Kansas baseball dropped game two of its opening Big 12 Conference series to TCU 18-5 on Saturday afternoon. Free bases and errors gave the Horned Frogs frequent runners, tying the most runs TCU has scored in a game this season.
The Jayhawk pitching staff walked 11 batters and hit three, while the defense committed four errors.
Junior Sam Ireland got the start for the Jayhawks and quickly got into trouble. The Minnesota transfer walked the TCU leadoff man, junior outfielder Luke Boyers. Boyers stole second and junior infielder Brayden Taylor walked before freshman catcher Karson Bowen homered to left, giving TCU a 3-0 lead.
The Jayhawks answered back, loading the bases with no outs. Redshirt sophomore first baseman Sam Hunt singled, scoring senior catcher Cole Elvis. Redshirt sophomore infielder Michael Brooks grounded into a double play, scoring another run and cutting the TCU lead to 3-2.
Ireland got right back into trouble in the bottom of the second, walking the leadoff man. Junior outfielder Elijah Nunez stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Elvis. Freshman infielder Anthony Silva reached on an error by Brooks that scored Nunez. Ireland hit the next two batters and got pulled, with sophomore lefty Gavin Brasosky replacing him. Brasosky did not stop the bleeding, giving up four runs in the inning to put the TCU lead at 8-2.
After a shaky second inning, freshman right-hander Kole Klecker settled in for the Horned Frogs. Klecker tossed seven innings for TCU, giving up three runs on eight hits and striking out five.
Brasosky settled in after the second, retiring the Horned Frogs in order in the third and fourth innings.
Kansas cut the TCU lead to 8-3 with an RBI triple from junior outfielder Janson Reeder in the fifth. The Cowley Community College transfer had a solid day, going 2-for-4 with two extra-base hits.
After surrendering back-to-back walks in the bottom of the sixth, Brasosky was replaced by freshman righty Parker Grant. Grant committed an error to load the bases, leading to junior infielder Tre Richardson singling to left, scoring two runs and extending the TCU lead to 10-3.
Junior right-hander Mason Speaker replaced Klecker in the eighth, and Kansas was able to find the scoring column against him. The LSU transfers, sophomore outfielder Luke Leto and redshirt junior Collier Cranford, reached base with one out. After Hunt struck out, sophomore outfielder Chase Jans, pinch-hitting for Brooks, cashed in with a single that scored two.
Kansas trailed TCU 11-5 going into the bottom frame, where everything would soon fall apart. The Horned Frogs brought 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs, extending their lead to 18-5.
Freshman infielder Cooper Kelly was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single to a double to end the game in the top of the ninth.
Kansas will look to salvage the series and avoid the sweep on Sunday afternoon in Forth Worth, Texas. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
