Minnesota Defeats Kansas on Friday Night

Friday, February 27

Minneapolis, Minn.

6 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

6-3

Minnesota

6-2

Kansas

Minnesota

Minnesota Defeats Kansas on Friday Night

2/27/2026 10:08:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Statistics

MINNEAPOLIS – Kansas baseball dropped the second game of the series against Minnesota, 12-5 at U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday evening. Minnesota built an 11-0 lead in the first four innings. Tyson LeBlanc and Tyson Owens each hit a home run, while sophomore Daniel Lopez threw 2.2 scoreless and hitless innings in the defeat.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Minnesota (6-2) was able to strike first. The Golden Gophers scored a run in the first inning on a solo homer by Weber Neels to take a 1-0 lead.
• That lead stretched out in the third inning as Minnesota plated six runs. A pair of RBI singles, a three-run homer by Charlie Sutherland and an RBI double made it a 7-0 game.
• Minnesota added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it 11-0.
• Kansas (6-3) put its first run on the board in the fifth inning. LeBlanc hit a solo home run for his second long ball of the season.
• The Jayhawks added another run in the sixth inning on an RBI double by Cade Baldridge. That made it a 11-2 ballgame.
• The Golden Gophers added an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth.
• KU got the run back in the seventh on an RBI double off the bat of Jordan Bach. Minnesota led 12-3 at the seventh inning stretch.
• With two outs in the ninth inning, Owens crushed a two-run homer for the first of his career.
• Maddox Burkitt, Emerson McKnight and Lopez all had scoreless relief outings. Lopez faced the minimum and struck out five of the eight batters he faced.

PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Cole Selvig (2-0)
Final line: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 SO
Loss: Dominic Voegele (1-2)
Final line: 2.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 2 SO

QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
"Well, we played great from the fifth inning on. Burkitt came on and pitched well, then McKnight was great, (Aiden) Cline got himself in trouble, but Lopez did an awesome job. We blew it on the front end and made some uncharacteristic mistakes defensively. There are going to be games like this. We lose one like this and we're certainly going to win one like this at some point too. For us, it's all about the process and it's all about us getting back to preparing for the remainder of the series, beginning with tomorrow." – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald

• Lopez threw 2.2 scoreless and hitless innings of relief. He struck out five of the eight batters he faced.
• LeBlanc hit his second home run of the season.
• Owens crushed his first home run as a Jayhawk.
• McKnight made his Jayhawks debut and threw a scoreless frame by retiring all three batters he faced.

UP NEXT
Kansas and Minnesota will play the third game of the series on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on B1G+.