Jayhawks Overcome Frostbite

Perhaps the most highly anticipated installment of the Sunflower Showdown, pitting in-state rivals Kansas and Kansa State, came with not only emotion and pageantry, but high stakes.  The Jayhawks host Pete Hughes’ Wildcats in a series Kansans have had circled since as early as 2024 when both programs saw relative success.  

Last year, the Wildcats ended their season a few plays from reaching the College World Series, coming up short to Virginia in the Charlottesville Regional.  Kansas entered the year following a campaign that nearly earned Dan Fitzgerald’s program an NCAA Tournament bid.  The excitement for the rivalry increased as each program enjoyed quality non-conference slates and winning records at the midpoint of conference play.  

Though, despite causes for celebration, the Jayhawks and Wildcats approached their matchup on somewhat sour notes as Kansas State had dropped two to Northeastern earlier in the week while the Jayhawks left Fort-Worth winless the weekend prior.

The damper of recent misfortune was not enough to discourage a raucous environment at Hoglund Ballpark, of which the venue has hosted many.  This capacity crowd, however, was different.  Ahead of the series, after turning fans away during their series against Oklahoma State, Jayhawk powerbrokers added additional seating down the left-field line, adding extra eyeballs on any would-be Wildcat relievers.

Friday’s matchup featured Kansas sophomore Dom Voegele throwing against Wildcat senior Jacob Frost.  Voegele, the 2024 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, looked to erase his outing a week prior against TCU, an onslaught that had ballooned his ERA to 6.19 on the season.  Frost also welcomed an opportunity to turn the page after giving up five earned runs against UCF, recording just one out in his last outing. 

Early on, despite the temperature sitting in the upper 50’s, Frost held the advantage.  The St. Louis born southpaw struck out the side in the first, taking down the modern-day murderers row of Derek Cerda, Brady Ballinger and Dariel Osoria.  The torrid start continued for Frost as he took a no-hitter into the 4th inning, recording four total punchouts before giving up a leadoff single to Jackson Hauge.  

Frost was aided early by Kansas State’s patient but timely approach against Voegele.  Not to be panicked by the 2162 packed into Hoglund Ballpark, Kansas State Freshman Donte Lewis lined a double down the line to notch the first two runs of the evening.  Kansas State persisted in the third when a wild pitch scored Sam Flores.  

After an emotional three innings, both starters were able to find serenity in front of the packed house of lavender and blue.  Kansas State clinged to a 3-0 advantage as Frost found ways to miss bats.  The Wildcat ace tallied ten strikeouts as his pitch count soared into triple digits.  His 116th pitch of the night, placing Sawyer Smith on first base via a walk, spelled an end to the night for Frost.  As Frost made his exit, the Jayhawks heated up. 

Kansas greeted Wildcat reliever James Guyette with a walk followed by a shutout-breaking RBI single from Brady Ballinger.  With runners on the corners and two down in the seventh, Hauge took center stage.  Entering the contest, the Minnesota native paced the Big 12 in both home runs and RBI.  Hauge took advantage of the opportunity to build on his league-lead, turning on an offspeed pitch and sending it over the left-center field wall.  Hoglund Ballpark sprung to life in response to the Jayhawks taking a 4-3 seemingly out of thin air, which has seemingly become the norm for this team that Hauge describes as the “never say die Jayhawks”.  The mantra reigns true of his approach as Hauge details a team-oriented mindset, not giving much regard to his obscene stats or individual performances. 

The Jayhawks continued to find their offense as Derek Cerda provided an 8th inning insurance run, giving newly minted closer Alex Breckheimer more breathing room.  Breckheimer, known by his teammates as ‘Fridge’, gave due to his teammates, not only paying heed to their offensive timeliness but for providing the defense behind him “I’ve never had that before”.  

The Jayhawks remain goal-centric, recognizing the luxury of winning game one of an emotional series while seeing the importance of taking things one game at a time.  “I think you enjoy it while you’re here and once you leave the locker room, it’s over” said Hauge.  

The Jayhawks and Wildcats will duel again on Saturday while navigating potential weather.  Game two of the series has been moved from 2:00 to 12:00 with the possibility of Sunday’s finale being shifted to a double-header on Saturday.