Kansas Baseball Beats Northeastern in Game 1 of Lawrence Regional

Kansas baseball took care of business on Friday afternoon in Game 1 of the Lawrence Regional at Hoglund Ballpark as part of the 2026 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The No. 1 seed Jayhawks defeated No. 4 Northeastern by a final score of 6-3 in nine innings of play.

Starting pitcher Dominic Voegele had a strong performance to open up the regional in what may very well have been his last game as a starter at Hoglund Ballpark – depending on how things shake out in the regional rounds in Lawrence and Atlanta – as he is expected to enter his name into the 2026 MLB Draft this summer.

Voegele pitched seven good innings, giving up just seven hits and three runs during his 102 throws from the mound. He also struck out nine batters – giving him KU baseball’s single-season strikeout record with 113 on the year.

Another KU record was set in the bottom of the third inning when Kansas star shortstop Tyson LeBlanc hit his 22nd home run of the season, breaking the previous single-season school record of 21 set by former Jayhawk Tony Thompson in 2009. The homer gave KU a 4-1 lead and really set the tone for the remainder of the game.

Northeastern was able to chip away at the lead to make it 4-3 heading into the bottom of the 8th inning before fan favorite Brady Ballinger made his first appearance of the game as pinch hitter for left fielder Savion Flowers, who got the start due to Ballinger’s recent hamate bone injury suffered during KU’s recent road trip to BYU a few weeks prior.

Ballinger got a standing ovation from the crowd and delivered in a big way with a single to center field to give the Jayhawks a runner on first and second with just one out. Then, LeBlanc came to the plate and showed his All-Big 12 First Team talents by delivering an RBI single to put the Jayhawks up 5-3. Cade Baldridge extended that lead with an RBI single to center that scored Ballinger and put the Jayhawks up 6-3 heading into the top of the ninth.

KU’s All-Big 12 First Team closer Boede Rahe came in and struck out all three hitters to seal the win for the Jayhawks – the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since 2014.

Kansas will now face the winner of No. 2 seed Arkansas and No. 3 seed Missouri State on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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