Kansas City, Mo. ? Sunday’s Ban Johnson All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium wasn’t Charles Gordon’s first baseball game on a big-league diamond.

It might not be his last either.

“It was awesome to play on a major-league field,” said Gordon, a Kansas University sophomore who had a single and a sacrifice bunt in the J All-Stars’ 3-1 victory over the B All-Stars. Gordon also tracked down both the fly balls hit his way in right field. “Getting back into baseball has been just great.”

Gordon played in a tournament for elite high school players at Dodger Stadium during his senior year of high school in Carson, Calif. He could have played college baseball, but he put his bat and glove away for two years after coming to KU to play football. He excelled on the gridiron last season, leading the Jayhawks with 57 receptions for 769 yards as a red-shirt freshman. He also averaged 13.1 yards per punt return.

Gordon, who hopes to play baseball for the Jayhawks this spring, returned to the game this summer with Arrow Rents in Kansas City’s wood-bat league. The early results weren’t pretty.

“It’s tough being off two years,” said Arrow Rents coach John Hill, a Lawrence High and Baker University graduate who is an assistant at Pittsburg State. “He had to adjust to wood bats and college pitchers. His attitude through the whole transition and getting back in the groove has been terrific.”

Gordon’s timing wasn’t terrific, and he was hitting .260 after 14 games.

“I was mad at myself and kind of down,” Gordon said. “I was striking out a lot. Every time I did hit the ball it was right at someone, or I didn’t hit it hard enough. I wasn’t comfortable at the plate. I was sort of questioning whether I was a good baseball player or not. After I started hitting better, I got more confident. Now I feel great.”

Gordon raised his average 45 points to .305 entering tonight’s playoff doubleheader against the B.J. Raiders.

“It’s a big confidence boost for me,” he said. “I was able to lift my average more than 30 points. That’s huge for me.”

Gordon did it while juggling summer school, football workouts four days a week and seven-on-seven drills two days a week.

“I did well,” he said. “It wasn’t that tough. I managed my time well. I had a plan. I followed the plan, and everything went smoothly.”

Gordon said his summer comeback taught him patience, and he knows he still needs to improve.

“Athletically, he just needs more time,” Hill said. “If he was just playing baseball and could focus on it all the time, he’d be phenomenal. Going back and forth, he’s going to miss out on a lot of the repetition that’s needed in baseball.”

Gordon will join the KU baseball team after the football season ends. The Jayhawks’ last regular-season football game is Nov. 20 at Missouri, but KU’s season could be extended by at least another month if the Jayhawks qualify for a bowl game.

KU football players report to preseason camp Friday.

“I’m looking forward to football. When the time comes, I’ll be ready for baseball again. Hopefully, we’ll still be playing football in December.”

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Game notes: Free State High graduate Matt Berner, a red-shirt freshman infielder at KU, struck out in his only at-bat for the J All-Stars. The second baseman made a diving stop and threw out a runner in the ninth. … Lawrence High graduate and KU sophomore outfielder Derek Bailey did not play for the B All-Stars after injuring his foot Friday night. Bailey, who required stitches after cutting his foot at a water park, said he would be ready for fall baseball.