Kansas Jayhawks Baseball Game Preview: Missouri Tigers

The Border War resumes on the diamond today as the Jayhawks take on the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium.

The Kansas Jayhawks baseball team is coming off a series loss against The Citadel Bulldogs. Now the Jayhawks will play a significant midweek game against the Missouri Tigers. This game will take place inside Kauffman Stadium, home to the Kansas City Royals. Big game on a big stage, what more can you ask for?

Kansas Jayhawks’ Pitching Staff Will Have to Limit the Damage

The 16-3 Missouri Tigers will be a worthy opponent as they are playing well-rounded baseball. The Tigers are hitting the baseball as they are 47th in NCAA D1 with a .305 batting average and have scored 144 runs in 734 plate appearances. A Missouri hitter to highlight is Luke Mann. Mann has 73 at-bats hitting .329/.443/.616. He has recorded 24 hits, four doubles, one walk, one triple, and five home runs. Mann also has 14 RBIs, 11 walks, and 21 runs scored.

Starting pitching on point 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XVdcQ6oULY

— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) March 18, 2023

A phrase we use in baseball is limit the damage. The point is Missouri will score runs, and to counter the Kansas pitchers will have to limit the runs they give up. The Jayhawks can accomplish this by continuing to strike out their opponents. The Kansas pitching staff is averaging 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings pitched and is limiting the free passes by only walking an average of 3.8 per nine innings. These are positive stats when facing Missouri. The Tigers have drawn 89 walks this season and have struck out 146 times. If the Jayhawks want to have bragging rights, they need to limit the damage.

The Kansas Jayhawk Hitters Need to Score Runs Early

In the most recent series against The Citadel Bulldogs, the Jayhawks could not get on the board until the fifth inning in the doubleheader and ended up losing both those games. In the single game on Sunday, Kansas scored early in the second inning and continued to score, coming away with the win. When Kansas scores early they relieve the pressure on the pitching staff, and against a talented Missouri Tigers team this will be a must.

REEDER TO RIGHT 🚀

Janson Reeder hits a solo shot for his 4th HR of the season!

MID 2 | Kansas 1, The Citadel 0 pic.twitter.com/k43nuJv1F1

— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) March 19, 2023

The Missouri Tigers are coming off a clean sweep against the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers and likely will deploy a mid-week starter as they prepare for the following series against the No. 11 South Carolina Gamecocks. The Tigers' earned run average is 3.52, and their WHIP is 1.10. They give up 6.2 hits and average 3.7 walks per nine innings. Mike Koszewski is typically the Jayhawks' leadoff hitter. Koszewski is hitting .263/.400/.386 in 57 at-bats. One of his key statistics is he leads the team in walks, and he also leads the team in stolen bases with two. The Jayhawks must get runners on, in scoring position, and drive them in.

The game is expected to start at 6:00 pm CST, pending weather in Kansas City, Missouri.