For the first time since 2014 and the first time ever at Hoglund Ballpark, the Kansas baseball team has won an NCAA regional game.
The Jayhawks hit a series of early homers, weathered a gradual comeback from Northeastern in the middle innings and cashed in late for a couple of insurance runs against the Huskies’ bullpen on their way to a 6-3 victory on Friday afternoon.
Shortstop Tyson LeBlanc was responsible for one of those late-inning RBI singles as well as a home run that broke both KU’s individual and team single-season home-run records. Dominic Voegele allowed three runs in a solid seven-inning start, and Boede Rahe sealed the result by securing the final six outs.
Ryan Gerety had three hits and Will Fosberg hit a solo home-run for the fourth-seeded Huskies, who will play an elimination game on Saturday at noon. KU will face either Arkansas or Missouri State at 5 p.m.
“They are as disciplined a team as you can play against and they’re so tough to put away,” KU coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “Dom had to work for every single one of those punchouts today, as did Boede. They’re so tough and then they had that stretch in the middle where they got the leadoff guy on I think four innings in a row. That’s a really good team that we just played, but really proud of our guys. I thought we battled.”
Voegele worked around a two-out single in the first inning, not without some intrigue as Matt Brinker had a potential home run curl foul in left field before he struck out looking.
Josh Dykhoff battled his way to a leadoff walk in the second inning to become KU’s first baserunner, and Augusto Mungarrieta followed him up in short order with a two-run shot off Northeastern starter Luc Rising in the direction of the newly constructed Backyard area in left field.
Jordan Bach got beaten out on a close play at first and Dylan Schlotterback grounded out, but Dariel Osoria smacked a first-pitch solo shot, also to left, to make it 3-0.
Northeastern had a quick response with a solo home run of its own from Fosberg, but Voegele came back with three quick outs. LeBlanc then proceeded to send another ball over the left-field fence in what had quickly turned into a home run derby.
“It was an awesome feeling,” he said of setting the single-season record. “Super proud of the two guys in front of me that hit home runs as well.”
KU managed to get a pair of runners on with two outs after Cade Baldridge singled and Mungarrieta was hit in the arm before Bach flied out to center field.
Gerety tripled off the center-field wall to lead off the fourth inning for Northeastern. Voegele managed to strike out Brinker and AJ Aschettino swinging, which prompted Gerety to attempt to steal home during Charlie Criscola’s at-bat. Mungarrieta tagged him out. Northeastern lobbied for catcher’s interference but was unable to challenge because the play was not reviewable.
Rising’s day ended after 3 2/3 innings when he issued a two-out walk to Savion Flowers. Left-hander David McSweeney got LeBlanc to line out and end the fourth inning.
In his return to the plate, Criscola doubled to put Voegele in another tough spot, then reached third base on a flyout to center field.
Fosberg battled his way to a one-out walk. The Jayhawks had a chance at a double-play ball, but Cade Baldridge missed on a throw and not only did Criscola score, the remaining runners advanced to second and third. Voegele got out of the jam again by getting Tyler Harmony to strike out and Harrison Feinberg to ground out as the score remained 4-2.
“I just trusted what Coach (Brandon) Scott kept calling and tried to hit all my spots, and it ended up working out,” Voegele said.
In the bottom of the fifth, McSweeney gave up a double to Baldridge and four-pitch walk to Dykhoff with one out. After a mound visit, though, he struck out Mungarrieta looking and got Bach to pop out to end the inning.
Gerety recorded his third hit of the game to open the sixth. Northeastern got runners on the corners with one out once again after a single by Aschettino, and then cut the margin to one run on a groundout by Criscola as KU did not attempt to throw home.
It was Osoria’s turn to hit a one-out double in the sixth. After striking out Flowers, McSweeney intentionally walked LeBlanc to bring up Tyson Owens for a lefty-on-lefty matchup. It didn’t go Owens’ way, as he got ahead 2-0 in the count but ended up grounding out to conclude the inning.
Brady Ballinger entered as a defensive replacement for Flowers, while with 91 pitches on the day, Voegele returned for the seventh. He got two quick outs without incident before Harmony singled, then managed to strike out Feinberg.
McSweeney got off to a shaky start in the bottom of the seventh, walking Baldridge and falling behind 3-0 against Dykhoff, but Dykhoff flied out to center. At that point, Northeastern opted to bring in its top reliever Andrew Wertz, who got the final two outs.
KU countered in the eighth with its closer Rahe, looking for a six-out save. He retired Gerety and proceeded to get two more quick outs, aided by a solid catch in center field by Owens.
With the Jayhawks looking for insurance, Schlotterback singled, but Osoria struck out looking. In his first at-bat since returning from a hamate bone injury, Ballinger added another single to bring up the top of the lineup.
LeBlanc delivered with a single into left field to score Schlotterback. Owens flied out, but Baldridge dropped one into center to make it 6-3.
“We hit a few balls hard in the innings before and they didn’t fall,” LeBlanc said. “That inning we finally got some baserunners on and Ballinger came up, first at-bat back went back-side, that was huge for him to step up and be able to do that. Our goal is to tack on as many runs as possible in the late innings and that’s what we did. We executed.”
Rahe got the final three outs to seal the result and consign the Huskies to the loser’s bracket.
Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World
