Kansas Returns to Hoglund Ballpark to Face UAPB

LAWRENCE, Kansas --  Coming off the first road-series win of the season at West Virginia, the Kansas baseball team returns home to Lawrence and Hoglund Ballpark to face the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions, Wednesday night, April 29, at 6 p.m.

The midweek tilt will mark the first meeting between Kansas and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) foe, but the Jayhawks are 11-0 all-time against SWAC teams, all of which have been played in the Ritch Price era.

KU will send freshman Brandon Johnson to the mound for the start against the Golden Lions, his third of the season. Though the righty has yet to earn his first collegiate win, the Jayhawks have won both games in which he started. In his last starting nod, the righty worked three innings, allowing only one earned run to Wichita State, as the Jayhawks went on to beat the Shockers, 11-6.

"You look at the first two months of the season and we really struggled on the mound," Price said. "There is no way of sugar-coating that. We swung the bats well and played good defense and we needed our young pitchers to develop. In the last month, they have gotten better and I hope they continue to take those strides and keep improving."

Kansas vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Date:	April 29, 2015
Time:	6 p.m.
Ballpark:	Hoglund Ballpark
Location:	Lawrence, Kan.
TV:	ESPN3
Audio:	Baseball Hawk Talk
Radio:	Jayhawk Radio Network
Live Stats:	Kansas Live Stats
Notes:	Game Notes

Sophomore catcher Michael Tinsley is batting .333 on the season and leads the squad with 34 RBIs, but the starter has really seen success in true midweek games this season, batting .438 in the nine contests, including 10 RBIs and seven runs scored.

The Golden Lions visit Lawrence on a three-game win streak and have scored at least seven runs in those games.

Leading the way for UAPB is Andre Davis, who has been a factor both at the dish and on the mound this season. Davis leads the team with a .378 average and 39 RBIs, and has also recorded four saves and has picked up two wins on the hill.

In midweek games this season, the Jayhawks are 5-4 and have allowed 75 runs in the contests, which equates to 8 and one-third runs per game for the opponents, so a key for Kansas will be to prevent UAPB from getting extra-base hits and getting into scoring position early in the inning. The Golden Lions have 88 extra-base hits this season, which is over 25 percent of their hit total.

"They can hit for power," Price said. "We have to limit their bats by staying out of hitter's counts and not giving them good pitches to hit."

The game can be seen live on ESPN3 via WatchESPN.com or the WatchESPN mobile app. The game can also be heard on the Jayhawk Radio Network via KUAthletics.com/radio or on the offical "Kansas Jayhawks" mobile app.

The Jayhawks follow up the midweek game with a three-game home series versus Baylor this weekend with the first game slated for Friday, May 1 at 6 p.m.

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