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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745806255918.png" alt="Photo Courtesy Kansas Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo Courtesy Kansas Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure><div>Kansas Athletics
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SALT LAKE CITY &ndash;&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/baseball/roster/sawyer-smith/16138" rel="smarttag" rev="16138">Sawyer Smith</a></dfn>&nbsp;hit a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning to lift Kansas to a 12-11 win against Utah at Smith's Ballpark. The victory marked the eighth consecutive win for Kansas and completed the seventh series sweep of the season for the Jayhawks. &nbsp; Kansas has four Big 12 series sweeps this season which is the most in program history. The Jayhawks improved to 35-10 on the season and 15-6 in Big 12 play with the victory. The 35 wins are the most in a season for Kansas since 2014 and the 15 wins in Big 12 games are tied for the most in a season in program history. Kansas sits in second place in the Big 12 standings. &nbsp; KU trailed 10-7 heading into the eighth inning when the Jayhawks scored five runs with two outs. The first run came on an RBI single by&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/baseball/roster/dariel-osoria/16146" rel="smarttag" rev="16146">Dariel Osoria</a></dfn>, who had a two-run homer in the seventh inning. Then, a dropped force out at second base allowed the inning to continue. A walk loaded the bases for Smith. He got behind 0-2 in the count and worked a full count before hitting a ball in the air to left field that carried out for a grand slam. &nbsp; HOW IT HAPPENED &bull; Kansas scored first for a third straight day. The Jayhawks plated two runs in the first inning on a two-run single by&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/baseball/roster/jackson-hauge/16155" rel="smarttag" rev="16155">Jackson Hauge</a></dfn>. &bull; That lead did not last long as Utah had a response with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Santino Panaro scored on a wild pitch, while Austen Roellig and Drake Digiorno each had RBI singles. After one inning, Utah led 3-2. &bull; KU was able to take back the lead in the second inning.&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/baseball/roster/derek-cerda/16140" rel="smarttag" rev="16140">Derek Cerda</a></dfn>&nbsp;hit a sacrifice fly to tie up the game at 3-3 and Hauge hit an RBI double that dropped between the shortstop, left fielder and center fielder to score a run. That gave Kansas a 4-3 lead. &bull; Utah (17-22, 5-16 Big 12) tied it up at 4-4 in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Roellig. &bull; The Utes grabbed the lead again in the third inning. An RBI single by Jake Long and a squeeze bunt from Matt Flaharty gave Utah a 6-4 advantage. &bull; A seventh run for the Utes came in to score on another RBI single from Long in the fifth inning. The run put Utah ahead 7-4. &bull; Cerda was able to help the Jayhawks get that run back in the top of the sixth on an RBI single. That cut the Kansas deficit to 7-5. &bull; Utah's Tyler Quinn hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to stretch the lead back to three runs at 8-5. &bull; Kansas continued to battle back as Osoria hit a two-run homer in the seventh to bring it to an 8-7 ballgame. The Jayhawks had a chance to do more in the inning with the bases loaded and two outs but were unable to score. &bull; The Utes got the two runs back in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI triple by Derek Smith and an RBI single from Panaro. The brought the Utah lead back to 10-7. &bull; For the first time since the second inning, Kansas was able to pull ahead and take the lead with a five-run eighth inning. Osoria had a two-out RBI single up the middle to pull the Jayhawks within two runs at 10-8. KU loaded the bases and Smith came up and hit a towering fly ball to left field that carried over the fence for a grand slam. That put Kansas ahead 12-10. &bull; An infield single by Utah's Cameron Gurney in the bottom of the eighth made it a 12-11 game. &bull; Each team had one base runner in the ninth inning, but both teams were held scoreless to end the game at 12-11. &nbsp; PITCHERS OF RECORD Win:&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/baseball/roster/alex-breckheimer/16154" rel="smarttag" rev="16154">Alex Breckheimer</a></dfn>&nbsp;(3-0) Final line: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 SO Loss: Cameron Nielson Final line: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO Save:&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/baseball/roster/eric-lin/16158" rel="smarttag" rev="16158">Eric Lin</a></dfn>&nbsp;(5) Final line: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 SO <iframe title="Video: Kansas at Utah Highlights - Game 3 - University of Kansas" src="https://kuathletics.com/showcase/embed.aspx?Archive=2176&amp;autoplay=false" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" align="" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> &nbsp; SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME
