Peoria, Ariz. ? Having already hit a two-run home run to tie the game in the fifth inning, junior outfielder Connor McKay hit a two-run double in the seventh to spark a six-run rally as Kansas University opened its baseball season Friday with a 10-4 victory over Brigham Young.
“I was really fortunate that at-bat,” McKay said. “I swung at a bad pitch to start, and then (Tommy) Mirabelli stole second, so at that time I was just trying to advance him another base. The next pitch I got lucky with a foul ball that was nearly caught and luck has it, the next pitch, well, you know what happened.”
Two other Jayhawks tallied multiple hits, including senior catcher Ka’iana Eldredge (2-for-4) and junior third baseman Aaron Hernandez (2-for-3). Eldredge and Hernandez each had a single, double and RBI, helping Wes Benjamin to his first win of the season.
Benjamin allowed four runs in seven innings.
“Wes really struggled with his fastball command and had no feel for his breaking ball today,” KU coach Ritch Price said. “To his credit, he battled and did a good job at finding a way to get that third out of the inning four consecutive times, where if they put a base hit together, they knock him out of the ball game. I told him that a year ago he would have lost this game, but this year he has the experience and maturity to grind it out and put us in a position to win.”
KU and BYU will play a doubleheader at noon today.
Freshman Joven Afenir recorded his first career hit and first career RBI all in his first career at-bat as a Jayhawk. Michael Suiter added a hit and run of his own, while Tucker Tharp had a hit and two runs scored.
BYU 100 210 000 — 4 7 2
Kansas 020 020 60x — 10 10 3
W — Wes Benjamin (1-0). L — Chris Howard (0-1).
2B — Dallen Reber, Bret Lopez, BYU; Connor McKay, Aaron Hernandez, Ka’lana Eldredge, KU. HR — McKay.
KU highlights — McKay 2-for-4, 4 RBIs; Hernandez 2-for-3; Eldredge 2-for-4.
