Behind a six-run 3rd inning the Kansas Jayhawks 18-14 (7-8) beat the Pacific Tigers 12-3 Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark. The Jayhawks have outscored the Tigers 29-10 in the first two games of the series and will go for the weekend sweep Sunday.
Leading the way for Kansas was junior catcher Ben Hartl who blasted his fourth homerun on the season and finished the ballgame with three hits and two RBI. Sophomore second baseman Kodey Shojinaga chipped in four hits and senior third baseman Michael Brooks went deep to lead the Kansas offense alongside Hartl.
“[Hartl] is a really good player, and a real bat in the middle of the order,“ Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “He’s an on-base machine, sees a million pitches, and gives Jake English a break behind the plate which is really needed. He just really lengthens our lineup and I think that Ben hits for a high average and on-base percentage but also power.”
Freshman star right-handed pitcher Dominic Voegele got the ball for Kansas to open the ballgame. Voegele has been stellar for the Jayhawks as the No. 2 arm in the rotation behind ace Reese Dutton and has been one of the best freshman arms in the country this season. Voegele’s 2.25 ERA ranked second in the Big12 Conference and his 40 strikeouts entering Saturday are second on the team.
Pacific got a run off Voegele in the first inning when Tigers freshman first baseman Gabe Camacho smashed a two-out RBI double off the centerfield wall. Voegele quickly retired the next hitter, but the Tigers took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the first.
The red-hot Kansas offense quickly responded in the bottom of the first. A day after scoring 17 runs on Friday night, the Jayhawks got on the board on Saturday when Hartl slapped an RBI single up the middle scoring Shojinaga to tie the game at one.
After an up-and-down first inning, Voegele bounced back to throw two consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the second and third with four strikeouts. With the score knotted at one in the bottom of the third, Brooks swatted a two-run bomb to deep left-center for his third home run of the series. Following the Brooks homerun, the Pacific pitching staff started to unravel, and the Kansas offense erupted in the bottom of the third. The Jayhawks used six singles and a walk to push home four more runs and take a 7-1 lead to the 4th inning.
Pacific put together a strong two-out rally in the 4th inning when sophomore right-fielder Tony Otis doubled home a run and then scored on an RBI single from sophomore second-baseman Andre Vidal. But the Tigers got just the two runs, and the Jayhawks still held a four-run lead.
Both Voegele and Pacific right-handed relief pitcher, sophomore Ryan Martinez both settled into a groove and fired scoreless innings in the 5th. Pacific got two runners on base in the top of the sixth, but Voegele struck out two straight Tigers batters to end the threat.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Jayhawks got an insurance run back when Hartl blasted a towering shot to right field and put the Jayhawks up 8-3. The transfer from Heartland Community College has been one of the Jayhawks' hottest hitters the past month, and a staple in the middle of the Kansas order.
In the top of the seventh, junior right-handed reliever Tegan Cain took over on the mound for Kansas ending the night for Dominic Voegele.
“I thought Dom was great,” Fitzgerald said. “Scattered six hits, three runs, 10 punchouts, and just two walks over six innings. We call pitches from the dugout, but pitches ultimately have the final say in what they throw. I thought Dom was aggressive with the fastball today, and put some guys away with the fastball up and it’s just a great arsenal, a great athlete, a great competitor.”
Cain came in and posted a zero in the top of the seventh after English made a great play behind the plate on a check swing to turn a smooth double play. The Jayhawks tacked on another run in the bottom of the inning, off an RBI single from Shojinaga to push the Kansas lead to 9-3. The Jayhawks added three more insurance runs in the bottom of the eigth off an RBI groundout from junior outfielder Mike Koszewski and an RBI double from senior centerfielder John Nett.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Cooper Moore slammed the door with two scoreless innings to secure the win and a series victory.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” Shojinaga said. “It gives everyone confidence in the staff and everyone confidence in the lineup. Picking up good rhythm, timing, and confidence, it’s all about confidence, and once you gain that it’s hard to be stopped.”
Kansas' final game of the series is Sunday and set for noon.
