NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont scored all seven of its runs in the fourth inning, which turned out to be all they needed as the Kansas Jayhawks fell to the Bruins 7-4 on Sunday at E.S. Rose Park. Sophomore Chase Jans had a two-run inside-the-park home run for the Jayhawks and senior Cal transfer Cole Elvis added a two-run homer.
With two outs in the third inning, Jans hit a ball into center field that got past a diving attempt from the Belmont center fielder and went all the way to the wall. Jans raced around the bases as freshman Cooper Kelly trotted in from third base, and Jans slid in just ahead of the catcher’s tag to give Kansas a 2-0 lead.
Belmont (5-7) then put together a huge two-out rally in the fourth inning. The Bruins sent 11 hitters to the plate in the frame and scored seven runs, all coming with two outs. Kansas starter Hunter Cranton started the inning before sophomore Gavin Brasosky came in and junior Kolby Dougan got out of the inning. Brasosky was unable to get an out, while Dougan got a flyout to center to end the inning. The seven runs came via a double steal, three RBI singles, a two-run triple and a wild pitch.
After getting the final out of the fourth, Dougan went on to throw three more scoreless innings. He struck out the side in the sixth, finished with four strikeouts and did not walk any hitters, while allowing only one hit.
Kansas (6-4) was able to cut into the deficit in the eighth inning with a two-out, two-run homer off the bat of Elvis. The homer was the second of the season for Elvis and trimmed the score to 7-4. That was as close as the Jayhawks would get.
Offensively, the Jayhawks were able to start off innings with the leadoff man on base in six of nine frames on Sunday. KU was able to score in only one of those innings.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Dominic Baratta (1-1)
Final line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 SO
Save: Ethan Harden (1)
Final line: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
Loss: Hunter Cranton (1-1)
Final line: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 SO
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Chase Jans: Jans went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, inside-the-park home run, two RBIs and two runs. Jans also made two spectacular diving catches in left field, including a run-saving grab to end the 2nd inning with runners on first and second.
QUOTABLE
“I thought our intent was great and if you take away the fourth inning, we played good enough to win. However, that’s not how it works, and we did a number of things in the fourth that winning teams don’t do.
Brasosky has been as good as you can be out of the bullpen, so I don’t second guess that one at all. We had the right matchups, we just gave them too much leash.
We have zero time to feel sorry for ourselves – we have to learn and fix it.” – Coach Dan Fitzgerald
NOTES
• Kansas is 6-4 through the first 10 games.
• Jans hit the first inside-the-park home run by a Jayhawk since James Cosentino vs. Texas Southern on Feb. 23, 2019.
• Elvis hit his second home run of the season.
• Freshman Cooper Kelly had his first career multi-hit game. Kelly went 2-for-3 with a double and run scored.
UP NEXT
Kansas will host its home opener against Wichita State on Wednesday, March 8 at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the Jayhawk Sports Network. Fans can purchase tickets to the game by contacting the Kansas ticket office at 785-864-3141 or by visiting the ticketing page here.
