As if there wasn’t enough at stake already for Kansas University’s baseball team just by facing archrival Missouri this weekend, it turns out the Border War all-sports points battle boils down to this weekend’s series.
The first game of the three-game series is at 6 tonight at Hoglund Ballpark. The Jayhawks must win at least once for KU to win the Border War trophy.
“If there wasn’t enough pressure already for being in last place, I don’t know how much more pressure there can be,” second-year KU coach Ritch Price said. “It’s such a great rivalry.”
Price was introduced to the KU-MU grudge match last year and received a rude awakening when his squad was shelled by the Tigers in three losses in Columbia, Mo. Kansas fell again to Missouri 4-3 in the postseason.
“My first time experiencing it last year, I wasn’t prepared for it,” Price said of the rivalry. “I’ve never been in a stadium that was as nasty as that one last year.
“Now that the Border War’s at stake, I think it’s going to be a highly emotional, highly intense series.”
Handing Kansas the Border War title would be a landmark achievement in what has been a season full of plenty of disappointment. Senior Ryan Baty, for one, said the series is personal.
“We’re gonna fight these guys,” he said. “We’re gonna fight these guys to the finish because we’re representing more than ourselves this weekend. We’re representing our whole institution, and that’s something we’re really looking forward to doing.”
There’s more at stake than just the rivalry trophy, however. Postseason dreams hinge on every game this weekend and next.
The Jayhawks (26-30-1 overall, 2-18 Big 12 Conference) must win their final six Big 12 games to have any chance at earning a berth in the conference tournament. That includes sweeping all three games from the Tigers (29-18-1, 8-12) this weekend and then sweeping Kansas State next weekend. MU is six games ahead of KU in the league standings in eighth place. KSU is ninth.
One Kansas loss or one Missouri victory will eliminate the Jayhawks from postseason eligibility. The Tigers are 16-7-1 on the road this year and have won the last eight meetings between the two teams. They’ve also won five of their last seven games, so odds of a sweep definitely are not in KU’s favor.
Regardless, past statistics haven’t dampened the mood in the Kansas dugout, junior Travis Dunlap said.
“We never feel like we’re out of a game or out of a series,” Dunlap said. “This being the Border War and we’ve gotta get one to clinch the Border War for the whole university, records don’t matter coming into this one. It’s gonna be a war.”
Kansas has lost five straight, but has seen drastic improvement in its pitching during the past two weeks. Clint Schambach threw six shutout innings Tuesday, and Ryotaro Hayakawa has developed into a reliable option out of the bullpen. Schambach will start Saturday’s game, while junior Mike Zagurski (3-4, 4.95 ERA) will be on the mound tonight for Kansas.
6Sports video: KU baseball playing for Border War trophy