Kansas baseball: Jayhawks overcome Valparaiso in season opener

With March Madness just around the corner, this also means that the NCAA baseball season is underway. A day before Kansas plays their crucial game versus Baylor on College Gameday, the Jayhawks baseball team had their season opener.

In the first of a three-game set, KU defeated Valparaiso 5-1 on a neutral site in Corpus Christi, Texas. Starter Collin Baumgartner threw five innings of one-run ball, striking out six batters. Gavin Brasosky recorded the save after allowing no runs in his five innings pitched.

On the offensive end, center fielder Mike Koszewski recorded two hits and scored as many runs. Collier Cranford drove in two RBIs.

Kansas baseball has not had much recent success in past years. The last time a squad of theirs reached the NCAA Tournament was in 2014.

D1 Baseball predicted that the Jayhawks would finish No. 7 in the conference this season, leading both Kansas State and Baylor. If you are unaware, there are only nine teams in the conference for baseball because Iowa State’s program dropped baseball due to budget cuts.

A Kansas baseball player has not made the majors in quite some time. Tom Gorzelanny was a serviceable relief pitcher in the MLB for the better part of a decade, winning 50 games and holding a lifetime ERA of 4.40. He pitched 883 2/3 innings in his career, but he called it quits in 2016.

Since Gorzelanny retired, KU has not had an active MLB player. This could soon change if 2019 third-round pick Ryan Zeferjahn gets called up by the Boston Red Sox, which is a possible scenario in a few years.

The Kansas team might struggle again this season. After going 20-35 in 2022, the Jayhawks lost their most promising player Maui Ahuna to Tennessee as a transfer. He hit .396 last season, hitting eight home runs and driving in 48 runs in a little more than 200 at-bats.

They are not devoid of talent, but nobody should expect Kansas to go far this year. Still, baseball is filled with unexpected things, and the Jayhawks are competitive enough to upset some of the more prominent Big 12 schools.