Kansas University’s baseball players didn’t feel good about their regular-season finale, but the Jayhawks still were happy with their season.

Kansas State defeated KU, 8-6, Sunday at Hoglund Ballpark, but the setback didn’t end KU’s best campaign since 1994.

“When we started the season, our goal was to win 35 games, make the Big 12 tournament and be in contention for an NCAA berth, and we’ve done those three things,” said first-year coach Ritch Price, whose team will face top-seeded Nebraska in the first round of the conference tournament at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Oklahoma City.

Price’s preseason goals seemed lofty in January. Kansas hadn’t had a winning season since 1997 and had never qualified for the Big 12 tournament — which takes only the top eight teams — in the league’s first six years.

Sunday’s game originally was scheduled for 1 p.m., but it was pushed back three hours because it conflicted with commencement. By the time KU (35-26, 9-18 Big 12) took the field, the Jayhawks already knew they were guaranteed a spot in the tournament because Texas Tech (30-25, 8-18) had been eliminated with a 4-3 loss to Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma (22-29, 10-17) had defeated Missouri, 7-0, so the Jayhawks — who won two of three games last month at OU and owned the tiebreaker in the event of a tie in the standings — controlled whether they would be the No. 7 seed or the No. 8 seed.

“It was kind of a relief knowing that we were in, but we were still focused on winning the game for our seniors,” said sophomore third baseman Travis Metcalf, who was 2-for-4 with a double, home run and two RBIs.

It was the final home game for eight KU seniors, including starters Kevin Wheeler, Casey Spanish, Sean Flynn and Lance Hayes. The Jayhawks couldn’t send the upperclassmen out with a victory because they struck out 11 times and stranded 10 men on base.

“We were hitting the ball well,” said Flynn, who had three of the Jayhawks’ 14 hits. “It was just right at people, making a lot of outs. That was the story the whole weekend.”

continued from page 1c

Kansas University senior Kevin Wheeler slaps a double against Kansas State. The Wildcats beat the Jayhawks, 8-6, Sunday at Hoglund Ballpark, but a Texas Tech loss meant KU qualified for this week's Big 12 tournament.

Kansas State (15-37, 5-22) took two of three games in its final series with coach Mike Clark, who resigned after 17 seasons.

“When you’re in last place and your coach has announced he’s stepping down, a lot of clubs would shut it down,” Price said. “They did just the opposite. They played relaxed, they played loose and they played very well all three days.”

KSU senior Pat Maloney homered for the third straight day. His solo shot in the top of the eighth gave K-State an insurance run.

It was a wild day that featured, among other things, home plate umpire David Rogers being hit by an errant pitch after he had called timeout, sprinklers coming on in the middle of an inning and Flynn falling down on his way to first base after a single.

Metcalf also kept things interesting. His solo homer off Jim Ripley (4-7) tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth.

K-State answered with three runs in the top of the fifth, chasing KU starter Ryan Knippschild (8-4).

“We couldn’t shut the door on them once we went to the bullpen,” said Price, who used four relievers. “If Brandon Johnson is in the bullpen, he’s done that for us all year.”

Johnson, a Free State High graduate who is 7-3 with seven saves, has been shelved because of an elbow injury. Price said the junior likely would see limited action in Oklahoma City.

Ripley matched a career high with nine strikeouts and walked only one in 5 2/3 innings. He finally ran into trouble in the sixth when Flynn’s RBI triple highlighted a two-run rally that pulled KU within 6-5.

K-State added a single run in the top of the seventh, but Metcalf cut the deficit to 7-6 with an RBI double in the bottom of the inning before Maloney launched his homer in the eighth.

The loss dropped KU to the eighth spot and a matchup with Nebraska (42-14, 20-7) at Bricktown Ballpark. The Huskers won two of three games against KU this season.

“Five years ago that was a program that wasn’t very good,” Price said of the Cornhuskers. “They’ve proven you can win in the Midwest, and that’s our goal right now — to prove we can have a quality program in the Midwest.”