Kansas baseball defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys 12-11 on Saturday after a three-run walk-off home run by senior shortstop Sawyer Smith in the 11th inning in the second game of their three-game series at Hoglund Ballpark. Following a win in the first game and a three-game win streak, the Jayhawks improved to 22-6 on the season.
“It is incredibly hard to blow a lead a couple times and come back and win and do it the way we just did,” Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “So I’m incredibly proud of these guys ... I love who they are as a team and I love how they compete.”
Junior pitcher Kannon Carr started on the mound for the Jayhawks, and freshman Ethan Lund started pitching for the Cowboys.
In the top of the first, the Jayhawks got off to a strong start, with three quick outs from Carr.
After a rough outing for Lund in the bottom of the first including a walk, wild pitch and hitting two different batters, sophomore Hunter Watkins entered the game for Oklahoma State. Watkins earned two quick outs heading into the second inning.
Sophomore catcher Beau Sylvester singled to right field for the first hit for the Cowboys. Freshman second baseman Brock Thompson singled to left field, but Carr closed out the inning with no runs for the Jayhawks to keep the score 0-0 entering the bottom of the second.
Smith singled to give Kansas its first hit of the game, but it would be the only hit of the inning for the Jayhawks.
Carr took care of business for Kansas in the third inning with three quick outs. In the bottom of the third, senior right fielder Jackson Hauge hit home run No. 12 of his season to center field to give the Jayhawks the lead, 1-0.
In the top of the fourth inning, Cowboy sophomore left fielder Kollin Ritchie walked and junior third baseman Jayson Jones singled to left field, advancing Ritchie to second. After Sylvester hit his second single of the game, Ritchie scored to tie the game for the Cowboys. Thompson hit a flyout, but not without scoring Jones to take the lead.
The Jayhawks quickly responded in the bottom of the fourth inning when senior catcher Ian Francis homered to left field for two runs after senior left fielder Tommy Barth walked to start the inning. Junior center fielder Derek Cerda kept the offense going with a home run of his own to left field, retaking the lead for Kansas, 4-2.
Sophomore designated hitter Alex Conover attempted to get the Cowboys offense back on track, hitting a single to start off the fifth inning; however, it would be their only hit.
Kansas senior third baseman Brady Counsell singled and stole second base to start the Jayhawks off during the bottom of the fifth. Smith was hit by a pitch, but Watkins escaped the inning without allowing a run.
Senior Thaniel Trumper replaced Carr on the mound for the Jayhawks at the top of the sixth inning, where he quickly struck out the first two batters and flew out the third.
The Cowboys also made a pitching change in the sixth when freshman Noah Wech came in for Watkins, where he walked three batters and committed an error with only one out, leading to junior Drew Blake replacing him in the same inning. Counsell was walked, leading to a score for the Jayhawks. Barth followed up with a double to left center field, scoring two runners. Francis grounded out but scored Counsell, extending the Kansas lead, 8-2.
Oklahoma State would not go down without a fight, as Conover doubled after a walk, leading to junior center fielder Brayden Smith hitting a three-run homer to left center, nearing the Cowboys a little closer, 8-5. Junior Dalton Smith replaced Trumper, earning three outs with two strikeouts.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, senior Tommy Allman replaced Blake to pitch. After a strikeout from Cerda, sophomore Brady Ballinger hit the fourth home run of the game for Kansas to make the score 9-5.
Thompson was walked for the Cowboys to start the top of the eighth inning, and freshman Garrett Shull singled to right field. Conover followed by hitting a three-run home run to cut the lead to just one run. Senior Eric Lin replaced Smith on the mound for Kansas.
Junior Sean Youngerman replaced Allman for the Cowboys in the bottom of the eighth, getting three outs on three batters.
With the game on the line for Oklahoma State in the top of the ninth inning, the Cowboys’ offense needed to find some rhythm. After Lin walked the first batter, senior first baseman Colin Brueggemann hit a single. Lin walked another batter, leaving three runners on base without an out for the Cowboys. Lin was replaced by junior Alex Breckheimer to try and seal off the game for Kansas.
The Jayhawks received their first out of the inning as Jones reached on a fielder’s choice for the Cowboys and the runner was thrown out at home. Breckheimer received roars of cheers from the Jayhawk crowd as he struck out the next batter, leaving the game up to Thompson at the plate with two outs and three men on base.
Breckheimer threw a wild pitch, scoring a run to tie the game for the Cowboys, followed by a flyout.
“For Brockheimer to come in, bases loaded, nobody out, [and for him to] wiggle out of there with the tie ball game is really, really the story of the game,” Fitzgerald said.
In extras, Breckheimer swiftly earned three outs, and in the bottom of the 10th, senior infielder Chase Diggins singled to left field and advanced to second base on a wild pitch to keep the Jayhawks alive. After a flyout by junior designated hitter Dariel Osoria, Diggins advanced to third base, but Youngerman earned the third out to send the game to the 11th inning.
After two flyouts, Sylvester hit a double to left center, leading to a two-run homer by Thompson to take the lead for Oklahoma State, 11-9.
Senior outfielder Mike Koszewski came in to bat for the Jayhawks in the bottom of the 11th and hit a double, and Barth walked to put two batters on with no outs.
Smith homered to right field to walk-off the game with a three-run home run.
“[The home run] was awesome, [there was] so much excitement, joy, and just being able to come back and win this game was huge,” Smith said.
The Jayhawks' final game of the series will be on Sunday, March 30, at 1 p.m. Central. It will be streamed on ESPN+.
“Sawyer Smith will remember that [game] for the rest of his life,” Fitzgerald said.
