LAWRENCE, Kansas – After Kansas clipped HBU, 2-1, in the first game, the Huskies came back to take the second game, 4-2, and split the non-conference doubleheader Friday at Hoglund Ballpark. Due to expected severe weather Saturday, the series finale will be played Sunday at 1 p.m.
In game two, senior centerfielder
Zane Otten went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, while junior designated hitter
Matt Heck went 2-for-3 with a double and a pair of RBIs for the Huskies (8-5). Junior catcher
Jake Pulcheon was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and scored twice, and junior shortstop
Tyler Depreta-Johnson walked twice and scored a run.
Senior lefthander
Christian Thames (2-0) earned the win, allowing two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and four walks in 6.1 innings. Sophomore righthander
Daniel Endsley notched his first save at HBU, holding Kansas scoreless on two hits with a strikeout and two walks over the final 2.2 innings.
David Kyriacou went 2-for-5 and drove in a run for the Jayhawks (6-8), while Brett Vosik went 2-for-3 with a double and drove in a run.
Sean Rackowski (2-2) took the loss, giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits with two strikeouts in 5.0 innings. Four relievers combined to go the final 4.0 innings for Kansas.
The Huskies struck first in the top of the second when Pulcheon led off with a double down the leftfield line. Junior first baseman
Carey Jones reached on an error and Pulcheon scored on a sacrifice fly by Heck to give HBU a 1-0 lead.
The Jayhawks answered in the bottom half when Rudy Karre singled and later scored on an RBI single by Vosik. Kansas grabbed the lead in the third as Tanner Gragg led off with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. After a groundout, Kyriacou delivered an RBI single to put the Jayhawks ahead, 2-1.
HBU struck back in the fourth, with Pulcheon leading off with a single and Heck coming through with a two-out RBI double down the leftfield line to tie the game, 2-2. The Huskies took the lead in the fifth as junior leftfielder
Spencer Halloran tripled down the rightfield line and scored on an Otten single to left, giving HBU a 3-2 lead.
Kansas threatened in the fifth with runners on the corners and one out, but Thames got John Remick to line into a double play to end the inning. The Jayhawks had runners on the corners with one again in the seventh, but Endsley forced Kyriacou to ground into an inning-ending double play.
The Huskies tacked on a run in the ninth when Heck doubled to right to lead off the inning, then scored on another RBI single by Otten for a 4-2 lead.
The Jayhawks loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Endsley got Devin Foyle to fly out to center to end the game.
In game one, Halloran went 2-for-4 with a walk for the Huskies. Jones drove in the Huskies' lone run, with Depreta-Johnson singling and scoring.
Matt McLaughlin went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and scored for the Jayhawks. Remick and Luke Bakula each drove in a run.
Senior righthander
Addison Russ (0-1) took the loss for HBU, allowing two runs on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 6.0 innings, while junior righthander
Cody Marshall shut Kansas down over the final two frames.
Taylor Turski (1-0) picked up the win for Kansas, shutting HBU out on two hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 5.0 innings. Blake Weiman held the Huskies scoreless for three innings, giving up three hits and striking out two. Stephen Villines earned his third save of the year, despite allowing a run on two hits and a walk in the ninth.
Kansas took an early lead in the first as McLaughlin led off with a double, went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kyriacou, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Remick.
The score remained 1-0 until the sixth when Jaxx Groshans led off with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Bakula as the Jayhawks went ahead, 2-0.
The Jayhawks took that lead into the ninth, but junior second baseman
Jack Fitzgerald drew a one-out walk. Depreta-Johnson reached on a fielder's choice as Fitzgerald was forced out at second, then Halloran followed with a single. Jones delivered an RBI single up the middle to put HBU on the board, and with the tying run on third, pinch runner
Kendrick Holmes was thrown out attempting to steal second to end the game.
Saturday's forecast calls for a high of 38 degrees and a low of 21, with a strong chance of snow between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. The weather is supposed to clear up Sunday with a high of 53 and a low of 36. Stay tuned to HBUHuskies.com for any further changes to the schedule.
