Manhattan ? Kansas University baseball coach Ritch Price wouldn’t mind playing another week or two.

Just when his Jayhawks were enjoying their most successful stretch in the Big 12 Conference with four straight victories, KU’s season ended Sunday with a 7-4 victory over Kansas State at Tointon Stadium.

“I feel good obviously about the way we finished,” said Price, whose 31-31-1 squad secured its first series sweep against a Big 12 opponent since his hiring last year.

“The thing I’m most proud of is we got knocked down about a month ago and were on the canvas,” Price said, “but we found a way to get up and keep fighting all the way to the end.”

Unlike Saturday night’s wild KU win, which almost featured a fight between the Big 12’s bottom teams, Sunday’s game was fury-free.

The only similarity to Saturday was that the Jayhawks again used the help of a big inning to secure their seventh league victory.

Kansas couldn’t come close to matching the 16-run circus act it had in the sixth the day before, but a five-run fourth gave the Jayhawks a comfortable cushion.

“That one big inning got us again,” said KSU first-year coach Brad Hill, whose 26-30 squad suffered a fate similar to Kansas this season by finding some success in the nonconference portion of its season, but going 4-23 in the Big 12.

KU senior first baseman Ryan Baty cranked a solo home run the opposite way to right field in the first inning to put the Jayhawks on top.

Baty then added a two-run blast into the trees in left to start the fourth, while junior left fielder Andy Scholl provided a two-run double down the right-field line.

KU senior pitcher Ryan Knippschild wasn’t overpowering, but he was effective in seven solid innings. Despite giving up four runs, Knippschild picked up his seventh victory of the season.

“We’re starting turn around a little bit, and it sucks that the season is ending,” said Knippschild, one of five seniors who suited up for the final time.

While the Jayhawks won’t make a second straight trip to the Big 12 tournament — after making their conference debut in the tourney last season — KU did become only the fourth team in school history to record back-to-back .500 or better seasons.

Both Baty and sophomore shortstop Ritchie Price set school records Sunday.

Baty’s first-inning home run extended his 21-game hit streak, which broke senior teammate Matt Tribble’s year-old mark of 20 consecutive games with a hit.

Baty, who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, just missed tying an even bigger mark, coming up a hit short of tying Darryl Monroe’s career hit mark of 274, he set 1991-94.

Ritchie Price was plunked by a pitch in the seventh inning.

The hit-by-pitch marked the 18th time this season he had been hit.

Ritchie Price said while the season was more sour than sweet, the last few games would provide positive memories over the offseason.

“We finished on a good note, that’s for sure,” he said. “It would be nice to still be playing, but things didn’t go our way a couple of months ago, and that’s what happens.”