The Mountaineers dominated the weekend, stifling the Jayhawks' offense and dismantling the bullpen to derail Kansas' momentum ahead of the final regular-season series in Provo.
No. 7 Kansas Baseball Swept by No. 15 West Virginia After 13-2 Loss in Series Finale
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas endured its toughest weekend of the season Sunday afternoon, falling 13-2 to West Virginia at Hoglund Ballpark as the Mountaineers completed a three-game sweep.
The Jayhawks dropped to 37-15 overall and 20-7 in Big 12 play but remain firmly in the conference race heading into the final regular-season weekend.
Tyson Owens provided Kansas’ lone offensive highlight with a two-run home run in the second inning, his 11th homer of the season, briefly giving KU a 2-1 lead.
Mathis Nayral turned in a solid start despite the loss, allowing just one earned run over 4.2 innings while striking out five and not issuing a walk.
West Virginia regained control in the third inning with a two-run homer before breaking the game open with a six-run sixth inning. The Mountaineers continued to add on late, scoring two runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to trigger the run rule.
Head coach Dan Fitzgerald credited West Virginia for outperforming Kansas across the board throughout the weekend, while also emphasizing the Jayhawks’ strong overall season position despite the setback.
Kansas finished the regular season with an 18-5 record at Hoglund Ballpark and will now head to Provo for its final conference series against BYU.
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No. 7 Kansas Baseball Falls 5-2 to No. 15 West Virginia, Drops Series
Kansas dropped its second straight game to West Virginia on Saturday, falling 5-2 at Hoglund Ballpark and conceding the series.
The Jayhawks move to 37-14 overall and 20-6 in Big 12 play but remain in first place in the conference standings with four games left in the regular season.
Tyson LeBlanc and Josh Dykhoff provided the offense for Kansas, each launching home runs. Dykhoff’s came in rare fashion, an inside-the-park homer that tied the game in the fifth inning.
On the mound, Mason Cook delivered a strong start, allowing just one earned run over 5.2 innings while continuing his recent stretch of consistency. However, West Virginia capitalized late, scoring an unearned run in the eighth to take the lead before adding a two-run homer in the ninth to create separation.
Kansas answered an early West Virginia home run with one of its own in the first inning, and later evened the game at 2-2 before the Mountaineers pulled away late.
Despite the loss, there were notable performances. LeBlanc’s home run marked his 17th of the season, tying for the fourth-most in a single season in program history, while Dykhoff recorded the program’s first inside-the-park home run since 2023.
Kansas will look to avoid the sweep in Sunday’s series finale at Hoglund Ballpark.