photo by: Kansas Athletics.

Kansas outfielder Chase Jans makes a leaping catch in foul territory against Texas Tech on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at Hoglund Ballpark.

After walking off in its first matchup against high-level league opponent Texas Tech to start the weekend, the Jayhawks took the field behind pitcher Dominic Voegele on Saturday looking to secure a series win. They did just that on the back of an 11-run offensive performance and a six-inning, three-hit start from their freshman pitcher, to grab their ninth win in the last 10 games.

“The one commonality is that there’s just no weekend off (in the Big 12),” said head coach Dan Fitzgerald. “So any series win in this league is something to really celebrate. The walk off was thrilling, (but) we hit into seven double plays and put ourselves in a position where we needed to walk them off. Versus today where we just took care of business … the five-spot in the fifth I thought was huge because we were able to get Dom one more (inning).”

While the five-run fifth inning was the real exclamation point on Kansas’ victory, its final runs of the day to set the score at 11-2 came courtesy of junior outfielder Chase Jans’ first home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jans had a spectacular day, adding on two “SportsCenter”-worthy catches in left field and another two RBIs earlier in the game.

“I’ve been feeling good, just not really barreling it like I would like, so it felt good on that single up the middle (in the fifth), gave me some confidence,” Jans said. “And then I actually got the barrel on the ball (on the home run).”

“I’m proud of that guy,” Fitzgerald said of Jans. “This hasn’t been the easiest year in the world for him, but that sucker hasn’t quit, he just keeps grinding through it.”

Even with the large margin of victory, Kansas found itself trailing at one point early on. After a quiet first inning from both teams, Tech gave Voegele a busy second inning, as five runners reached base and the freshman handed out two free passes. The Red Raiders sandwiched a pair of doubles around Voegele’s first walk of the game to drive in the first runs of the game and go up 2-0. Another walk followed by a fielder’s choice loaded the bases with two outs before Tech’s Gavin Kash hit a long fly ball all the way to the wall for the final out of the inning.

A bounce-back clean inning by Voegele kept the Kansas deficit at two as the top of its lineup got set to come to the plate in the bottom of the third.

“Dom has four real pitches, and I think when you have four, there are days when the slider’s going and the curveball isn’t … but great pitchers morph throughout the game, and all of the sudden it’s the third inning and the curveball that wasn’t there is there,” Fitzgerald said of Voegele’s sixth win of the year. “So I think in the third he really found his stuff … and he was able to get us through six.”

After a quick flyout, John Nett walked and stole second, before a single put runners on the corners and Kodey Shojinaga drove in Nett with a high chopper down the third-base line to tie the game at 2-2. Ben Hartl, who hit a home run and recorded the walk-off RBI on Friday night, drove in two more runners to give Kansas its first lead of the game at 4-2.

After back-to-back strikeouts, Voegele issued his third walk of the day to extend the top of the fourth. Jans ended things two pitches later as he crashed into the wall in left field, reaching into foul territory to catch a long flyout and end the inning as his hat flew into the visitors’ bullpen on impact.

“I knew anything that way I would have a chance, really any fly ball was going to hang up for quite a while,” Jans said. “I didn’t see the wall, but (made the catch).”

“He’s been on ‘SportsCenter’ 100 times already and I can’t fathom that he’s not going to be on with that one,” Fitzgerald added. “That was one of the greatest catches I’ve ever seen in real time, and I’ve been doing this a while.”

The Jayhawks and Tech had 1-2-3 innings in the bottom of the fourth and start of the fifth before Kansas tacked on five runs on four hits, a walk and a hit by pitch in its half. Tyler Wisdom started with a single to score one runner and Cooper Combs followed up with another single to drive in two more. Jans wrapped up the inning and kept the line moving with a two-run single that put the Jayhawks up 9-2.

A quiet sixth led to a scary situation in the seventh inning as Voegele’s afternoon on the mound ended and Cooper Moore took over. On a first-pitch fastball, Moore hit Tech’s Dylan Maxcey in the side of the head and Maxcey immediately fell to the ground and stayed there for a few minutes. Paramedics tended to him on the field for about 15 minutes before loading him onto an ambulance and taking him for further care.

Both teams went quietly in the seventh as Tegan Cain came on to replace Moore to open the eighth, completing a clean inning with the help of two great defensive plays by Mike Koszewski in right and Shojinaga at third.

Jans’ home run ended Kansas scoring as Kolby Dougan came in from the pen to shut the door by striking out the side to clinch the series win.

“I’m trying to stay level-headed because it’s been a bit of a tough season, but it definitely does feel really good for me, so now it’s just about if I can do that consistently,” Jans said after his highlight performance in the Jayhawk’s fifth win in a row.

Looking forward, this series win over the top offense in the Big 12 puts Kansas in a prime spot to get back into the conversation of going to the postseason as the Jayhawks climb in RPI rankings and continue to improve on their league record from last season.

“This is about us becoming the best team we can possibly be at the end of the season, so we’ve just tried to simplify it and really put guys in spots where they can be successful,” Fitzgerald said. “And the guys really love each other, they love playing together and they’re super competitive, so a lot of those things are a good formula.”

The Jayhawks will look to complete the sweep against the Red Raiders on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Hoglund Ballpark before hosting a midweek bout against Wichita State and heading to Manhattan next weekend for the Sunflower Showdown.

photo by: Kansas Athletics

Kansas’ Cooper Combs gestures during a game against Texas Tech on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at Hoglund Ballpark.

photo by: Kansas Athletics

Kansas’ Chase Jans yells during a game against Texas Tech on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at Hoglund Ballpark.

photo by: Kansas Athletics

Kansas’ Ben Hartl steps on home plate against Texas Tech on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at Hoglund Ballpark.

photo by: Kansas Athletics

The Kansas baseball team huddles as part of a game against Texas Tech on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at Hoglund Ballpark.