LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas secured a series win on Sunday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark with a 9-6 win against Houston on Senior Day. The win improved Kansas to 14-4 in its last 18 games.
The Jayhawks are now 29-18 on the season and 15-12 in Big 12 Conference play. The 15 conference victories for Kansas are the most since 2014, the last time Kansas played in an NCAA Regional.
Trailing 4-3 in the middle of the fourth inning, Kansas had a five-run bottom of the fourth to help lead the Jayhawks past Houston. Ethan Lanthier threw 3.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and earned the win to improve to 4-0 on the season.
Jake English hit his 13th home run of the season and Lenny Ashby drove in three runs as both were honored pregame for Senior Day.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Kansas took the lead in the second inning on a two-out RBI single by John Nett to give the Jayhawks a 1-0 advantage.
• Houston (25-26, 7-19 Big 12) evened the game at 1-1 in the top of the third inning on an RBI single from Justin Murray.
• The Jayhawks went up again in the bottom of the third with a pair of runs. Lenny Ashby hit an RBI single and Ty Wisdom had an RBI groundout to make it 3-1 Kansas.
• The Cougars put together a three-run fourth inning to take their first lead of the game. Anthony Avalos had a two-run double and Kenneth Jimenez had an RBI single to give Houston a 4-3 edge.
• Kansas scored five runs in the fourth inning to take the lead. Kodey Shojinaga hit a sacrifice fly, Ashby had a two-run single, Collier Cranford hit an RBI single and Ty Wisdom had an RBI single. That gave Kansas an 8-4 lead.
• English hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to stretch the lead to 9-4.
• Houston wrapped up the scoring in the eighth inning on a solo homer by Cary Arbolida. That ended the scoring at 9-5.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Ethan Lanthier (4-0)
Final line: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO
Loss: José Torrealba (0-2)
Final line: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jake English: The four-year senior finished his last game at Hoglund Ballpark by going 3-for-3 with a home run, one RBI, three runs scored and two walks. The home run was his 13th long ball of the season.
SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME
QUOTABLES & NOTABLES
“It was super cool. It was kind of bittersweet. It’s my last game here after being here for four years. It’s kind of sad, but at the same time when you get a win you’re always happy.”
“My boss at Des Moines Area Community College once told me that at this time of the year you want to be playing games that mean something, and it’s really true. This is down to crunch time with a weekend left. We’ve put ourselves in a position where every game really matters. I was proud of how we bounced back after Friday night. I feel good about our resiliency and our ability to bounce back. We need a good week of preparation before playing Texas on Thursday.” – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald
• Kansas improved to 14-4 in its last 18 games.
• Kansas picked up its 15th conference win of the season. The 15 Big 12 victories are the most since 2014, the last time that Kansas made an NCAA Regional.
• Kansas has won five Big 12 series this season (vs. #3 TCU, sweep at BYU, at Baylor, sweep vs. Texas Tech, vs. Houston). That is the most since the 2014 season when the Jayhawks also won five conference series.
• Kansas finished 17-8 at Hoglund Ballpark this season. The 17 home wins are the most since 2018 when Kansas had 20 wins at home.
• Kansas is 4-0 in series against Big 12 schools from Texas this season. The only other year Kansas has gone undefeated in series against Big 12 schools from Texas was 2013 (4-0).
• Kansas had 15 hits for the straight second game.
• English hit his 13th home run of the season.
• John Nett collected his team-high 21st multi-hit game of the season.
• Lanthier moved to 4-0 on the season.
UP NEXT
Kansas will finish the regular season in Austin as the Jayhawks play Texas in a three-game series beginning on Thursday, May 16.
