⚾ Dutton, Kansas Win Sixth Straight Weekend Opener

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PROVO, Utah – Reese Dutton recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts as Kansas defeated BYU 11-1 on Thursday afternoon at Miller Park. Kansas now has six-straight wins in the opening game of the weekend, including four-straight in Big 12 play.

Dutton pitched eight dominant innings and allowed only one run as he threw 106 pitches with 75 strikes in a commanding performance to start the weekend. Dutton has won six-straight games, and this was his fifth-straight quality start. The six-straight wins are the most by a KU pitcher since at least 2003. Dutton’s 12 strikeouts were a career high and the most by a Kansas pitcher since the 2020 season.

KU’s Jake English and Michael Brooks both had three hits and three RBIs, while Ben Hartl and Kodey Shojinaga each had two hits in the victory. Kansas has scored at least 10 runs in the opening game of the weekend in three of the last four weeks.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Kansas (13-10, 5-5 Big 12) wasted no time by putting up four runs in the first inning. With a runner on and two outs, Jake English hammered a two-run home run to left field. After Ben Hartl was hit by a pitch, Collier Cranford hit an RBI double and Brooks followed that up with an RBI single. Kansas led 4-0 midway through the first inning.
• The Jayhawks added another run in the third on an RBI double by Hartl to stretch the lead to 5-0.
• BYU (11-12, 4-6 Big 12) scored its lone run of the game in the fourth inning on a solo home run by Bryker Hurdsman to make it 5-1.
• KU answered back in the top of the fifth when Brooks delivered a 2-out RBI single to bring the Kansas lead back to five runs at 6-1.
• The Jayhawks scored two more runs in the sixth inning on RBI singles by Lenny Ashby and English.
• In the eighth inning, John Nett hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot to push the score to 9-1 in favor of the visitors.
• Kansas closed out its scoring in the ninth with an RBI groundout from Collier Cranford and a solo home run by Brooks to make it 11-1.

PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Reese Dutton (6-1)
Final line: 8.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 12 SO
Loss: Ben Hansen (3-3)
Final line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 4 SO

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Reese Dutton: Dutton secured his sixth-straight victory on Thursday. He set a new career high with 12 strikeouts and matched his career high with 8.0 innings. Dutton had two strikeouts in the first, one in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth, one in the fifth, one in the sixth, two in the seventh and two in the eighth.

Dutton is the first Kansas pitcher since Jamie Splittorff in 1994 with six-consecutive wins. His 12 strikeouts were the most by a KU pitcher since the 2020 season.

SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME

QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
“I thought Reese was awesome. He scattered six hits and there’s a lot of power in their lineup. I thought Coach (Brandon) Scott had a tremendous game plan and Reese really executed it. I love that Cashero came in and it was no drama at the end. He gets a quick inning. It was a great team effort. I loved the fight from our hitters. We had a bunch of two-out hits and scored a bunch of guys from second base. Great team effort and can’t wait to get after tomorrow.” – Kansas Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald

“It’s cool to see the hard work pay off, but there’s a lot more work to be done. That eight innings hopefully will turn into nine and that 12 strikeouts will hopefully turn into 13 as the season goes on. That’s the goal always – just to be better than you were the week before.” – Reese Dutton

• Kansas secured its sixth-straight win in the opening game of the weekend.
• Kansas has won the opening game of the first four conference series for the second time as a member of the Big 12, with the other being the 2000 season.
• Kansas has scored at least 10 runs in the opening game of the weekend in three of the last four weeks.
• Seven of 11 KU runs were scored with two outs, including all four runs in the first inning. Also, nine of 14 Kansas hits were extra-base hits (six doubles, three home runs).
• Dutton recorded his sixth-consecutive win and his fifth-straight quality start. The six-straight wins are the most by a KU pitcher since Jamie Splittorff in 1994 when he won his first eight starts to begin the season. The last Big 12 pitcher to win six-straight starts was Braden Carmichael from Oklahoma in 2023.
• Dutton had a career-high 12 strikeouts and matched his career high of 8.0 innings pitched. He is the first Kansas pitcher with 12 strikeouts since Everhett Hazelwood at Charleston Southern on Feb 22, 2020 (12 strikeouts). Dutton’s other outing of 8.0 innings was while he was at USC Upstate and he tossed eight innings against Winthrop on March 31, 2023.
• English hit his team-high seventh home run of the season. He finished 3-for-5 with a double, home run, three RBIs and three runs scored.
• Brooks also went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs. The home run was his third of the season.
• Nett hit his first home run of the season. Nett has reached base safely in 22 of 23 games this season.

UP NEXT
Kansas and BYU will wrap up the series by playing a doubleheader on Friday, beginning at 1:30 p.m. CT. Both games will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and live audio will be available on KLWN for game one and the Jayhawk Sports Network for both games.

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