LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas scored on a wild pitch that would have been strike three and the third out of the 10th inning Tuesday afternoon to come away with a 9-8 victory over Missouri State at Hoglund Ballpark.
The Bears (13-14) led 8-2 after Nick Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth, but KU battled back with a four-run sixth and two-run seventh, with two-out, two-run doubles in both innings to help the Jayhawks (13-14) tie it at 8-8.
Gage Bradley entered the game for the Bears to get the final out of the seventh and posted career-highs with three innings and six strikeouts, coming up with a big strikeout to end the ninth and two more in the 10th, the second swung and missed at on the fateful wild pitch that bounced over the backstop and into the stands to allow the winning KU run to score from third.
Spencer Nivens got the scoring started with a two-run homer in the first inning, his ninth of the season, and KU pulled even with a two-run double in the second that came after an inning-ending double play was overturned by replay to extend the frame.
Nivens opened the fourth inning with a leadoff triple and scored on a Zack Stewart single before a dropped fly ball by KU opened the door for a Dylan Robertson sac fly and Mason Greer single for a 5-2 lead.
Then in the sixth, Robertson singled and Greer doubled to set the table for Jake McCutcheon’s RBI ground out and the Rodriguez homer for the 8-2 advantage before the Jayhawks came storming back.
The Bears used six pitchers in the game, with Forrest Barnes going three innings in the start and Garrett Ferguson following him with two hitless innings of relief.
Nivens finished a double short of his second cycle in a 3-for-5 day, while Rodriguez and Greer had two hits each. Mason Hull walked twice but saw his hitting streak end at 14 games.
The Bears return home April 7-9 for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series with Bradley. First pitch for Friday’s opener at Hammons Field is 11 a.m.
