Kansas secured a narrow 8-7 win over UTRGV on Sunday, clinching the opening series for the second consecutive season. The game, played in Edinburg, Texas, featured three ties and four lead changes.
UTRGV had a chance to win in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded, but Kansas junior pitcher Caleb Deer struck out three batters to end the game. The Kansas bullpen, consisting of Carter Fink, Riane Ritter, Boede Rahe, Toby Scheidt and Deer, limited UTRGV to three runs across seven innings and recorded 12 strikeouts.
Offensively, Kansas scored four runs in the second inning. Cade Baldridge contributed with a solo home run—his first of the season—and finished with two RBIs and three runs scored. Jordan Bach added three singles during the game and ended the weekend with seven hits overall. Dariel Osoria also had two hits.
Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald said: “First and foremost, UTRGV is a really good team. What an unbelievable environment to play in and one that we were intentional in scheduling to get an atmosphere like this and get a great challenge early on. Super proud of the guys and how they battled. Tough one on Friday night and then to come back yesterday and play how we did and then show up today. We delivered the first punch, but we knew they were going to throw another punch. It became a dog fight. Our bullpen did a fantastic job holding it together. We had some key hits in some key spots to produce some runs. Unbelievable job by the entire bullpen. From Fink, who passed it to Ritter, who passed it to Rahe, then passed it to Toby and then Caleb Deer was absolutely electric. I’m super proud of the entire team, but I’m really proud of how Caleb competed right there.”
Deer commented on his performance: “To be honest, I just felt calm and at peace on the mound. I knew my guys were behind me, so I just felt confident and ready to go out there and dominate. Being able to pick up a series win is huge for the team and I thought our guys battled really hard and played really well. It was a great team win and I think this is just the start. It’s a great way to start the year off and it’s going to be a lot more fun going forward.”
Baldridge added: “It was a game full of energy. UTRGV has a great crowd, but luckily for us we have a lot of guys that are bought in and our dugout was able to keep us in it with all their energy. A lot of respect to UTRGV. I think they have a great squad and they’re going to have a great year, but for us picking up these two wins after the first loss just shows how we can bounce back and the depth of pitching that we have.”
Rahe earned his first career Division I victory as pitcher while Deer collected his first save at this level during his debut appearance.
Kansas will continue its extended road trip with an upcoming midweek matchup against Lamar on Wednesday before heading into another weekend series at McNeese State from February 20-22.
