Jayhawks stun LSU in baseball

? It didn’t take Ritch Price long to coach Kansas University’s baseball team to a huge victory.

In KU’s 10th game of the season, the Jayhawks shook off a leadoff home run and a hostile crowd Friday to beat mighty Louisiana State, 9-6 in 10 innings, in front of 7,326 fans at Box Stadium.

“I thought we really grew up tonight,” said Price, KU’s first-year coach. “We competed big-time. We competed on every pitch. We made some clutch plays with the game on the line. We just really played well. LSU really is the mecca of college baseball. We took a huge step tonight.”

LSU — ranked as high as No. 6 in the national polls and off to its best start since its 2000 national-championship season — took a 1-0 lead on the first pitch in the bottom of the first, when Quinn Stewart homered off starter Kevin Wheeler.

But Wheeler atoned in the 10th with a leadoff homer of his own that sparked a three-run inning.

“I complimented the club,” Price said. “We faced some adversity at the beginning and we faced some adversity in the middle, and we played to win. We competed at the plate, and we competed on the mound, and we competed defensively.”

Ryan Knippshild (2-0) picked up the win with three innings of scoreless relief. He allowed four hits, with a walk and two strikeouts.

Casey Spanish, Travis Metcalf and Sean Flynn each had two hits for KU (7-3). Flynn homered and drove in four runs.

Brandon Nall (0-1) took the loss

Kansas and LSU (4-1) will meet again at 2 p.m. today and 1 p.m. Sunday.

“The next step for us,” Price said, “is to play every day of the weekend. They’re going to be fired up (today). We’ve got to play at the same level Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

Kansas 9, LSU 6, 10 innings

Kansas 030 200 100 3 — 9 11 1

LSU 111 021 000 0 — 6 13 3

W — Ryan Knippschild, 2-0. L — Brandon Nall, 0-1.

2B — Casey Spanish (2), Travis Metcalf (1), Sean Flynn (1), Kansas; Quinn Stewart 2 (3), LSU. HR — Flynn (1), Kevin Wheeler (3), KU; Stewart (1), Aaron Hill (1), Matt Horwath (1), LSU.

KU highlights — Flynn 2-for-5, 2 runs 4 RBIs; Spanish 2-for-5, 2 runs; Metcalf 2-for-5, 3 runs RBI; Wheeler 1-for-1, run, 2 RBIs; Knippschild 3 IP, 4 hits, 0 runs.