The Kansas baseball team is having a fantastic season, and it is on a lengthy hot streak. After their season home-and-home sweep of the Nebraska Cornhuskers earlier this week, KU is 30-11 overall and 14-4 in Big 12 play.
The Jayhawks are 16th in the NCAA D1 rankings and hold a slim two-game lead over West Virginia to top the Big 12 standings.
Last weekend, KU won their first series at Oklahoma State ever. Earlier this month, Kansas swept 12th-ranked UCF. This weekend, the Jayhawks will play at Kansas State in the Sunflower Showdown. All games will air on ESPN+.
How has the Kansas baseball team gotten to where it is?
Over the past 15 games, the Jayhawks have won 14 of them. They are undefeated at home in that stretch, winning eight. Five of the wins are against ranked opponents—UCF and Nebraska—with no losses.
A quick glance at the Big 12 statistical rankings shows that KU isn't dominating in any category. The team slash line is .288/.399/.497, which ranks 7th/8th/6th in the conference. They are third in the Big 12 in home runs with 68, but only ninth in doubles with 72. They've only been caught stealing twice but are tied for last with only 36 attempts.
The conference pitching stats reveal a similar pattern. They rank ninth in ERA with a 5.59 mark. They're fourth in batting average against at .260 and fourth in strikeouts with 392. KU has given up 45 home runs, which is the seventh most.
Yet, somehow, the Jayhawks continue to win ball games. They play hard and to the last out, as is indicated by the fact that during this 15-game hot stretch, they've come from behind in nine of the 14 wins.
Junior catcher Augusto Mungarrieta leads the team in hitting with a .333 batting average with 12 home runs and 38 RBI. Junior Tyson LeBlanc is second in batting average at .323, but he leads the team with 15 home runs and 45 RIBI.
Junior Boede Rahe leads the pitching staff, though he comes out of the bullpen most games. In 33.1 innings, including two starts, he has a 3.24 ERA, with five wins and 40 strikeouts.
Nothing stands statistically, but this team just keeps winning. That says a lot about how they play. It will be fun to see how long the magical run continues.
KU fans are showing up for the team too, selling out Hogland Park against Nebraska. The success has been a great positive on the campus and in the community. It will be an exciting final few weeks of the season.
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