| Probable Starting Pitchers | |||||||||
| Day | Kansas | Samford | |||||||
| you 6:30 p.m. CT | TBA | TBA | |||||||
| Fri. 6:30 p.m. CT | TBA | TBA | |||||||
| Sat. 2 o’clock CT | TBA | TBA | |||||||
LUBBOCK, Texas – Kansas baseball wraps its 2023 regular season this week with a three-game series against No. 28 Texas Tech at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. After the series, Kansas will travel to Arlington, Texas for the first time since 2021 to compete in the Big 12 Baseball Championship.
Kansas (23-28, 7-14 Big 12) has secured its spot in the Big 12 Championship and currently sits in eighth place. Before the tournament begins, the last series of Big 12 games is this weekend.
Kansas won last Friday at Samford behind six home runs from the offense. That included three home runs in the second inning, which marked the first time with three homers in an inning since 2010. Cole Elvis, Janson Reeder and Chase Jans all hit homers in that game, and all have at least 10 home runs this season. The last time Kansas had three players hit double figures at home in one season was 2004 (Travis Metcalf, Sean Richardson, Ryan Baty).
Jayhawk freshman Kodey Shojinaga is looking to finish his first regular season in college baseball strong. Shojinaga is sixth in the nation among true freshman with a team-best .390 batting average this season. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native is hitting .442 in conference games, and his 38 hits in Big 12 games leads the conference. He currently has a 17-game hitting streak, and has hit safely in 28 of the last 29 games.
In contrast to Shojinaga, graduated pitcher Collin Baumgartner will begin his final college baseball regular season. Baumgartner has three straight quality starts and went 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA in those outings. He has 16 strikeouts compared to three times in the three starts. Baumgartner is 5-1 with a 3.95 ERA this season and has allowed three runs or fewer in nine of his 13 starts. He leads the team in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts.
Another hot bat in the Jayhawks lineup was redshirt sophomore Michael Brooks. He’s hitting .423/.512/.887 with 12 doubles, seven home runs, 21 RBIs, 23 runs scored and 10 walks in his last 17 games since April 16. Meanwhile, sophomore Chase Jans leads the team in RBIs (49) and slugging percentage (.571), while he is second in hits (63) and OPS (.976).
Kansas and Texas Tech have a series that dates back to 1981. The Red Raiders have a 50-28 advantage in the all-time series. Kansas won the most recent matchup between the schools, beating then-No. 4 ranked Texas Tech by a score of 8-5 on April 3, 2022 in Lawrence. The win was the first against a top-five opponent at Hoglund Ballpark since 2018.
Texas Tech (35-18, 10-11 Big 12) has been ranked in at least one poll all season. The Red Raiders are currently ranked No. 28 in the NCBWA poll. Texas Tech dropped its series at West Virginia last weekend, but they hold a 28-6 record at home this season. Kevin Bazzell and Gavin Kash have led the way offensively with Bazell batting .375 with 23 doubles and Kash leading the country with 22 home runs.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
All three games this weekend will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Fans can also listen to the game on KLWN (101.7 FM/1320 AM) and the Jayhawk Sports Network on KUAthletics.com and the Kansas Jayhawks app.
Live stats can be found here, while live updates will also be provided on the team’s official Twitter page @KUBaseball.
NEXT
Kansas will head to Arlington, Texas to compete in the Big 12 Baseball Championship at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers. The double-elimination tournament begins on Wednesday, May 24.
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