Kansas Earns Series Split with 8-3 Win at Minnesota

Sunday, March 1

Minneapolis, Minn.

1 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

7-4

Minnesota

7-3

Kansas

Minnesota

Kansas Earns Series Split with 8-3 Win at Minnesota

3/1/2026 5:48:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Statistics

MINNEAPOLIS – Kansas baseball will head back home with a series split after an 8-3 victory against Minnesota at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Jayhawks led by one run heading into the ninth inning before scoring four runs to open the game up. Tyson Owens hit a solo home run in the win for his second of the series.

Freshman Madden Seidl started the game on the mound and allowed two runs over 3.2 innings. The combination of Riane Ritter, Toby Scheidt, Caleb Deer and Boede Rahe threw the final 5.1 innings and allowed only one run. Ritter picked up his second win of the season and Rahe earned his first career save.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Minnesota (7-3) scored a run in the first inning to take an early lead. After a leadoff triple, a sacrifice fly made it a 1-0 game.
• Kansas (7-4) evened up the game in the fourth with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Max Soliz Jr. That tied the game at 1-1.
• The Golden Gophers were able to get that run back in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Jameson Martin. The run gave Minnesota a 2-1 advantage.
• The Jayhawks answered back immediately with a leadoff solo homer by Owens to start the fifth. The home run tied the game at 2-2.
• Kansas took the lead for the first time in the sixth inning with a pair of runs. Brady Ballinger hit an RBI double and Dariel Osoria drove in a run on an RBI groundout. Those two runs gave Kansas a 4-2 lead.
• Minnesota cut into that lead with a solo home run by Weber Neels in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 4-3 game.
• The Jayhawks preserved their one-run lead in the seventh and eighth innings with Scheidt, Deer and Rahe on the mound. They kept two runners stranded on base in both innings, including a runner on third base in each.
• Kansas pushed across four insurance runs in the top of the ninth to provide some cushion. Dylan Schlotterback had a sacrifice fly, Josh Dykhoff and Owens each had bases loaded walks and Augusto Mungarrieta scored on a wild pitch. That stretched the lead to 8-3.

PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Riane Ritter (2-1)
Final line: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
Loss: Marcus Kruzan (2-1)
Final line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 SO
Save: Boede Rahe (1)
Final line: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO

SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME

Second of the weekend for @Owens4Tyson ?? pic.twitter.com/K5RGH28Pvv
— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) March 1, 2026

QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
"I think getting off the mat is, if it's not the core element of athletics, it's certainly one of the foundational elements of athletics, just being able to take a punch and get off the mat and fight back. We threw a punch in game one and they came back and just played better baseball than us in games two and three. Then, we returned the favor today and played better baseball. Baseball is an incredibly complicated game that can also be really simple when you take care of the ball and win the strike zone. We did a nice job today of taking what they gave us. We have to clean some stuff up, but I'm really proud of this team and how these guys fought. Those were two ugly games the last two days and to be able to shake it off and get the win was big." – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald

"I think what worked was just sticking to what our coaches have been teaching us each and every week about selling out for the fastball and staying to our approach. They have been working with us all fall and spring. Since we got started, I think that's been the biggest thing for me is just trusting them and doing what they ask. This was a huge bounce back win for our team. The way that we came out and had a huge four-spot in the top of the ninth there is huge for us going back home next weekend." – Tyson Owens

• Kansas improved to 7-4 overall this season.
• Kansas is now 6-6 all-time at U.S. Bank Stadium.
• Owens hit his second home run of the season and his second of the series.
• Rahe earned his first career Division I save.
• Ballinger has reached base safely in all 11 games this season.
• Bach scored three runs in the game and has scored multiple runs in six of the 11 games this season. He has also reached base safely in all 11 games.

UP NEXT
Kansas will be home for the first time this season with a four-game series against St. Thomas, beginning on Thursday, March 5 at 3 p.m. CT. Fans can purchase tickets by clicking here.