KU baseball’s magical season continues: ‘Awesome to be playing meaningful games’
The Kansas baseball team, which has set a number of school records this season under the direction of third-year coach Dan Fitzgerald, may have accomplished its most impressive feat to date Saturday at West Virginia.
The Jayhawks blanked the No. 16-ranked Mountaineers 7-0 to complete a three-game road sweep of the 2025 regular-season Big 12 Conference champions at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
KU, which improved to 42-14 (the 42 wins are most ever by a KU team during the regular season), secured a runner-up finish in the conference standings and No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big 12 baseball championship.
KU upped its league record to 20-10 (most conference wins in school history) compared to WVU’s 19-9 league mark. WVU was crowned league champ despite the fact KU finished with one more conference win than the Mountaineers. WVU finished with a win percentage of .679 compared to KU’s .667 mark.
The Mountaineers had two games canceled against Oklahoma State in March because of wildfires in Oklahoma.
“Great weekend. I thought our preparation was great and our brains were awesome coming into this,” Fitzgerald said after the Jayhawks followed 3-0 and 8-5 victories (Thursday and Friday) with a 7-0 decision Saturday.
Yes, KU — in winning its school-record eighth consecutive road game — outscored the league champs 18-5 in three games contested on WVU’s home field.
“Obviously, we really pitched and had a bunch of timely hitting and played really clean defense. More than anything, I thought our guys played with complete and total freedom and confidence. They enjoyed all 27 innings, which is something we always set out to do. They were amazing,” Fitzgerald added of his players.
The Jayhawks’ 42 victories are third-most in a season in program history (behind 43 wins in 2006 and 45 in 1993).
KU, which enters the postseason tourney on a five-game win streak, Saturday swept its seventh series in a season for the first time in school history. The Jayhawks completed five Big 12 series sweeps for the first time in school history.
The Jayhawks also claimed 22 road/neutral wins this season, most since 2014 when the Jayhawks won a school-record 23 games away from Lawrence.
Kansas on Saturday finished with its Big 12-leading seventh shutout. The seven shutouts are the most in a KU season since 2013 (nine shutouts). West Virginia had not been blanked all season entering the series.
The Jayhawks, who hit five homers in the three games, upped their school single-season record home run total to 98.
“I think the key is keeping it simple. If you look at how we played this weekend, it was simple. We did hit some home runs (one by both Derek Cerda and Sawyer Smith Saturday, one by Brady Ballinger Friday and one by Michael Brooks and Ian Francis Thursday) but it’s not like we hit seven a game and launched everything. We played really clean baseball,” Fitzgerald said.
“Situationally, we hit and did a nice job of moving runners and scoring them when we had our chances. The pitchers executed inside the strike zone and then we played clean defense. I think the key is that we continue to believe, continue to have confidence and then continue to enjoy it. If you can’t enjoy these games, then you picked the wrong sport. This is awesome to be playing meaningful games right now.”
Dominic Voegele and Alex Breckheimer combined on a six-hit shutout Thursday. Cooper Moore and Breckheimer scattered 11 hits Friday while Kannon Carr and Manning West allowed just two hits in the finale.
“My defense, that’s what was really working right. I got a lot of ground balls and a lot of popups. My defense stepped up and did its job and that just helped me do my job even better,” Carr, a junior from Poplar Bluff, Missouri with a 5-1 record, said. “This is my first year with the program, but just being here this year I can tell how much Fitz has changed and grown this program from where it was at. I could not be prouder of the guys that I’m playing with.”
Cerda, a junior transfer from Western Oklahoma State College who has nine home runs, said Saturday: “It feels amazing to be a part of it. I came from a small school from Oklahoma and came to Kansas. I trusted the coaching staff and everything that they have done for the team this year. It feels amazing to be a part of it.”
With the win, Kansas, which is unranked in the top 25, yet No. 24 in RPI, secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big 12 baseball championship. The Jayhawks have earned a first round bye and will open in the quarterfinal round of the event on Thursday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. on ESPNU.
KU’s opponent will be the winner of a first-round game Wednesday between No. 7 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Baylor.
This story was originally published May 18, 2025 at 1:19 PM with the headline "KU baseball’s magical season continues: ‘Awesome to be playing meaningful games’."
