The Kansas baseball team matched its record for the most runs scored in a single inning on Sunday when it put up 16 in the sixth on its way to a victory over Pacific.
In what head coach Dan Fitzgerald called “a barrage of quality at-bat after quality at-bat,” the Jayhawks batted around twice, mustering 20 total plate appearances against a combined four Tiger pitchers in the frame and scoring half their runs with two outs in the inning.
In all, KU drew six walks and two hit-by-pitches while racking up six singles, a double and two home runs. The half-inning also featured a balk, a stolen base and a wild pitch — though did not include an error — and in all took up about 44 minutes of the KU radio broadcast.
KU scored 16 runs in an inning for the first time since May 22, 2004 (against Kansas State) and the third time overall on its way to the 19-3 run.
What made the display all the more stunning, then, was that it came in a 3-3 tie game through five innings, although it was certainly on track with results from the previous two days; in all, KU outscored Pacific 49-13 in three games on its way to the series sweep.
After the marathon sixth inning, Sunday’s series closer ended in seven. Sophomore Kodey Shojinaga drove in six runs (including four on a grand slam in the sixth) and transfer center fielder John Nett went 4-for-4 with a walk and four RBIs (two of which came on his single in the sixth).
Nett hit one home run to give KU an early lead in the first, then another to tie the game up in the fifth when Pacific held a 3-2 lead.
“I’m not necessarily a home run hitter and wasn’t trying to do it there, but it’s good when they happen,” Nett said in a press release. “You have to enjoy them when they do happen, especially multi-homer games. I have really good hitters behind me. My job is to be on base for them and I just got kind of lucky with those two.”
Then came the avalanche.
“I think we finally kind of zeroed it in in the sixth,” Fitzgerald said in the release. “I was really proud of the at-bats in the fourth and the fifth to scratch out runs. We knew that if we got to their bullpen – they’re down some guys.”
With an odd number of teams (13) in the Big 12 Conference this season, each squad has a weekend to squeeze in some nonconference action, and so the Jayhawks were able to bring the Tigers to town. KU will now travel to Omaha for a midweek matchup Tuesday at 6 p.m. before resuming league play at Baylor over the weekend.
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
