Kansas University’s baseball team scored six runs in the final two innings to break a 2-all tie and beat No. 8 Stanford, 8-2, Friday at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond in Palo Alto, Calif. The Jayhawks improved to 5-1 on the season while the Cardinal (3-1) suffered their first loss.
Junior Sean Land threw a career-high seven innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four batters to pick up his second win of the year. Senior Don Czyz pitched the final two innings earning his second save of the year and 12th of his career, one shy of the KU record.
Sophomore John Allman’s two-out eighth inning RBI single scored senior Jared Schweitzer to give KU a 3-2 lead.
In the ninth, senior Ritchie Price picked up an RBI on a ground out and Schweitzer added a two-run single. Senior Gus Milner hit a long two-run home run over the left field fence to cap the five run inning.
Stanford got on the scoreboard first with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Brian Juhl singled to right field, advanced to second on a fielding error by Milner then moved up to third on a wild pitch. Chris Minaker hit his first home run of the season over the left field fence giving the Cardinal a 2-0 lead.
KU tied the game 2-2 in the sixth inning. Senior Matt Baty led off the inning with his fourth double of the season. Senior Ritchie Price followed with a sharp single through the right side sending Baty to third. Senior Gus Milner cleared the bases with a double down the left field line tying the game at two while picking up his 10th and 11th RBI of the season.
Kansas out-hit Stanford 14-4 for the game and tallied three doubles. Eight different Jayhawks recorded hits.
Kansas and Stanford will play the second game of its three-game series Saturday at 3 p.m. central. Senior Ricky Fairchild (1-0, 1.80 ERA) will start for the Jayhawks while the Cardinal will counter with senior Matt Manship (0-0, 10.80 ERA).
Game Notes: KU has won its last four non-conference road games against top 10 teams … Head coach Ritch Price improves to 10-12 against top 10 teams at KU … The game marked the second time junior Sean Land has started against Stanford and third time he’s faced the Cardinal in his career … The temperature was 76-degrees at first pitch … Stanford is ranked No. 8 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 14 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and No. 19 by Baseball America.
