Frigid conditions were enough to keep plenty of Kansas University’s baseball fans home Monday afternoon, but the cold weather didn’t keep KU from picking up another victory.

The Jayhawks (9-7-1) defeated Oakland (Mich.) University, 6-3, in front of 286 fans at Hoglund Ballpark.

Senior first baseman Ryan Baty’s two-run home run in the fifth inning broke a 2-all tie and proved to be the difference.

The win was Kansas’ second in two days and moved its record to 2-0 at home in 2004.

“We’ve got to get a streak going,” Baty said. “What a streak does for us, outside of the win-loss column, is it builds confidence, and that’s what this team needs right now.”

On paper, it may have looked like Oakland (0-1) would be a pushover after the Jayhawks faced teams such as No. 4 Stanford in its early-season schedule. The Grizzlies hadn’t played a game before Monday, but it was evident early on that KU had a battle on its hands.

The Jayhawks continued their season-long trend of scoring early. Sophomore second-baseman Matt Baty led off the bottom of the first inning with a single. He scored on junior catcher Sean Richardson’s stand-up double to right field.

Oakland rallied with two runs in the top of the fourth. Ryan Heath reached base on an error and scored on Ty Herriott’s double. Bryan Marulli followed with a double that allowed Herriott to score and give the Grizzlies the lead.

Kansas evened the score when junior third baseman Travis Metcalf doubled and scored in the bottom of the fourth.

Kansas University starting pitcher Scott Sharpe delivers a pitch in the Jayhawks' 6-3 victory over Oakland University. Sharpe (2-0) picked up the win Monday at Hoglund Ballpark.

Baty’s two-run blast to center field put KU ahead 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth.

“I closed my eyes and swung,” Baty joked about the homer. “It was a fastball right down the middle. I worked the count to my favor a little bit, and I got the pitch I was looking for.”

OU starting pitcher Dominic Carmosino threw 85 pitches before retiring with two outs in the sixth inning. With the exception of the home run, he kept the Jayhawks in check.

Oakland pulled within 4-3 when John Sullivan scored in the sixth inning, but sophomore Don Czyz came on in relief of junior starter Scott Sharpe and struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced.

“I thought he was outstanding, and obviously the game was on the line when he came out of the bullpen today,” KU coach Ritch Price said of Czyz. “That’s a quality effort for him, and we think he’s made really good progress from his freshman year.”

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Andy Scholl and Matt Baty cushioned Kansas’ lead when they scored in the eighth inning.

“I was really impressed with how well Oakland played,” Price said. “I told their coach, that’s the best I’ve seen a team walk out of the fieldhouse and play their opening game. They made four or five absolutely outstanding plays to stay in the ball game, and their pitchers threw strikes. It turned out to be a good win.”

The Jayhawks and Grizzlies will square off at 3 p.m. today in the second game of the four-game series.

Kansas University's Matt Baty, left, turns a double play against Oakland (Mich.) University. The Jayhawks won, 6-3, Monday at Hoglund Ballpark.