Completed Event: Women's Volleyball at #18 Creighton on September 21, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 3
Final
Women's Volleyball
0
at #18 Creighton
3
Saturday, March 29
Lawrence, Kan.
2 p.m. CT
University of Kansas
22-6, 5-3
12
vs
11
Oklahoma State
12-12, 1-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
R
H
E
Oklahoma State
0
0
0
2
0
0
3
3
1
0
2
11
12
1
Kansas
0
0
1
3
0
4
1
0
0
0
3
12
10
0
Kansas Walks Off Oklahoma State 12-11 in Extras
3/29/2025 7:48:00 PM | Baseball
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Sawyer Smith hit a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift Kansas to a 12-11 thrilling victory on Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark in front of a crowd of 2,307 fans. The walk-off victory clinched a series win heading into the series finale on Sunday.
In a game that Kansas led 8-2 after six innings and then trailed 11-9 in the middle of the 11th inning, Smith's heroics gave Kansas its fourth walk-off win of the season. Kansas improved to 22-6 overall this season and 5-3 in Big 12 play.
Kannon Carr started and tossed five innings and allowed two runs on five hits in his third career Division I start. Alex Breckheimer earned the win after entering the game with the bases loaded in the ninth and pitching through the 11th. Five Jayhawks hit a home run in the game, including Jackson Hauge, Ian Francis, Derek Cerda, Brady Ballinger and then Smith to win it.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• After Kansas built an 8-2 lead, Oklahoma State scored three runs in the seventh, three runs in the eighth and one run in the ninth to tie the game and send it to extras.
• Each team left a runner stranded on third in the 10th inning.
• In the 11th, Oklahoma State hit a two-out double and then Brock Thompson hit a go-ahead two-run homer to take an 11-9 lead.
• The bottom of the 11th began with a leadoff double from Mike Koszewski and a walk by Tommy Barth. Francis moved them up to second and third with a groundout and Smith coming to the plate next. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Smith turned on a fastball and punched it through the teeth of the wind over the right field wall to send the Kansas fans and dugout into a frenzy.
• Both teams had opportunities to score in the first two innings but each left runners stranded.
• Kansas was able to strike offensively in the third inning. Hauge led off the inning with a solo home run to give the Jayhawks a 1-0 lead.
• Oklahoma State (12-11, 1-5 Big 12) responded in the top of the fourth with two runs of their own. An RBI single by Beau Sylvester and a sacrifice fly from Thompson gave the Cowboys a 2-1 lead.
• The Jayhawks had an answer in the bottom of the fourth with three runs, all courtesy of the home run. Francis hit a two-run blast and two batters later Cerda hit a solo homer. That gave Kansas a 4-2 lead.
• KU was able to stretch out the lead in the sixth inning by adding four runs. Brady Counsell drew a bases-loaded walk for the first run of the inning. Barth followed with a two-run double and Francis brought in one more run on an RBI groundout. Kansas led 8-2 after six innings.
• The Cowboys would not go away quietly as Brayden Smith hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to cut the score to 8-5.
• Ballinger got one of those runs back in the bottom of the seventh on a solo home run to left-center field to make it a 9-5 game.
• Oklahoma State was able to make it a one run game with another three-run homer in the eighth inning. Alex Conover's home run made it 9-8 in favor of Kansas.
• In the ninth, Oklahoma State tied the game at 9-9 on a wild pitch with two outs in the inning.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Alex Breckheimer (2-0)
Final line: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 SO
Loss: Sean Youngerman (0-1)
Final line: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 SO
SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME
QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
"There's a ton to like and then there's some stuff to fix. We played great for a really good chunk of that game. We give up a three-spot in the seventh and a three-spot in the eighth. We gave a bunch of it up with two outs and they had some really, really clutch at-bats. They are a fantastic offensive team and have a bunch of left-handed bats. You could get one out to left today, I didn't think you could get one out to right until the very end. Incredibly resilient. I'm proud of how he fought. It is incredibly hard to blow a lead a couple times and come back and win and do it the way we just did. I'm incredibly proud of these guys. I love who they are as a team and I love how they compete." – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald
"We had second and third so the tying run was on second. [Youngerman] was throwing a lot of fastballs. I tried to get my swing off and just see what happens. I got it good, but I was hoping it went through the wind. It was awesome. So much excitement, joy, just being able to come back and win this game was huge." – Sawyer Smith
• Kansas has four walk-off victories this season at Hoglund Ballpark (Feb. 27, March 6, March 9, March 29).
• Kansas has hit 59 home runs this season through the first 28 games. The program record for home runs is 75 in 2006 and 2023.
• Kansas has hit multiple home runs in the same inning in nine games this year.
• Hauge hit his team-high 12th home run of the season. He has reached base safely in each of the last 14 games.
• Cerda connected on his fifth home run of the season.
• Francis now has four home runs this year.
• Brooks has reached base safely in 17 consecutive games.
• Ballinger belted his ninth home run of the season.
• Smith hit his fifth home run of the season.
UP NEXT
Kansas and Oklahoma State will play the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Gallery: (3-28-2025) Baseball vs. Oklahoma State
In a game that Kansas led 8-2 after six innings and then trailed 11-9 in the middle of the 11th inning, Smith's heroics gave Kansas its fourth walk-off win of the season. Kansas improved to 22-6 overall this season and 5-3 in Big 12 play.
Kannon Carr started and tossed five innings and allowed two runs on five hits in his third career Division I start. Alex Breckheimer earned the win after entering the game with the bases loaded in the ninth and pitching through the 11th. Five Jayhawks hit a home run in the game, including Jackson Hauge, Ian Francis, Derek Cerda, Brady Ballinger and then Smith to win it.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• After Kansas built an 8-2 lead, Oklahoma State scored three runs in the seventh, three runs in the eighth and one run in the ninth to tie the game and send it to extras.
