Kansas University baseball coach Ritch Price should be glad his team had enough energy to play a game Thursday.

Hours before KU’s 8-1 victory over Western Michigan, everyone on the team worked diligently to remove a blanket of snow from Hoglund Ballpark’s field.

The massive effort was a success, and so was the game that followed.

“My staff and my players did a great job of making the field playable,” Price said. “We basically got done at about 3:15.”

The cleanup delayed the first pitch about an hour to 4 p.m., but it didn’t matter. Kansas (14-4) played as strong as it had all season, combining timely hitting with a fantastic pitching performance by junior Ryan Knippschild.

The left-hander pitched a complete game, striking out 12 batters and walking none. Knippschild (4-0) allowed six hits and no earned runs.

“I thought I threw pretty well,” he said. “I got ahead early in the count, and that helped me a lot.”

The junior-college transfer from California has a 2.67 earned run average, 25 strikeouts and just four walks.

“He’s really on a nice roll right now,” Price said. “He has outstanding command of his breaking ball and changeup, and he pitches on both halves of the plate. He’s an outstanding college guy.”

Kansas' Kyle kilgo, left, greets Sean Flynn at home plate after Flynn belted a two-run homer. KU defeated Western Michigan, 8-1, Thursday at Hoglund Ballpark.

Kansas took a 1-0 lead in the second when junior Kyle Kilgo doubled home junior Matt Tribble. Kansas tacked on four runs in the fourth inning, off an RBI single by senior Casey Spanish, another RBI double by Kilgo and a two-run home run by senior Sean Flynn. It was plenty of support for Knippschild.

Kilgo, another junior-college transfer, was a last-minute addition to the lineup after sophomore third baseman Travis Metcalf was late to the game because of a midterm. He ended up going 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

“You’ve got to be ready when your time is there,” Kilgo said. “You’ve got to take advantage of it and play the best you can.”

Spanish went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs to lead the 12-hit attack. Tribble singled in the eighth inning, extending his hitting streak to 18 games. A hit today would give him a share of the KU record set by Justin Headley in 1996.

Price found few things wrong with Thursday’s performance — all things considered.

“It was a very professional win,” Price said. “To go in and get dressed at 3:15, and come out and play as well as we did, I was very pleased.”

Kansas and Western Michigan (0-6) continue the four-game series at 3 p.m. today. Junior Kevin Wheeler (2-0, 3.62 ERA) will start for the Jayhawks.