KANSAS

Kansas Jayhawks Baseball Series Preview: Charleston Southern Buccaneers

The Jayhawks are back out on the road trying to break their losing streak.

Lucas Murphy

Kansas Athletics

The Kansas Jayhawks are coming off two straight losses in the First Pitch Invitational that dropped their overall record to 7-6. They will now head to Charleston, South Carolina, to take on the 6-10 Charleston Southern Buccaneers.

Kansas Jayhawks must see improvement from the pitching staff.

The Kansas Jayhawks' starting pitching has been good for a first-year coaching staff. The starting rotation averages about a 3.65 earned run average. The ace of the staff Collin Baumgartner has started four games this season, throwing 20 innings, giving up 14 hits, six walks, and seven earned runs while striking out 24. His opponents are only hitting .189 against him. The issue is when the baseball goes to the bullpen. The team ERA has ballooned to 4.34, and the WHIP to 1.25 after the weekend series between Western Carolina and Michigan State.

The Buccaneers' offense is hitting .235/.332/.366. In 503 at-bats, they have 118 hits, 30 doubles, 12 home runs, 84 runs, and 79 RBIs. As a team, they have drawn 47 walks and have 29 HBPs. The Buccaneers' leading hitter is junior Jaylin Rae. Rae is hitting .357/.442/.500 in 42 at-bats. He has logged 15 hits, three doubles, one home run, and 11 RBIs. He is tied for the team with six walks and has only nine strikeouts. The Jayhawks need to perform better later in games to secure victories, or this might be a two-game challenge. Kansas pitcher Kolby Dougan has been called upon recently, logging 9.1 relief innings pitched. Dougan has faced 34 batters giving up seven hits, four runs, four walks, and 13 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .206 against him. With recent success, I could see Dougan used in a tough situation for the Jayhawks coaching staff.

The Kansas Jayhawks' offense needs a spark.

The Kansas Jayhawks' offense was a blazing fire and has smoldered recent series. Some wood needs to be placed on the fire to get this fire built up again. Charleston Southern Buccaneers' pitching staff is off to a rocky start posting an abysmal 7.96 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. Opponents are hitting .316 in 563 at-bats.

Once again, the Jayhawks have the ability to put the wood on the fire and get it red hot again. The freshmen have stepped up when called upon and in some significant situations. Kodey Shojinaga is hitting .333/.370/.708 in 24 at-bats. He has eight hits, three home runs, and ten RBIs through nine games played and only starting five. Two other freshmen who continue to impress are Jackson Klein and Cooper Kelly. Klein is hitting .381/.458/.429 in 21 at-bats, and Kelly is hitting .333/.333/.444 in nine at-bats. If the Jayhawks light the fire early we could see these players have an impact on the series.

The first game against Charleston Southern will be on Tuesday, March 14th, at 4:00 pm CST, and the second game on Wednesday, March 15th, at 4:00 pm CST. 

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Lucas Murphy
LUCAS MURPHY

In addition to writing at Blue Wings Rising, Lucas Murphy is a contributor at Inside the Royals, and Blue Wings Rising. Lucas also started a YouTube/podcast channel called “The Beat of Kansas City" and is a co-host on a podcast called "Royals Rundown". He attended the University of Saint Mary, earning his degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Coaching. He played four years of college baseball. Follow him on Twitter @TheBeatofKC

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