After four innings, Kansas University baseball coach Ritch Price had seen enough.

The Jayhawks were flat against winless North Dakota State at Hoglund Ballpark, and it didn’t help that their “energy guy,” junior outfielder Matt Baty, missed the game because of an injury.

Trailing 3-0 after the top of the fifth inning, Price told his players it was time to turn it on, and KU (14-8) found some spunk just in time to recover for a much-needed 10-4 victory.

“It was a lot different, because he (Baty) is a real high-energy player,” freshman outfielder John Allman said. “We struggled a little in the beginning, but we put it together.”

Senior Travis Dunlap and freshman Ryne Price each walked to start the fifth. Freshman third baseman Erik Morrison doubled, scoring both runners, and Morrison scored two batters later when senior catcher Sean Richardson fought the swirling outfield winds and pushed over the left-field wall his second home run of the season.

In the sixth, Dunlap roped an RBI double, then Ryne Price hit his second long ball of the season.

The dagger came in the seventh, when junior outfielder A.J. Van Slyke benefited from the wind instead of battling it. Van Slyke hit a towering fly ball into center field, and, thanks to a push from Mother Nature, the ball cleared the tarp above the wall and put KU ahead, 9-4.

“I knew I hit it high enough, and when you hit it that high and the wind’s blowing that hard, it’s definitely got a good chance,” Van Slyke said. “We’re not really a home-run-hitting team, but some days in this park the ball just flies.”

Kansas University shortstop Ritchie Price, left, fires the ball to first base after forcing out North Dakota State runner Matt Mossey. The Jayhawks beat the Bison, 10-4, Friday at Hoglund Ballpark.

The Jayhawks’ three home runs were a season high, and for Richardson, who hit 12 a year ago, it was his first dinger since KU’s season-opening game.

Van Slyke provided the biggest highlight, but Allman delivered the most crucial performance. Allman started in left field but, more importantly, was the Jayhawks’ lead-off man in place of Baty. Allman responded by going 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base.

Kodiak Quick (5-1) picked up the win in relief of starter Mike Zagurski, who allowed three runs on three hits and five walks in 42/3 innings. Clint Schambach and Andrew Rebar combined to allow just one run in three innings to close out the game.

The Jayhawks will continue their weekend series against the Bison (0-8-1) at 1 p.m. today at Hoglund Ballpark. Baty is not expected to return to the lineup in the series’ two remaining games.

6Sports video: KU baseball knocks off North Dakota State

“Last weekend was definitely a learning experience, playing in a big-time environment,” Allman said of the team’s 1-3 record against Austin Peay and Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss. “It’s encouraging for us to get back on top.”