Lawrence, KS- Following a series opener featuring unique weather and a dominant performance from Jayhawk starter Dom Voegele, Baylor looked to turn the tide with a potential assist from mother nature. With the wind blowing out of Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence and Kansas handing the ball to reliever Kannon Carr, the Bears appeared prime for a bounce back afternoon on Saturday.
Baylor turned to starter Bryson Bales, making his fifth start of the season. The Hendrix College transfer entered the contest with a 3.78 ERA, throwing 19 strikeouts across 16 innings of work. A contrast to Jayhawk starter Kannon Carr making his first start in a KU uniform. Carr came to Kansas via Jefferson College as part of the Jayhawks top-ranked JUCO recruiting class.
Kansas Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald decided Carr would get the start after Friday’s contest. Carr knew the opportunity was coming as a change to the rotation had been communicated following the team’s trip to Minnesota earlier in the week. Despite the late decision, Fitzgerald was confident the Jefferson transfer was more than able. “Cannon has done a really nice job, doesn’t give up a ton of hits and he’s a great guy, great competitor and great worker.”
Coming into the contest, Kansas assistant and recruiting coordinator Jon Coyne described Carr as a competitor. While Carr was making his first start in Lawrence, it wasn’t the first time he had been placed in the role. Carr enjoyed two years of starting at Hendrix College, tallying an 11-2 record and a career 4.19 ERA to pair with 132 strikeouts over 109.1 innings pitched. Carr threw a perfect game on March 2nd, 2024, striking out 11 John Wood Community College batters. Carr recalled the perfect game, stating run support really helped him settle in, leading the team to a run-rule victory last year.
With the assistance of temperatures in the 40’s, Carr wouldn’t have to be perfect on Saturday. He didn’t overthink the challenge, “took the same approach I always do, same warmup as usual, plenty of rest the night before”. Baylor struck first with Wesley Jordan’s ground-rule double, setting up Hunter Simmons to drive in Enzo Apodaca for the first run of the afternoon. The Baylor bats remained at bay as Carr settled in, striking out four Bears in the second and third innings of hitless baseball for Mitch Thompson’s club.
Carr’s cruise control was able to allow the Jayhawk offense to settle in. Baylor starter Bales had taken a no-hitter into the third inning while holding on to a 1-0 lead. An impressive feat against a Jayhawk lineup that had been on fire to start the season. Leadoff man Derek Cerda quickly erased the zero in the Jayhawk hit column by depositing a ball over the left-field fence to tie the game at one.
The Jayhawk offense wasn’t content with just one run, collectively placing an eight-spot in a loud third inning featuring additional missiles from Jackson Hauge and Dariel Osoria. Sawyer Smith’s 2-RBI double broke things open for the Jayhawks before singles from Ian Francis and Cerda extended the lead to 8-1. The Jayhawk onslaught marked the end of the day for Baylor starter Bales who finished with one strikeout, giving up eight runs on eight hits in his 2.2 innings of work.
Fitzgerald felt his team hit the ball well in the first two innings but feels the maturity of his offense allows them to keep their approach when things don’t go their way the first time through the order. A great staff around those players helps. “Tyler Hancock is a phenomenal hitting coach and those guys are always down in the cage and our team loves playing together”.
The Bear offense struck back, tagging Carr for two runs in the top of the 4th via a homerun off the bat of Simmons. Simmons drove in the first four runs of the afternoon for Baylor, adding to his effort in the 5th with a single sent back up the middle.
Baylor’s rally was not unimpeded however, as the Jayhawks tallied three more runs in their half of the 4th, beginning with Osoria’s second blast of the afternoon. Michael Brooks drove in Brady Counsell on a sac-fly before Smith’s groundout etched the final run of the inning across the plate.
Just as it appeared the offense had settled down amongst cool temps and solid bullpen outings from both teams, Hauge cranked a ball from Baylor reliever Andrew Petrowski over the fence for a 13-4 lead with his second long-ball of the season marking his 11th of the season.
Each team added runs late as Baylor’s Tyriq Kemp and Travis Sanders produced inconsequential home runs and Kansas’ Ian Francis left the yard, making it a 14-7 ballgame. Kansas reliever Knowles finished off the series victory for the Jayhawks, improving their record to 17-2. Fitzgerald sees the importance of winning a series on Saturday “in order to be a great team, you have to win them every way… but winning the first two allows you to compete again and try to sweep”.
The victory over Baylor marks the first time the Jayhawks have won their first five weekend series of a season since 2003.
The Bears and Jayhawks return to Hoglund Ballpark at 1 PM local time Sunday as Baylor will look to avoid the series sweep to open Big 12 conference play.