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With conference play starting up this weekend, I thought I'd check in on the baseball team and see how they're doing both individually and as a group. The stats provided throughout are courtesy of either Big12Sports.com or KUAthletics.com, and are current as of games played through March 24.
As a team, Kansas is batting .284 overall, which is tied for first in the league. Here is a look at some of the overall team statistics and where they rank compared with other Big 12 teams. Remember, only 9 Big 12 teams participate in baseball.
| BATTING | ||
| Category | Stats | Conf Rank |
| Avg | .284 | T-1st |
| Obp | .372 | 3rd |
| Slg | .405 | 6th |
| HR | 12 | 6th |
| BB | 93 | 5th |
| SO | 136 | 2nd |
| SB | 9 | 9th |
| CS | 9 | 1st |
| PITCHING | ||
| ERA | 6.17 | 9th |
| Avg | .314 | 9th |
| R | 156 | 9th |
| ER | 142 | 9th |
| BB | 92 | 7th |
| SO | 142 | T-5th |
| HR | 17 | 9th |
| BB/9 | 4.00 | 9th |
| SO/9 | 6.17 | 6th |
As you can see, the strength of this team is its offensive production. However, the pitching has been bad enough to keep the Jayhawks from winning games (KU is 9-15 so far this season). As a team, KU is dead last in most pitching categories, and in several of them, it isn't even close. For example, the next-to-last pitching staff by team stats is Baylor, and they blow away the Jayhawks in ERA (4.87), Batting Avg Against (.289), and ER (113).
Individually, KU does have several position players in the Top 10 in several offensive categories.
OF Connor McKay sits at 6th in the league in batting average with a .358. McKay is also third in hits (34), tied for 4th in doubles (8), tied for second in triples (3), and tied for 4th in total bases (54). McKay also sits at 7th in the league in slugging percentage (.563) and currently has a 12-game hitting streak going as well.
C Michael Tinsley is 8th with a .346 average. Tinsley is second in the league in doubles (11), tied for 6th in RBI (19), and 8th in slugging percentage (.556).
1B Blair Beck is tied for second in home runs in the league with 5. Beck is also 5th in RBI (20), 10th in bases on balls (14), and 3rd in slugging percentage (.590).
IF Colby Wright leads the conference in On Base Percentage, getting on at a .490 clip.
The only individual pitching stats of note is that SP Ben Krauth is 10th in the league in strikeouts with 30, and CL Stephen Villines is second in the league in saves with 6.
As of March 23, Big 12 teams in the Top 25 (per Baseball America) are #5 TCU, #18 Texas Tech, #19 Texas, and #23 Oklahoma State.
KU opens Big 12 play on Friday with a three-game series in Lubbock at Texas Tech. The games on Friday and Sunday will be televised on Fox College Sports. As always, all games can be heard on the Jayhawk Radio Network through KUAthletics.com/Radio or on the official Kansas Jayhawks mobile app.