Kansas opened the Lawrence Super Regional by losing 8-1 to Oklahoma on Saturday night at Hoglund Ballpark, leaving the Jayhawks one defeat from elimination and the Sooners one win from the College World Series.
The loss came before a school-record crowd of 4,415 and left Kansas needing a win in Game 2 on Sunday at 5 p.m. Central time to force a deciding game on Monday. Oklahoma can clinch a trip to Omaha, Nebraska, with one more victory in the series.
Tyson Owens was part of a rough night for Kansas before the game ever got away. He was hit by a pitch in the first inning and later was thrown out trying to reach third on a single by Augusto Mungarrieta, a sequence that fit a night in which the Jayhawks could not turn small openings into pressure.
Oklahoma did the opposite. Dayton Tockey broke the game open with a three-run homer in the fourth inning, then Camden Johnson and Trey Gambill followed with back-to-back solo shots in the fifth. Kansas starter Dominic Voegele lasted 4 2/3 innings and allowed seven runs, three earned, on seven hits with three strikeouts and a walk, while Oklahoma starter Cord Rager gave up one hit over six innings and struck out six.
Dan Fitzgerald did not frame the result as a mystery. He said Kansas had a full bullpen and confidence in Mason Cook, and added that nothing Oklahoma did surprised the Jayhawks. Fitzgerald credited the Sooners for being disciplined and getting hits when Kansas did not, but he also made clear the series has reached its simplest point: win Sunday or the season ends. Kansas has already shown in its postseason run that it can answer back, but the margin now is the narrowest possible.
Jordan Bach’s solo homer in the bottom of the eighth was the only Kansas run. The Jayhawks finished with four hits. Fitzgerald said the preparation will not change, and that Kansas will come out ready to play Sunday. If it does, the series goes to Monday. If it does not, Oklahoma goes to Omaha.