• Each team left a runner stranded on third in the 10th inning.
• In the 11th, Oklahoma State hit a two-out double and then Brock Thompson hit a go-ahead two-run homer to take an 11-9 lead.
• The bottom of the 11th began with a leadoff double from Mike Koszewski and a walk by Tommy Barth. Francis moved them up to second and third with a groundout and Smith coming to the plate next. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Smith turned on a fastball and punched it through the teeth of the wind over the right field wall to send the Kansas fans and dugout into a frenzy.
• Both teams had opportunities to score in the first two innings but each left runners stranded.
• Kansas was able to strike offensively in the third inning. Hauge led off the inning with a solo home run to give the Jayhawks a 1-0 lead.
• Oklahoma State (12-11, 1-5 Big 12) responded in the top of the fourth with two runs of their own. An RBI single by Beau Sylvester and a sacrifice fly from Thompson gave the Cowboys a 2-1 lead.
• The Jayhawks had an answer in the bottom of the fourth with three runs, all courtesy of the home run. Francis hit a two-run blast and two batters later Cerda hit a solo homer. That gave Kansas a 4-2 lead.
• KU was able to stretch out the lead in the sixth inning by adding four runs. Brady Counsell drew a bases-loaded walk for the first run of the inning. Barth followed with a two-run double and Francis brought in one more run on an RBI groundout. Kansas led 8-2 after six innings.
• The Cowboys would not go away quietly as Brayden Smith hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to cut the score to 8-5.
• Ballinger got one of those runs back in the bottom of the seventh on a solo home run to left-center field to make it a 9-5 game.
• Oklahoma State was able to make it a one run game with another three-run homer in the eighth inning. Alex Conover's home run made it 9-8 in favor of Kansas.
• In the ninth, Oklahoma State tied the game at 9-9 on a wild pitch with two outs in the inning.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Alex Breckheimer (2-0)
Final line: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 SO
Loss: Sean Youngerman (0-1)
Final line: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 SO
SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME
ROCK CHALK WALK OFF!!!!!@sawyer_smith8 hits a 3-run home run in the 11th to give the Jayhawks their fourth walk-off win this season!#RockChalk pic.twitter.com/4PhUdT4890
— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) March 29, 2025
QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
"There's a ton to like and then there's some stuff to fix. We played great for a really good chunk of that game. We give up a three-spot in the seventh and a three-spot in the eighth. We gave a bunch of it up with two outs and they had some really, really clutch at-bats. They are a fantastic offensive team and have a bunch of left-handed bats. You could get one out to left today, I didn't think you could get one out to right until the very end. Incredibly resilient. I'm proud of how he fought. It is incredibly hard to blow a lead a couple times and come back and win and do it the way we just did. I'm incredibly proud of these guys. I love who they are as a team and I love how they compete." – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald
"We had second and third so the tying run was on second. [Youngerman] was throwing a lot of fastballs. I tried to get my swing off and just see what happens. I got it good, but I was hoping it went through the wind. It was awesome. So much excitement, joy, just being able to come back and win this game was huge." – Sawyer Smith
• Kansas has four walk-off victories this season at Hoglund Ballpark (Feb. 27, March 6, March 9, March 29).
• Kansas has hit 59 home runs this season through the first 28 games. The program record for home runs is 75 in 2006 and 2023.
• Kansas has hit multiple home runs in the same inning in nine games this year.
• Hauge hit his team-high 12th home run of the season. He has reached base safely in each of the last 14 games.
• Cerda connected on his fifth home run of the season.
• Francis now has four home runs this year.
• Brooks has reached base safely in 17 consecutive games.
• Ballinger belted his ninth home run of the season.
• Smith hit his fifth home run of the season.
UP NEXT
Kansas and Oklahoma State will play the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Breckheimer, Alex (2-0)
L: Youngerman, Sean (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Conover, Alex 1 ; Sylvester, Beau 1
HR: Conover, Alex 1 ; Smith, Brayden 1 ; Thompson, Brock 1
RBI: Conover, Alex 3 ; Smith, Brayden 3 ; Sylvester, Beau 1 ; Thompson, Brock 3
SH: Smith, Brayden 1
SF: Thompson, Brock 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Conover, Alex 2 ; Smith, Brayden 1 ; LaSalle, Donovan 1 ; Ritchie, Kollin 1 ; Jones, Jayson 1 ; Sylvester, Beau 1 ; Thompson, Brock 2 ; Shull, Garrett 2
CS: Jones, Jayson 1
Batting:
2B: Koszewski, Mike 1 ; Barth, Tommy 1
HR: Cerda, Derek 1 ; Ballinger, Brady 1 ; Hauge, Jackson 1 ; Francis, Ian 1 ; Smith, Sawyer 1
RBI: Cerda, Derek 1 ; Ballinger, Brady 1 ; Hauge, Jackson 1 ; Counsell, Brady 1 ; Barth, Tommy 2 ; Francis, Ian 3 ; Smith, Sawyer 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Cerda, Derek 1 ; Ballinger, Brady 1 ; Hauge, Jackson 2 ; Osoria, Dariel 1 ; Brooks, Michael 1 ; Counsell, Brady 1 ; Koszewski, Mike 1 ; Barth, Tommy 2 ; Francis, Ian 1 ; Smith, Sawyer 1
SB: Counsell, Brady 1
HBP: Cerda, Derek 1 ; Osoria, Dariel 1 ; Smith, Sawyer 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
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OF
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RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
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/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
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