Kansas University baseball fans probably didn’t watch ESPN2 for very long Sunday evening.

After pulling out a dramatic 2-1 victory against third-ranked Texas earlier in the day in a game postponed Saturday night because of lightning, the Jayhawks later were pummeled in the series finale against the Longhorns, 16-5, at Hoglund Ballpark.

“That one was probably not the game you want to see on national TV,” KU closer Don Czyz said of the eight-inning, run-rule/travel-shortened setback which was broadcast on a tape-delay basis by ESPN2.

“But overall, we played well on the weekend and got more accomplished than what we came in looking for.”

Indeed the Jayhawks did, even if viewing audiences couldn’t tell that by checking out the lopsided contest that was called after eight innings in accordance with Big 12 Conference travel-day procedures.

KU’s 2-1 series victory over Texas not only was the Jayhawks’ first-ever series victory against a nationally ranked Big 12 opponent since the league’s inception in 1997, but also might just be KU’s best series ever.

Considering that Kansas (33-22 overall, 8-12 Big 12) was able to take down UT (39-11, 14-9) — which just last week was the country’s top-ranked team — twice, in front of a school-record 4,633 fans during the weekend in its national TV debut at a recently renovated Hoglund, Jayhawk fans had justification for their jubilation.

Or, as KU coach Ritch Price simply said, “It’s just a very special weekend.”

“Obviously, I’m disappointed with the way we ended the weekend, especially when it’s 4-4 in the fifth before the game got away from us,” said Price, whose squad claimed its second-straight Big 12 series victory and first series win against Texas since taking two of three from the Longhorns in 1996.

Kansas University's Matt Baty makes a diving catch with two runners on base in the top of the ninth inning to preserve a 2-1 KU victory. The Jayhawks won the game, which was completed Sunday after being postponed Saturday night because of lightning, to win the three-game series with No. 3 Texas, but dropped the finale, 16-5, at Hoglund Ballpark.

“Our goal was to win the weekend when we came in, and you throw in the Wichita State win on Wednesday, it really was an outstanding week for our club.”

Even Sunday, when the Jayhawks started the day with Matt Baty making a spectacular diving catch in center field to save the first game.

KU’s first two batters went down in order Sunday after Saturday’s game was resumed with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning. Czyz, who relieved starter Mike Zagurski midway through the eighth Saturday night, again took the mound Sunday.

The junior right-hander got the first Longhorn batter he faced to groundout before walking UT’s Carson Kainer on a 3-2 count. First baseman Chance Wheeless hit a ball off the end of his bat between Czyz and KU catcher Sean Richardson to safely reach first.

Texas’ David Maroul then blasted a ball to deep center over Baty’s head, but the KU junior tracked it down and laid out at the last second, making a diving over-the-shoulder catch to save at least one run, if not two.

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Czyz retired the final UT batter on another groundout.

“I told him afterward that’s one of the best catches I’ve ever seen made with the game on the line,” Price said. “Usually you’ll see an outstanding play made early in a game, but for there to be one out in the ninth inning and if he had not made the catch literally both guys would have scored … that’s one of the biggest catches I’ve ever seen.”

Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, they couldn’t carry the momentum into the final contest.

Texas, which hasn’t been swept all season, nearly matched its entire weekend production at the plate in the first two innings, slugging two solo home runs.

Kansas University's baseball team celebrates its series-clinching, 2-1 victory of a game postponed from Saturday night against third-ranked Texas. After its victory in the second game of the series, though, the Jayhawks lost the final game, 16-5, Sunday at Hoglund Ballpark.

KU tied the game at 2-all in the bottom of the second on Erick Morrison’s two-out, two-run single.

Texas took another two-run lead in the fifth on a fielder’s choice and double steal, but KU again answered with two outs.

Senior Andy Scholl smacked a double to left that scored Richardson and Jared Schweitzer, who extended his school-record hitting streak to 23 straight games.

But the fifth would signal the end of the Jayhawks’ fun.

Texas tallied six in the sixth as Kansas began to physically and mentally fall apart. Three Jayhawks collided when they converged for a ball as another Texas runner easily scored.

Kansas, which used just five pitchers in its two wins, went through seven in the finale. While Kodiak Quick was hit for four runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings, freshman Tyson Corley was credited with the loss after giving up five runs on three hits in one inning.

KU — which moved into a tie for sixth place in the Big 12 standings after its win Sunday, actually fell back to eighth after its loss and Oklahoma’s win over K-State — will travel to Springfield, Mo., on Wednesday to take on Southwest Missouri State before heading to Columbia, Mo., next weekend to tangle with the Tigers.

Baty said despite the sloppy finale, the weekend was a big-time success.

“Obviously the last game didn’t reflect it, but we played great baseball this weekend,” he said. “We’d pretty much shut Texas down all weekend, it was just a matter of time before their bats got going a bit.

“We had a chance to win all three, but it’s tough to beat a team as talented as Texas twice let alone three times. They’re definitely the No. 3 team in the country for a reason. But we showed that we’re capable of beating anyone.”