Kansas Jayhawks Salvage Game to Avoid Winless Series against the Citadel Bulldogs
The Kansas Jayhawks baseball team are now 8-10 after taking on The Citadel Bulldogs in a three-game weekend series in Charleston, South Carolina. Weather caused mutliple schedule changes, with a doubleheader on Friday, March 17th being followed by a single game on Sunday, March 19th.
Game 1
As expected, Collin Baumgartner took to the mound and tossed a career-high 7 1/3 innings. Baumgartner has been the clear ace for the Jayhawks, giving up eight hits, two earned runs, and three strikeouts on 86 pitches. He lowered his earned run average to 2.96 in 27 1/3 innings pitched in 2023. Baumgartner would hand the baseball to Stone Hewlett, who unfortunately would give up a walk-off two-run homerun to The Citadel's Matthew Lively. The Jayhawks held the lead from the 5th inning but would give it up at the end.
The Jayhawk hitters once again hit the baseball, recording 12 hits, but could not capitalize with runners in scoring position as they would leave nine runners stranded. On a positive note, Kansas only struck out four times. Two Jayhawk hitters had multiple hit games. Cole Elvis would go 3-for-5, and Kody Shojinaga continues to impress by going 2-for-3. Shojinaga is making a statement to be honored for the Big 12 All-Freshman Team at the end of the year.
Game 2
The starting pitching for the Kansas Jayhawks came prepared this weekend, and Sam Ireland did not disappoint. Ireland would throw 6 1/3 innings, giving up nine hits, two earned runs, and two strikeouts, throwing 86 pitches. Between Baumgartner and Ireland, they limited the walks, utilized their defense, and kept the Jayhawks in the game. Opposing pitcher Ben Hutchins just outdueled Ireland, throwing seven innings, giving up five hits, one earned run, one walk, and five strikeouts while throwing 103 pitches. Trumper and Dougan would relieve Ireland throwing 1 2/3 innings, giving up one earned run on three hits. The one run would give The Citadel enough to secure the victory.
Once again, the Jayhawks started with a lead coming from a Luke Leto solo home run. Unfortunately, Kansas could only muster six hits and two runs while striking out six times. Another positive note is Mike Koszewski continued his on-base streak to 15 games.
Game 3
Johnny Wholestaff is a phrase often used in baseball, where the bullpen pitches the majority of the game. Ethan Bradford would start the game throwing three innings, giving up two hits, one walk, and four strikes before he would hand it over to the bullpen. Toby Haarer would throw one inning, giving up two walks, no runs, and two strikeouts. Gavin Brasosky would be given another chance and would pitch two innings giving up three hits, two runs, and one strikeout. Following Brasosky was a combination of Hewlett, Tylicki, Trumper, and Dougan. They combined for three innings, giving up four hits, six runs, three walks, and two strikeouts. Luckily the Jayhawks' bats showed up, and Bradford walked away with the victory.
The Jayhawk hitters must have received a stern talking from coach Fitzgerald because they came ready to hit. Kansas would record 14 hits, 11 RBIs, 12 runs, and nine walks. The only negative was they struck out 12 times. The Jayhawks had five hitters record multiple hits as Chase Jans would lead the way going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and one walk. Currently, Jans sits atop the Jayhawk hitters in numerous categories. Another strong day came from Janson Reeder. Reeder went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two walks.
Head coach Tim Fitzgerald said, “Great team win. Baseball is a funny game. I thought we played more complete on Friday than we did today. The ball just found holes today and the wind shifted. We get on the board early with Janny’s [Janson Reeder] home run and some really good situational hitting. I thought Coach Scott had a great plan with the bullpen and we executed it really well. I would like to clean up some of the drama at the end, but overall, I was pleased with the competitive nature of our guys and the direction we’re going. We have a long way to go, but we’ll get there.”
The Kansas Jayhawks will return to the midwest and play a significant game for their fans as they take on the Missouri Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. The game slated for Wednesday, March 22nd, with the first pitch scheduled for 6 pm.
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