KU catcher Michael Tinsley’s quest to become the first Jayhawk since 1997 to finish a season hitting above .400 is over.
Tinsley, who was red hot in the month of April but cooled off in the middle of May, went 1-for-4 in both games of a double header at Oklahoma State on Friday night — both KU losses — and now has just one game remaining in his season given that the losses eliminated KU (20-34-1 overall, 6-16 Big 12) from postseason play.
Tinsley, a junior who is likely to be selected in this summer’s MLB draft, was vying to become the seventh Jayhawk since 1971 to accomplish the magical feat of eclipsing the .400 mark in a single season.
As it stands, he figures to finish with the highest batting average since Brian Heere hit .393 in 2010 and Tony Thompson hit .389 during his triple crown season of 2009. In addition, Tinsley will become the fourth Jayhawk since 1988 to finish a season above .370.
It was a heck of a run and very cool to see him climb above .400 so late in the season. He peaked at .402 on May 8. But his inability to stay there is just further testament to the strong pitching the Big 12 Conference throws out there night in and night out.
Let’s take a look, one more time…
Updated Batting Average: .381
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**Name:** Michael Tinsley
**Year:** Junior
**Position:** Catcher
**Measurables:** 6-foot, 194 pounds
**Bats:** Left
**Throws:** Right
**Multi-hit games:** 25
**Most recent outing:** Doubleheader –> 1-for-4 in 4-3 road loss and 1-for-4 in 9-2 road loss at Oklahoma State on Tuesday, May 20.
**Details:** Tinsley managed just one hit in each of KU’s Friday losses, but one of those hits was a 2-RBI shot down the left field line. Tinsley did not walk or strikeout in either game and watched his average drop from .386 entering Friday to .381 at the end of the night. He is now 80 for 210 this season, with one game to play. A 4-for-4 showing in today’s season finale would push Tinsley back to .393 and make him just the fourth Jayhawk since 1987 to finish above .390. A 3-for-4 effort would land him at .388, while 2-for-4 would result in .383, 1-for-4 would drop him to .379 and a hitless finale would leave him at .374.
**Up next:** 3 p.m. today at Oklahoma State.
