The Kansas baseball team picked up its first sweep in three years over the weekend, knocking off Baylor 12-4 and 13-6 in the first two games and then coming from behind to win 5-4 on Sunday.
Sophomore Jake English’s solo home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth put Kansas ahead and proved to be the game winner.
It was the first sweep by the Jayhawks since winning them all against Kansas State in 2019, and the wins moved the Jayhawks to 5-0 at home this season and 12-14 overall.
After opening the season with five wins in their first six games, the Jayhawks dropped 13 of their next 16 games heading into last week. That included KU getting swept in their first Big 12 series of the season at No. 24 TCU.
The Jayhawks responded to that with a 3-1 home win over Creighton during the week leading up to the three consecutive wins over Baylor.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” first-year KU coach Dan Fitzgerald said after the weekend sweep. “We had a great week. I thought we played a great midweek and just stuck to the process. I’m so proud of them. Through everything this weekend, I thought we played 27 complete innings of focus and intensity.”
It wasn’t just the wins that were notable. KU’s 30 runs in three games against the Bears marked the first time since 2009 that the Jayhawks had scored 30 runs in a Big 12 series.
Cal transfer Cole Elvis also hit a solo home run to left-center field to lead off the seventh inning during Sunday’s win. The 422-foot home run was the fourth of the season for Elvis and sophomore Chase Jans reached base in all three games, extending his on-base streak to 22 consecutive games.
“It feels great,” Elvis said of the sweep. “The best part is watching every guy and us as a team get better every day. That’s what we are trying to do, but still trying to take it one game at a time. We are going to put our nose back to the grindstone and keep getting after it.”
KU will wrap up its five-game homestand with a 3 p.m. clash with Missouri State on Tuesday at Hoglund Ballpark. After that, the Jayhawks will travel to West Virginia this weekend before returning to Lawrence for 10 consecutive home games against Texas Southern, Kansas State, Air Force and Oklahoma State.
Game 1 of the two-game series against Texas Southern will be played at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas, at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 11 in The Buck O’Neil Classic.
After knocking off No. 21 Baylor on the road last Friday, the Kansas softball team dropped the next two games to fall in its Big 12-opening series in Waco, Texas.
KU scored just three runs all weekend while surrendering just eight.
In the win, junior pitcher Kasey Hamilton got her seventh win of the season, opening the game with four scoreless innings. Overall, she allowed six hits, three walks and struck out three batters.
Catcher Lyric Moore and right fielder Aynslee Linduff recorded the Jayhawks’ RBIs and two of the team’s three total hits.
“It wasn’t our cleanest game, we only got three hits, but they were incredibly timely.” KU coach Jennifer McFalls said after the win. “I’m proud of our compete factor right now. They’re really locked in and have a lot of positive energy flowing. It’s just great to get that first conference win against a good team like Baylor.”
The Jayhawks are now 19-14 on the season and will return home for a three-game series with Oklahoma State this weekend. KU is 5-3 at Arrocha Ballpark so far this season.