<div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" class="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=%40KUBaseball&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1916617395751498043&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fkuathletics.com%2Fnews%2F2025%2F4%2F27%2Fbaseball-smith-grand-slam-powers-kansas-to-sweep-at-utah.aspx&amp;sessionId=d0a6f5952113bc68fd307965635499aac9a70a07&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" width="300" height="150" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-tweet-id="1916617395751498043"></iframe></div>
&nbsp; QUOTABLES &amp; NOTABLES "Sawyer rose to the occasion in a game where we needed someone to because we could not keep them off the board. We started chasing them in the seventh pretty good with two (runs) and then obviously the five-spot in the eighth. They went to the reliever and Coach Hancock had a spot on scouting report on him. Sawyer is really, really good at thinking through at-bats. He's got a great approach and communicates really well with his teammates. We had some information on the pitcher that we thought we knew what was coming and he battled through the at-bat and got it to the 3-2 count and drilled it&hellip;the way the outfielder reacted I knew it was gone. At that point, our bench exploded. We had a bunch of outs to still get. Great moment for Sawyer and really proud of him." &ndash; Head Coach&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/dan-fitzgerald/871" rel="smarttag" rev="871">Dan Fitzgerald</a></dfn> &nbsp; "I was just trying to get a good swing on the ball and drive in some runs. All you can do is get a good swing, so wherever the ball lands it lands. I went up there just trying to compete. Compete as hard as I can every pitch and get a good swing on it and see what happens." &ndash;&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/baseball/roster/sawyer-smith/16138" rel="smarttag" rev="16138">Sawyer Smith</a></dfn> &nbsp; "I didn't start off the game really well, so I was trying to go up there with a clear mindset and just be prepared for this next opportunity. That's what I was really thinking the whole game after every at-bat even though I was struggling. I was like 'alright now's the time, new at-bat'. I just really tried to take advantage of it and put bat to ball." &ndash;&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/baseball/roster/dariel-osoria/16146" rel="smarttag" rev="16146">Dariel Osoria</a></dfn> &nbsp; &bull; Kansas improved to 35-10 this season and 15-6 in conference play. The 35 wins are the most in a season for Kansas since it had 35 wins in 2014. The 15 wins in Big 12 games are tied for the most in program history (2009, 2014, 2024). &bull; Kansas has won eight consecutive games and has three winning streaks of at least eight games this season. &bull; Kansas has seven series sweeps this season (at Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi, at Tarleton State, vs. Milwaukee, vs. Oklahoma State, at UCF, vs. Kansas State, at Utah). The four Big 12 series sweeps are the most for Kansas in program history. &bull; Kansas has scored at least 10 runs in 17 games this season. The Jayhawks are 17-0 in those games. &bull; Kansas has hit multiple home runs in 23 games this season. The Jayhawks have a program-record 84 home runs this year. &bull; Kansas has hit five grand slams this season. &bull; Smith connected on his eighth home run of the season. He has reached base safely in each of the last 21 games. His four RBIs tied his season high. &bull; Osoria hit his fifth home run of the season. He has an 11-game on-base streak. &bull; Cerda matched his career high with three hits. &nbsp; UP NEXT Kansas will be back home at Hoglund Ballpark for four games this week, with a midweek game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT against Missouri and a weekend conference series against Cincinnati from May 2-4. Fans can purchase tickets by clicking&nbsp;<a href="https://kuathletics.evenue.net/list/BSB">here</a>.</div>

⚾ Jayhawks defeat Utes for eighth straight win