Jared Soares/Journal-World PhotoThe warm weather left Hoglund Ballpark on Saturday, but Kansas University’s baseball offense and pitching remained torrid.
The Jayhawks (17-8-1) won their fourth game in a row by knocking 13 hits while limiting Arkansas-Little Rock to three in a 14-2 victory.
A day after KU senior pitcher Ryan Knippschild delivered an eight-inning performance, junior Clint Schambach came up with a season-best seven-inning outing, allowing just two hits and two earned runs.
“I thought it was an important start for him,” Kansas coach Ritch Price said. “He needed to go out there and solidify his spot on the rotation.”
Arkansas-Little Rock (6-6) jumped ahead first with a double and a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but Schambach (2-0) didn’t allow another Trojan to reach base until the seventh.
Jared Soares/Journal-World Photo“It was nice to go deep in the game,” Schambach said. “After the second inning, I was able to settle down.”
While the junior right-hander settled down, the Kansas batters started up, posting three runs off one hit in the second and then five runs off three hits in the third.
KU’s first run came courtesy of UALR pitcher Brad Cherry, who walked three straight Jayhawks to load the bases and then hit sophomore Ritchie Price with a pitch, bringing in junior Travis Dunlap. He was one of many Jayhawks to cross home plate.
“We were able to run his pitch count high,” KU coach Price said of Cherry. “If you walk guys and set up the table, you’re going to have a hard time getting out of innings.”
Cherry (1-2) had little problem handling Kansas with a nine-strikeout game in a 5-4 Trojan win last season at Little Rock, but the senior lasted only 21/3 innings Saturday.
With a double to right-center field in the seventh inning, senior Matt Tribble extended his hitting streak to 17 games on his fifth trip to the plate. He added another double in the eighth as part of a three-run, three-hit inning for Kansas.
“I was thinking about it,” Tribble said of getting a hit. “I wasn’t about to give up my day at the fifth at-bat, and luckily it fell.”
The Jayhawks will try to complete the sweep of the Trojans at 1 p.m. today. KU’s Mike Zagurski (2-0) and UALR’s Kenny Geiersbach (2-1) are scheduled to start.
