The final score in Kansas’ win over Texas Southern on Tuesday may have been 8-5, but the most important number of the day was 22 — the number worn by legendary Kansas City Monarchs player and manager Buck O’Neil.
The game at Legends Field in Kansas City was the KU baseball program’s annual tribute to O’Neil, who died in 2006, was the first African American coach in Major League Baseball, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July for his contributions to the game. And Kansas’ players honored him on Tuesday by wearing patches with his number and reflecting on his story.
“I don’t think you could be a baseball fan and not get romantic talking about Buck O’Neil’s legacy and the joy that he brought to the game of baseball, but also the awareness and just really impactful things,” Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “To be able to play this game named after him is really special and another chance for our guys to taste a piece of history.”
The Jayhawks, who maintained an early lead on the way to an 8-5 victory, paid homage to O’Neil with a No. 22 patch on their Kansas City Monarch-inspired jerseys and stirrup socks, while Texas Southern honored the Negro League’s Homestead Grays with their uniforms.
Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, spoke about just how special this game is and what it means to O’Neil’s legacy.
“The spirit of Buck O’Neil is alive through what the university [of Kansas] has done to have Texas Southern University come in and participate in this, understanding how significant HBCUs were and Negro Leagues history makes it even, additionally special, and the fact that we’re celebrating Buck,” Kendrick said.
“I don’t want Buck to ever die, and as long as we remember him, he will continue to live, and his spirit is absolutely alive as part of something he dedicated his life to: baseball,” Kendrick added. “He dedicated his life to this game, and for there to be an opportunity for kids to showcase their skills, to compete against one another, but to do it in the spirit of the Negro Leagues, that would really make him so very proud.”
Freshman infielder Kodey Shojinaga got the action going early for Kansas with a solo shot over the left-field wall off of junior pitcher Cade Fontenot in the bottom of the second inning. Shojinaga started a three-run inning for the Jayhawks, thanks to two big miscues from the Tigers’ infield.
A dropped double play ball moved redshirt-sophomore catcher Jake English to third base while a missed throw to first base sent English across home plate, tacking on an unearned run for KU. Immediately after that, redshirt-sophomore infielder Michael Brooks knocked the last run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Texas Southern sophomore Victor Molina responded in the top of the fourth and launched a ball deep to the right-field wall in the top of the fourth inning. Sophomore right fielder Luke Leto dropped the catch for two unearned Texas Southern runs.
Kansas followed that up with runs in three straight innings, extending its lead to 7-2 after six innings. Redshirt-sophomore infielder Jackson Cobb and sophomore outfielder Chase Jans hit solo shots in the bottom of the sixth. Jans also crossed home in the fifth and Leto in the fourth.
Jans knocked in his second RBI of the day in the bottom of the eighth inning with a single up the middle for Kansas’ eighth run of the night.
Texas Southern’s Junior first baseman Alexander Olivo smashed a three-run home run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to cut the deficit in half, but Kansas held on to take home the 8-5 win. Kansas now has won eight of its last nine games.
The Jayhawks push their overall record back above .500 while the Tigers fall to 21-13. Both teams will travel back to Lawrence to play at 3 p.m. Wednesday to complete their mid-week series. Wednesday’s game will mark the first game of nine-game homestand at Hoglund Ballpark.
KU pitcher Karter Muck tosses a warm-up pitch between innings during the Jayhawks’ 8-5 win over Texas Southern at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas, on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.
Photo courtesy of Kansas Athletics
Photo courtesy of Kansas Athletics