photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

KU fans cheer on the Kansas baseball team at Hoglund Ballpark on Friday, March 28, 2025.

With a 6-3 record in league play following a weekend sweep of Oklahoma State, the Kansas baseball team is off to its best start to Big 12 competition in program history.

The Jayhawks are now ranked nationally by multiple top 25 polls as of Monday following a memorable weekend that saw them set an attendance record at Hoglund Ballpark on Friday, then complete their first sweep of OSU since 2009 with a 12-11 walk-off win on Saturday and 11-2 demolition on Sunday.

“Any game you win period is important, but conference games take on a little bit different life of their own when you talk about just stepping things forward,” head coach Dan Fitzgerald said on a press release.

A shutdown eight-inning outing from Dominic Voegele was enough for the Jayhawks to earn their 5-2 victory in the series opener, but they posted a significantly higher amount of offense in each of the following two games. On Saturday, they went up six runs with a four-run sixth inning, but three-run home runs conceded by relievers Thaniel Trumper and Dalton Smith put OSU back in contention. The Cowboys took the game to extra innings and even went ahead 11-9 on a two-run shot by Brock Thompson in the 11th inning.

KU, however, responded in kind before it was too late. Defensive replacement Mike Koszewski doubled, Tommy Barth walked and Ian Francis moved both runners over with a groundout to pitcher Sean Youngerman before Sawyer Smith homered to right field, giving the Jayhawks their fourth walk-off of the season.

“(Youngerman) was throwing a lot of fastballs,” Smith said in a release. “I tried to get my swing off and just see what happens. I got it good, but I was hoping it went through the wind. It was awesome. So much excitement, joy, just being able to come back and win this game was huge.”

The Sunday matchup required a significantly less dramatic comeback from KU after it fell behind by one run on a pair of occasions in the early innings, but it was all Jayhawks after Michael Brooks, surging of late, hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning. That kicked off a stretch of 10 straight runs for the Jayhawks as pitchers Cooper Moore, Gavin Brasosky and Robbie Knowles kept OSU at bay.

Brooks finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, a double, the home run and a walk, while four teammates recorded two hits apiece.

The Jayhawks are now 23-6 on the season and will continue their homestand with a midweek matchup against South Dakota State on Wednesday at 6 p.m. before leaving town for a series at UCF.