photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas sophomore Tyson Owens (5) approaches home plate after hitting a grand slam during the Jayhawks' game against Houston on Saturday, March 21, 2026, at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence.

Kansas sophomore right fielder Tyson Owens entered Saturday’s matchup with Houston on a four-game on-base streak, and he extended that streak, to put it mildly.

Owens finished the afternoon 4-for-5 at the dish with two home runs — a three-run shot in the bottom of the fourth that gave the Jayhawks a 4-1 lead and a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to reclaim the lead for Kansas — and that wasn’t all.

After the Cougars knotted the score at 8-8 with a home run in the top of the ninth, Owens knocked in the walk-off run on an infield single, sending the Jayhawks home with a 9-8 win over Houston at Hoglund Ballpark.

“I mean, I was just thinking ‘Beat it out,'” Owens said of his walk-off hit. “Ground ball, just trying to get to first so we win the game. I wish it was a home run, but I’ll take a single or two I guess.”

“Tyson’s a really good player and sees the ball really well,” Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “He makes great swing decisions and he’s done a really nice job of developing and Coach (Tyler) Hancock’s done a great job with him and he does a really good job of not letting the moment get too big for him.”

The starter for Kansas on Saturday was a familiar one for Owens. Junior right-handed pitcher Mathis Nayral, who played with Owens last season at Cochise College in Arizona, got the nod to start. Nayral made it through the first two innings unscathed and KU had a 1-0 lead thanks to a solo home run off the bat of junior shortstop Tyson LeBlanc, but Nayral gave up an RBI double in the third to Tre Broussard that tied things at 1-1.

In the bottom of the fourth, Kansas snatched the lead back. LeBlanc walked on seven pitches and stole second to put a runner in scoring position before a groundout by junior second baseman Cade Baldridge advanced him to third. That brought senior slugger Dariel Osoria to the dish, and Cougars sophomore starter Kendall Hoffman worked around him to get to Owens, who made him pay.

Owens’ launched a three-run home run to give Nayral a three-run lead, but a two-out bloop single that was misplayed in center in the top of the fifth led to a four-run frame, and saw Nayral exit after five innings.

Houston added some cushion in the top of the eighth, but with Nayral still in line to pick up the loss, Owens came through and picked up his starter.

“I think just collectively as a team, we do that really well as an offense,” Owens said, “and the pitchers do the same thing for us, where if the offense is struggling, the pitching staff picks us up there too.”

Owens launched a 429-foot jack over the center-field batter’s eye that propelled the Jayhawks back into the lead and got Nayral off the hook.

Heading into the top of the ninth in a save situation at 8-6 with usual high-leverage reliever Boede Rahe having pitched 3 1/3 on Friday, Fitzgerald went to senior righty Kannon Carr to slam the door. Shortstop Tyler Cox led off the inning with a single, but Carr got the next batter out looking. That brought Broussard to the plate, and Broussard was looking to build on a stellar season. His 3-for-4 day had him sitting with a .500 batting average on the season, and he raised that even further with a two-run game-tying home run to right field.

Carr walked the next batter before getting the final two outs and sending the Jayhawks to the home half of the ninth all tied at 8-8.

Sophomore left fielder Brady Ballinger grounded out to start the ninth for Kansas before LeBlanc got on with a single. Baldridge followed LeBlanc with a single of his own that had runners on first and third with one away. Osoria was due up next, but struck out, leaving it up to Owens.

After working a 2-2 count, and on the seventh pitch of his at-bat, Owens slapped a dribbling ground ball to the second baseman, who fielded it and threw to first just late as Owens went diving into the bag to secure the 9-8 victory for the Jayhawks.

The winning pitcher for Kansas was Carr, while the losing pitcher for Houston was senior right-hander Tyler Bryan.

Kansas and Houston will meet once more on Sunday for getaway day as the Cougars look to avoid the sweep from the Jayhawks. First pitch at Hoglund Ballpark is scheduled for 12 p.m.

Box score