in a row, Kansas broke through offensively in the third inning. The Jayhawks scored five runs in the frame, all coming with two outs. KU loaded the bases and Dariel Osoria worked a bases loaded walk to score the first run. Counsell came up next and connected on a grand slam to left-center field to make it a 5-0 game.
• Baylor (14-5, 1-2 Big 12) responded over the next two innings with seven runs to take a 7-5 lead. The Bears scored two runs in the fourth inning and put up five more in the fifth.
• The Jayhawks were able to get one of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run from Cerda on the first pitch of the inning. That made it a 7-6 Baylor advantage.
• In the sixth inning, Kansas evened up the game with an RBI double off the bat of Michael Brooks. At the end of six innings, Kansas and Baylor were tied 7-7.
• The Bears took back the lead in the eighth inning. Four consecutive singles to start the inning by Baylor allowed two runs to score and break the tie game.
• Kansas was unable to get a runner on base in the eighth or ninth innings.

PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Will Glatch 1-0)
Final line: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO
Loss: Eric Lin (1-1)
Final line: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
Save: Gabe Craig (4)
Final line: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO

SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME

COUNSELL SLAMMMMM ??@BradyCounsell clears the bases with his fifth HR of the season!

BOT 3 | Kansas 5, Baylor 0 pic.twitter.com/PUtj9qOvDu
— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) March 16, 2025

QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
"We let it slip away a lot. That was the frustrating part. You come back out (after the grand slam) and give up a two-spot and then limit the damage and it's 5-2…I think sometimes the seventh, eighth and ninth can get overplayed in the bullpen, meaning sometimes games are lost in the seventh, eighth and ninth, or won in the seventh, eighth and ninth, but often times it's in the middle. Our choice to bring in Breckheimer there was he's best available and Breck just didn't have it today, and that happens. I mean Breck has been so good. He had not allowed a run…So yeah, it was frustrating that we jumped out to that lead and couldn't hold it." – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald

"I think Jackson Hauge and Dariel Osoria had some good at-bats in front of me and then just built off of that. [Their pitcher] threw a couple good pitches, but I got one to hit with two strikes and put a good swing on it." – Brady Counsell

• Kansas fell to 17-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play this season.
• Kansas has hit 46 home runs this season through the first 20 games. The program record for home runs is 75 in 2006 and 2023.
• Kansas has hit four grand slams this season.
• Counsell hit his fifth home run of the year. He currently has a six-game hitting streak and a nine-game on-base streak.
• Cerda has hit a home run in back-to-back games and has four home runs this season. Cerda has reached base safely in all 10 games he has played this season.
• Ballinger had his streak of 19 straight games of reaching base and scoring a run to start the season snapped.
• Tommy Barth currently has a 14-game on-base streak.
• Osoria has reached base safely in all 13 games he has played this season.
• Ian Francis has a seven-game hitting streak.

UP NEXT
Kansas will head to the state of Arizona for the next week. The Jayhawks will play Arizona in a non-conference midweek matchup on Tuesday, March 18 and then have a three-game conference series at Arizona State from March 21-23.