photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

The Kansas bench celebrates a three-run home run by senior Brady Counsell against Missouri at Hoglund Ballpark Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

The Kansas baseball team grabbed a 9-3 victory in the Border Showdown against Missouri on Tuesday at Hoglund Ballpark, securing the Jayhawks’ ninth win in a row on the back of Brady Counsell’s career-high five RBIs and a season-high four stolen bases by Counsell, Tommy Barth, Derek Cerda, and Michael Brooks.

While the usual power wasn’t on display for the Jayhawks outside of Counsell’s three-run home run in the first inning, Kansas found success with good situational hitting, which relied greatly on its uncommon movement on the bases.

“I obviously love well-rounded baseball, and wish we could steal, you know, 150 bags this year, but it doesn’t necessarily fit our offense,” head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “But what stolen bases do is they speed up the defense, and that certainly played out tonight.”

The rivals came out swinging from both sides in their first matchup of the season, as a home run by Kaden Peer from the No. 2 spot gave the Tigers a quick 1-0 lead. But the Jayhawks responded threefold in their half of the first, as Counsell’s home run drove in Brady Ballinger and Jackson Hauge, who had reached base on a single and an error, respectively, to grab a 3-1 lead.

Kansas starter Malakai Vetock worked around a single and a walk in the second with a pickoff at first to keep Kansas’ two-run lead intact for his second and final inning of the night.

“Malakai did a nice job in the first, came back and did a really nice job in the second,” Fitzgerald said. “We needed someone to stretch us for two, and we were hoping it would be Malakai.”

As it has done so often this year, the bottom of Kansas’ lineup set the Jayhawks in motion with a leadoff double by Sawyer Smith. Ian Francis followed up with an RBI single from the No. 9 hole to grab a 4-1 lead and force Missouri starter Josh Kirchhoff out of the game. Cerda drew a walk to keep things rolling as the lineup turned over, but the Jayhawks didn’t add on to their lead as Francis was thrown out trying to advance to third.

“We know, no matter where we are in the lineup, where we are in the game, we have the capability to put up runs instantly,” Counsell said. “So today it was me, but it can be someone different every day, and that’s a great part about this offense.”

Vetock’s night was over after two innings of work, as has become normal during Kansas’ midweek games, as Thaniel Trumper took over to start the third. Trumper got one out on one pitch before issuing a four-pitch walk and falling behind 3-0 against his third batter of the night, prompting Francis to quickly visit the mound. Trumper rebounded from the 3-0 hole to get his first strikeout of the night, but walked the next batter to put runners on first and third with two outs. Both runners tried to advance on a wild pitch, and the runner at first was caught in a rundown, but he stalled enough to plate a run and make it a 4-2 game.

The Jayhawks managed to get two runners on with two outs in their half of the third, but failed to get the run across. After Trumper’s rocky but scoreless third inning, Manning West took the mound and pitched an eight-pitch inning in the fourth. Kansas took the momentum from this short inning to add on another pair of runs, once again via the bat of Counsell as he collected his second multi-RBI hit of the night with a line-drive single just over the pitcher’s head to make it 6-2.

West remained on the mound for the fifth, allowing a pair of singles but keeping the Tigers off the scoreboard. Kansas went quiet in its half of the inning, only drawing a walk, before Missouri and the Jayhawks each grabbed a single in the sixth but failed to score anything from it.

The seventh inning was a messy one for Kansas, starting off with a throwing error by Brooks as Brigden Parker took the mound. Parker navigated the early traffic well, collecting the first two outs of the inning before being replaced by the hard-throwing Alex Breckheimer as Fitzgerald looked to get his now-closer stretched out during the midweek matchup. Breckheimer hit a batter with his first pitch to put runners on first and second before allowing a single to Peer for his second RBI of the night and Missouri’s first run since the third, which made it 6-3. Breckheimer then induced a groundout to end the inning.

The bottom of Kansas’ lineup continued to spur its offense, as Brooks drew his third walk of the night before stealing his first base of the season to put a runner in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Smith grabbed his first RBI out of the No. 8 spot to give the Jayhawks a 7-3 lead. Breckheimer allowed two more baserunners in the eighth but kept the Tigers off the scoreboard, setting up a seven-batter rally that plated two more runs on Dariel Osoria’s first hit of the night.

Eric Lin offered a quick conclusion to the game in the ninth, striking out two batters to secure Kansas’ 9-3 run over its historic out-of-state rivals.

“I think that you kind of have to (treat it like just another game),” Counsell said after his first taste of the Border Showdown. “I think the biggest thing is kind of trying to slow down the big moments. Obviously, when the fans are screaming, you kind of want to get too big. But I think staying simple and saying your approach has been a key, and that’s something that Fitz says a lot.”

Fitzgerald added that he “loved how the guys competed, and loved that we just kept it the same in terms of just another day to prepare and get better,” but also noted the importance of the storied rivalry for players and fans alike.

“We have 27 new guys who didn’t necessarily grow up with an understanding of the rivalry, but they certainly understand rivalries,” he said. “And so I think this is an interesting one, because it’s so palpable… and you pick up on some things pretty fast.”

The Jayhawks will have a less storied matchup this weekend as they take on Cincinnati in a three-game series beginning Friday, looking to extend their winning streak to a season-high 10 games, or longer, through the weekend.

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