Austin, Texas ? Texas scored two unearned runs in the first inning, then held on to beat Kansas University, 2-1, in Big 12 baseball on Saturday at Disch-Falk Field.

No. 10-ranked UT (15-5, 1-1) scored all its runs in the first, on a pair of singles and a grounder to Kansas shortstop Justin Protacio in the hole that Protacio gloved. However, his one-hopper to first got past first baseman Blair Beck, and Texas had a 1-0 lead. Collin Shaw then singled in another run for a 2-0 edge.

KU (13-5, 1-1) made it 2-1 in the third, when Colby Wright’s RBI single up the middle scored Protacio.

Robert Kahana (1-3) took the loss. He threw a complete-game five-hitter, with no walks and four strikeouts.

“I can’t tell you how proud I was after (the first inning),” KU coach Ritch Price said. “(Kahana) struggled his last outing at Stanford and needed a quality start. For him to go back out there and put seven zeroes up and give us a chance to compete and grind against one of the best guys in America … Despite the fact that we lost, it was a tremendous baseball game.”

Dillon Peters (2-1) earned the win after allowing one run off five hits over 71/3 innings, with one walk and three strikeouts.

Beck went 2-for-3 for KU.

The rubber game in the series will be at 1 p.m. today.

Kansas 001 000 000 — 1 6 1

Texas 200 000 00x — 2 5 1

W — Dillon Peters, 2-1. L — Robert Kahana, 1-3. Sv — John Curtiss, 4

2B — Blair Beck, Kansas.

Kansas highlights — Kahana 8 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K; Beck 2-for-3, RBI.