LAWRENCE, Kan. – A competitive back-and-forth matchup went in favor of West Virginia on Friday night at Hoglund Ballpark as the Mountaineers defeated the Jayhawks 11-10. The Jayhawks took a 10-9 lead in the bottom of the eighth before West Virginia scored two runs in the top of the ninth.
Kansas starter Reese Dutton recorded his sixth straight quality start and Jake English went 3-for-3 with four RBIs, which included a two-run double and a game-tying eighth inning home run.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• West Virginia (17-12, 6-4 Big 12) opened the scoring in top of the second inning as Kyle West hit his fifth home run of the season to give West Virginia a 1-0 lead.
• Kansas (15-12, 7-6 Big 12) answered back in the bottom half of the inning as Lenny Ashby hit his sixth home run of the season to tie the game at 1-1.
• The Jayhawks took the lead in the third inning. After an intentional walk to Jake English, Ben Hartl drove in John Nett on an RBI single to give Kansas a 2-1 advantage.
• Kansas extended its lead to 3-1 in the fourth inning when Nett drove in Ashby on a sacrifice fly.
• West Virginia tied the game at 3-3 by scoring a pair of runs in the fifth by way of a Sam White RBI single and a Reed Chumley RBI double.
• Kansas regained the lead with two runs in the fifth as Collier Cranford drove in English on an RBI groundout and Ashby drove in Ben Hartl on an RBI single to give Kansas a 5-3 lead.
• English added to the Kansas lead as he drove in Nett and Luke Leto on a two-run double to give the Jayhawks a 7-3 lead through six innings.
• West Virginia took the lead by scoring six runs in the top of the seventh to make it 9-7.
• Kansas fought back in the eighth inning and took the lead once again. English hit a game-tying two-run homer and Michael Brooks delivered a go-ahead RBI double to give the Jayhawks a 10-9 lead.
• However, West Virginia’s Brodie Kresser hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth for the Mountaineers to tie the score at 10-10. JJ Weatherholt then gave West Virginia an 11-10 lead with an RBI double.
• Kansas threatened in the bottom of the ninth as the Jayhawks had the tying run in scoring position and the winning run on base with one out but could not capitalize.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: David Hagaman (2-3)
Final line: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 SO
Loss: Hunter Cranton (2-2)
Final line: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
Save: Hambleton Oliver (3)
Final line: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jake English: English finished the game 3-for-3 with a double, home run, four RBIs, two runs scored and a walk. English hit a game-tying home opposite field home run in the eighth inning for Kansas. Three of his last five games have been three-hit efforts.
SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME
MICHAEL BROOKS GO-AHEAD RBI DOUBLE 😤
BOT 8 | Kansas 10, West Virginia 9 pic.twitter.com/XDh2awHsto
— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) April 6, 2024
QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
“A lot of good things. Reese (Dutton) scattered three (runs) over six (innings). The good thing is we walked only two guys. The bad thing is we gave up 17 hits. Tegan Cain and (Hunter) Cranton were both both human tonight. They’ve been superhuman all year. For those two to give up runs, it’s just part of baseball. Those guys have been so fantastic. In terms of the effort, if you if you look at a baseball game and you look at the fact that we walked nine times, we punched out six times and they walked twice and punched out 10 times that score is usually flipped. A lot of good things to take away. Really proud of how our guys competed. Weatherholt got a great swing off with two strikes against one of the top closers in the country, and he’s one of the top players in the country. It’s a team game that came down to a one-on-one battle.” – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald
• Ashby hit his sixth home run of the season in the second inning. The home run marks Ashby’s third of the season at Hoglund Ballpark. Ashby now has five multi-hit and six multi-RBI games this season.
• Hartl has now recorded an RBI in three consecutive games
• Nett has recorded a hit in 23 games this season and has reached safely in 26 of 27 games this season.
• English hit his team-high ninth home run of the season. He has hit safely in eight of his last nine games. English also has eight mulit-hit and seven multi-RBI games this season.
• Reese Dutton recorded his sixth straight quality start.
UP NEXT
Kansas will continue its series against West Virginia on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT at Hoglund Ballpark. Saturday marks the second annual Autism Awareness Game. Fans can purchase tickets by contacting the Kansas ticket office at 785-864-3141 or by visiting the ticketing page here. Students receive free admission all season by presenting their KU student ID at the ticket booth.
