What was profiled as a matchup between two of the best offenses in the Big 12 turned into a game where runs were hard to come by at Hoglund Ballpark on Friday night. Kansas found itself trailing 3-0 heading into the seventh, unable to get anything going against Jacob Frost. As soon as the Jayhawks (29-10, 10-6 Big 12) got into the bullpen, they managed a four-run inning and held on to win the Sunflower Showdown opener 5-3.

Frost tossed 6.2 shutout innings while striking out a career-high 10. He kept the Jayhawks’ high-powered offense at bay, limiting Kansas to two hits with a stymying low-to-mid 90s fastball and good off-speed mix.

“Early, we were way off the fastball, which is not like us at all,” Dan Fitzgerald said after the game. “When they sent him back out there for the seventh, I thought ‘Gosh, if we could just get him out of this game and get a couple runners on, we’ve got a chance.’”

The Jayhawks found their chance after chasing Frost from the game with two outs in the seventh. Kansas scored four runs in the seventh as Jackson Hauge hit his 17th home run of the season, a three-run shot to give the Jayhawks a 4-3 lead.

“We’re the never-die Hawks,” Hauge said. “We’re gonna stay to our approach, keep fighting all nine innings and see what happens.”

It was clear from the first inning that Dominic Voegele didn’t have his best stuff. Although Kansas State didn’t score, the Wildcats got traffic with a leadoff walk—something that would become a common theme over Voegele’s start—and a hard-hit single.

Voegele battled through 5.2 innings, walking six, including three leadoff hitters. He allowed just three runs and shut down the Wildcats in the fourth and fifth innings to keep the Jayhawks close.

“The longer a starter can go and be quality, it just shrinks the game,” Fitzgerald said. “You save your bullpen… starting pitching, eating innings is a tale as old as time in the big leagues, but it’s certainly found its way to college too.”

However, the offense continued to search for the momentum-flipping rallies that the Jayhawks have showcased throughout the season. Kansas loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, but Ian Francis struck out looking. In the fifth, Sawyer Smith led off the inning with a bloop double, but Frost retired the next three hitters.

Kansas State had a chance to extend its lead in the sixth, loading the bases with two outs via three walks. However, Manning West extinguished the threat, getting Seth Dardar to fly out to center field.

Kansas finally flipped the momentum after the Jayhawks chased Frost from the game following a four-pitch walk with two outs. Smith was the benefactor of the Frost walk, who reached base all four times out of the nine spot.

“I thought that was a huge at-bat, but I thought he had good ones all night,” Fitzgerald said.

James Guyette entered and immediately walked Derek Cerda on four pitches. Brady Ballinger put Kansas in the scoring column with an opposite-field single before Jackson Hauge hammered a ball over the left-field fence to put the Jayhawks ahead 4-3.

Alex Breckheimer entered in the eighth inning, searching for a six-out save. The first three came easily, retiring the Wildcats in order, including a strikeout on a 97 mph fastball.

The Jayhawks got a crucial insurance run in the eighth after good fortune started to swing their way. Tommy Barth skied a ball that dropped harmlessly as the centerfielder and rightfielder tried to avoid collision, getting all the way to third base. Smith worked his third walk of the game, then Cerda blooped one to make it 5-3.

“I came back in here [the dugout] and I was a little nervous with the one-run lead,” Breckheimer said. “We scored the run, and it felt like a lot of pressure taken off my shoulders there.”

Breckheimer made quick work of the Wildcats in the ninth. He got the first batter to ground out before striking out the next two to clinch a hard-fought win in game one of the Sunflower Showdown.