⚾ Kansas Sweeps Doubleheader Against Texas Southern
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawks swept a pair of games from the Texas Southern Tigers on Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark. KU won game one by a score of 9-1 and followed it up with a 10-3 victory in game two.
In the first game, true freshman pitcher Dominic Voegele, an Arizona Diamondbacks 20th round draft pick last July, shined as he allowed only one hit in 5.2 innings of work to earn his first collegiate win. Senior Jake English also left his mark in game one, hitting two home runs to left field, adding to his team lead in home runs.
The second game saw Kansas have several offensive contributors as Janson Reeder, John Nett, Luke Leto and Michael Brooks all had multi-RBI efforts. Gavin Brasosky provided length for the Jayhawks in game two as he went four scoreless innings and received the win.
GAME ONE (Kansas 9, Texas Southern 1)
For the second day in a row, Kansas took the lead in the second inning and never looked back. English hit his first of two home runs in the second on a towering shot to left field. The solo blast gave Kansas a 1-0 lead.
The Jayhawks added another run in the third inning on an RBI single by Kodey Shojinaga to make the score 3-0.
A four-run fifth inning stretched the Kansas lead to 7-0. Nett drew a bases loaded walk to score Shojinaga before Reeder delivered a bases-clearing double to score three runs.
While Kansas was building its lead, Voegele was dealing. The true freshman had a career-high seven strikeouts over 5.2 innings pitched. Voegele was charged with one run on the day, which came in to score on a wild pitch after he exited the game.
English hit his second home run of the game in the sixth inning when he crushed a three-run bomb to left field to push the score to 9-1. The game ended after seven innings, as originally scheduled.
GAME TWO (Kansas 10, Texas Southern 3)
Texas Southern (4-8) started fast in the second game with three runs in the first inning. Kansas responded immediately though in the bottom of the first with five runs.
A single, walk and hit by pitch loaded the bases for Reeder who delivered a two-run single. Two batters later, Leto hit a two-run double off the wall in right field. The scoring in the first wrapped up with a Brooks RBI single up the middle. At the end of the first, Kansas held a 5-3 lead.
The Jayhawks were able to extend their lead in the second inning with back-to-back RBI singles by Reeder and Nett. The run-scoring hits gave Kansas a 7-3 lead.
The next four innings were quiet for both offenses. Brasosky tossed four scoreless innings of relief and Ethan Bradford followed him with a scoreless frame where he struck out the side.
KU added three runs to their lead in the bottom of the seventh on a Reeder RBI single, a Nett RBI double and a Brooks RBI single. That extended the Kansas lead to 10-3, which is where the game ended.
QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
“I thought our guys did a great job. I think our pitchers have done a really nice job of attacking and staying in the strike zone. We walked two guys and struck out 10 (in the second game). One of the staples of this program is that we just worry about whatever day is in front of us. We don’t really look ahead. We’ll celebrate, recover and they’ll be ready to go tomorrow.” – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald
“It feels good. I feel like we’re playing really well and turning it on lately. (We just have to) keep our same approach that we have had all season, which is getting your pitch and being on time for it.” – Jake English
• Kansas improved to 3-0 at Hoglund Ballpark this season.
• Kansas pitching recorded 10 strikeouts in both game one and game two. The pitching staff has double-digit strikeouts in six games this season.
• Kansas tied its season high with 14 hits in the second game (Feb. 20 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi).
• Voegele earned his first career win (5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 SO).
• English recorded his second multi-homer game of the season (Feb. 18 vs. Illinois-Chicago) and the third of his career. English’s home runs were his fifth and sixth of the season. He leads the team in home runs and half of his hits this season are home runs.
• Reeder matched his career high with four RBIs in the second game. Between the two games, Reeder was 4-for-5 with a double, seven RBIs and two runs scored.
• Brasosky threw four scoreless innings out of the bullpen in game two.
UP NEXT
Kansas (6-4) will play the series finale and go for the ser against Texas Southern on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and live audio will be available on the Jayhawk Sports Network.
