LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Behind a season-high seven inning outing from Drew Morovick, Kansas rallied against arguably the best pitcher in the Big 12 to outlast No. 13 Oklahoma State 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.
Morovick (3-3) paced the Jayhawks (14-21, 2-6 Big 12) with seven solid innings, giving up seven hits without allowing a run to cross the plate. He struck out five batters in his 106-pitch effort, but most importantly, worked out of several jams with runners in scoring position where he vociferously charged off the mound each time.
The Cowboys (24-10, 8-3 Big 12) applied pressure to Morovick and the Kansas defense in three consecutive innings, getting runners into scoring position with less than two outs. He buckled down and allowed his defense to work, stranding two runners in each of the three frames. Morovick hung up seven zeroes in the win, but none more important than in the seventh inning when second baseman Colby Wright robbed a sure-single up the middle to get the force play at second and get Kansas back in the dugout unscathed by stranding both runners on base.
The Jayhawks handed OSU lefthanded ace Michael Freeman (6-1) his first loss of the season in eight starts on the bump. Freeman entered the contest with the third-best ERA in the league at 1.46, while ranking second in opponent batting average (.174) and third in strikeouts (50). That didn't faze the Kansas bats as the squad notched seven hits off the southpaw scoring three runs, though none of them earned.
