Kansas University’s baseball team had been battered by just about everyone it faced, winning just two of its last 16 games heading into Friday night’s clash with Missouri.

But senior first baseman Ryan Baty sensed something bold was about to happen.

In fact, he sounded almost prophetic Thursday when he declared “Missouri caught us on the wrong weekend.”

Baty backed up his words, smashing a two-run homer that was the icing on KU’s 11-6 pounding of the Tigers at Hoglund Ballpark. His brother Matt, a sophomore center fielder, ripped a bases-clearing triple in the fourth that blew the game open and earned Kansas its most important victory of the year.

With the win, Kansas claimed the Border War all-sports trophy for the first time.

“I’m more relieved than anything else,” KU coach Ritch Price said. “I told my wife last night, if we’d gotten swept this weekend and lost that Border War trophy for this department, I would’ve gone in to see Lew (Perkins, athletic director) and offered to resign. I thought it was really important that we made a statement that we’re going in the right direction. It was a great win for us.”

Even more important, the Jayhawks (27-30-1 overall, 3-18 Big 12 Conference) kept their postseason hopes alive.

Tenth-place Kansas must win its last five league games to have a chance of overtaking eighth-place Missouri (29-19-1, 8-13) for the final league tournament berth. KU and MU square off again at 6 tonight. Clint Schambach (4-2, 5.10 ERA) will start for the Jayhawks against Missouri ace Garrett Broshuis (7-0, 2.83).

“There’s a lot riding on this series,” Ryan Baty said. “We’ve got the Border War, and it’s Missouri … and none of us like Missouri. We want to win for our institution. We want to win for our club. Overall, it was a good victory tonight, but we have some unfinished business.”

Kansas University's Matt Baty slides safely under the tag of Missouri third baseman Jeremy Hernandez for a three-run triple in the fourth inning. The Jayhawks beat the Tigers, 11-6, Friday at Hoglund Ballpark.

Kansas hasn’t taken care of business very often the past two months, but KU came through against Missouri. Junior left-handed pitcher Mike Zagurski allowed three early runs, but settled down and almost was untouchable for the better part of 7 2/3 innings. He retired late in the eighth inning with a 9-6 lead after logging the longest outing of his career.

The KU offense gave plenty of support behind Zagurski’s confident performance. Travis Metcalf slapped a one-run single in the first inning. The Jayhawks added four hits and two more runs in the second.

Tied at 3, Matt Baty laced a three-run triple into the gap in left-center field that plated Andy Scholl, Jared Schweitzer and A.J. Van Slyke. Baty and Ritchie Price then scored on Matt Tribble’s double, and Scholl’s solo homer in the fifth padded the lead to 9-3.

MU second baseman Jeremy Hernandez laced a two-run double in the eighth and later scored on Ritchie Price’s fielding error, but 9-6 was as close as the Tigers got. Ryan Baty’s two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth killed Missouri’s momentum.

6Sports video: KU baseball finally beats Missouri

“We had a lot on the line today,” said Zagurski, who improved to 4-4. “We haven’t been playing very well in the Big 12, and we haven’t played well the last couple months for the most part. With the Border War on the line, it was pretty important for the whole entire school.”

Kansas University's Andy Scholl, center, is greeted by teammates after he hit a solo home run in the fifth inning against Missouri. The Jayhawks beat the Tigers, 11-6, Friday at Hoglund Ballpark.