By Blake Schuster
Down 2-0 at the top of the fourth inning to the Oklahoma Sooners, the Jayhawks offense was looking for a spark. Unfortunately lightening wasn’t the spark they were hoping for. Instead Kansas’ weekend series opener was disrupted by a 98-minute rain delay.
Kansas ended up falling to the Sooners 4-1 in Frank Duncan’s first start since tossing a complete game victory in Austin, Texas last Friday.
Duncan got off to a rocky start giving up two runs on two hits while issuing two walks in the top of first.
“That’s been my Achilles’ heel,” Duncan said of giving up early runs, yet the freshman responded by retiring 12 of the next 13 batters he faced — with a rain delay breaking up the action.
The Sooners wouldn’t get another hit until the sixth inning when Duncan gave up three more hits and two more runs stretching the lead to 4-0.
Kansas got off to a great start on their comeback in the seventh inning but it was foiled as quickly as it began. Zac Elgie came inches shy of clearing the left centerfield wall and settled with a triple, but upon sliding into the bag jammed his finger and left the game.
“We think he’s got a torn tendon in his finger,” Kansas coach Ritch Price said. “He’s at the doctor now being evaluated.”
Losing Elgie takes a .284 hitter out of the lineup, but more importantly puts one of the Jayhawk’s captains out of commission for an indefinite period.
The Jayhawks will try to regroup Saturday at 6:00 with game two in the weekend series.