LAWRENCE, Kan. - The University of Arizona baseball team fell to No. 11 Kansas on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 7-2 decision to the Jayhawks at Hoglund Ballpark.
Arizona (16-29, 7-16 Big 12) recorded six hits in the contest, while Kansas (36-11, 19-4 Big 12) finished with 11 hits.
Smith Bailey was charged with the loss after allowing one run on three hits across 2.0 innings in his start. Patrick Morris tossed 2.0 innings in relief, while Benton Hickman delivered 2.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Matthew Martinez and Evan Brandt also appeared out of the bullpen for the Wildcats.
Individually, Caleb Danzeisen paced the Arizona offense with a 2-for-3 afternoon that included a pair of doubles and one RBI. Andrew Cain, Tony Lira, Cash Brennan, and Carson McEntire each added one hit apiece.
Kansas struck first with a run in the bottom of the opening inning to take an early 1-0 lead.
Bailey settled in after the first, holding the Jayhawks scoreless in the second before Arizona threatened in the top of the third. McEntire singled and advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt, but the Wildcats were unable to bring him home.
Kansas added four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend its advantage to 5-0.
Arizona broke through in the sixth after Cain singled and later came around to score on an RBI double from Danzeisen, cutting the deficit to 5-1.
Hickman turned in a strong outing out of the bullpen, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings while working around three walks and striking out two.
The Jayhawks added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to push the lead to 7-1.
Arizona plated one more run in the top of the ninth after Mihalakis reached and later scored, but Kansas closed out the 7-2 victory.
The Wildcats and Jayhawks conclude the series on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. (MST) in Lawrence.
