LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas started Big 12 play with a bang as the Jayhawks took down No. 3 TCU by a score of 3-1 on Friday night at Hoglund Ballpark. The Kansas pitching staff retired the final eight TCU batters that came to the plate via strikeout to put an exclamation point on the victory.
The win is the first over a top five ranked opponent since April 3, 2022, against No. 4 Texas Tech. Kansas held TCU to only four hits and recorded a season-high 14 strikeouts. The Jayhawks handed the Horned Frogs – who entered at 13-0 – their first loss of the season.
Kansas starter Reese Dutton dazzled, tossing seven innings, allowing only one run, while striking out a season-high eight batters after allowing his only run in the first. He threw 94 pitches with 70 strikes in a brilliant Friday night performance. Chase Diggins hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning to give Kansas a lead that it would hold for the rest of the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• TCU (13-1, 0-1 Big 12) picked up an early run in the first inning. After a leadoff single and a walk, a flyout moved up the runners and an RBI groundout by Logan Maxwell made the score 1-0.
• Dutton and TCU starting pitcher Payton Tolle each threw up zeros for the next three innings.
• In the bottom of the fifth, Kansas took the lead and never looked back. Collier Cranford drew a leadoff walk and Diggins followed with a two-run moon shot to left field. The homer gave KU a 2-1 advantage.
• Dutton continued to get better as the game went on. He punched out two Horned Frogs in both the sixth and seventh innings as his night came to an end.
• The Jayhawks added one more run in the bottom of the seventh inning after Diggins started the frame with a leadoff walk. After two wild pitches moved Diggins to third, Kodey Shojinaga brought him home on an RBI groundout.
• Tegan Cain came on for Dutton in the eighth inning and struck out the side in order.
• Hunter Cranton did the same in the ninth with three punchouts to earn his first save of the season.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Reese Dutton (3-1)
Final line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 8 SO
Loss: Payton Tolle (1-1)
Final line: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 SO
Save: Hunter Cranton (1)
Final line: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Reese Dutton: The senior transfer from USC Upstate tossed seven innings against the previously undefeated Horned Frogs. After allowing a run in the first inning, Dutton shutout TCU the rest of the way. The Kenosha, Wisconsin native struck out the side in the fourth inning and ended the sixth and seventh innings with emphatic strikeouts.
SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME
ROCK CHALK 😤
Top 5 win to start Big 12 play. pic.twitter.com/cA1hO6jPnP
— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) March 9, 2024
QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
“There are different things for each team unique to what they do but very little of that ever impacts what we do and how we approach it. I’ve said it 1,000 times, if you win the 17 inches across the strike zone you win the game and that’s what we did tonight.” – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald
“First inning I’m always a little shaky just kind of feeling out hitters and also what stuff I have in the given moment. I think (tonight was about) just trusting my stuff and letting it work and letting the hitters get themselves out and not trying to do too much.” – Reese Dutton
“To be honest, I wasn’t really thinking (about hitting a home run). My approach was to stay up the middle, which is pretty much the whole team’s approach. I kind of got one in and it might have been a ball inside. I tried to stay up the middle and it went down the line but it got out.” – Chase Diggins
• Kansas earned its first win against a top five opponent since April 3, 2022 vs. No. 4 Texas Tech (W, 8-5). The win is the first against a top three ranked opponent since March 19, 2017 at No. 3 TCU (W, 4-3). The victory is the highest ranked win at home since a 5-3 win vs. No. 2 Texas A&M on April 15, 2012.
• Kansas won its first conference opener since the 2015 season at #17 Texas Tech (W, 7-4).
• Kansas recorded a season-high 14 strikeouts.
• Kansas pitching struck out the final eight batters it faced and nine of the last 10. TCU did not have a runner reach base in the seventh, eighth or ninth innings.
• Dutton has earned the win in three-straight starts. He also has a quality start in back-to-back outings.
• Diggins hit his second home run of the season.
UP NEXT
Kansas (8-4, 1-0 Big 12) plays the second game of a three-game series against No. 3 TCU on Saturday at Hoglund Ballpark at 2 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and live audio will be available on the Jayhawk Sports Network. Fans can purchase tickets by contacting the Kansas ticket office at 785-864-3141 or by visiting the ticketing page here.
