Robinson walks-off No. 14 Kansas 5-4 in 11 innings

PROVO, Utah – BYU baseball concluded its regular season at Miller Park Saturday, with shortstop Ryder Robinson hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th for a 5-4 win over No. 14 ranked Kansas.

Robinson’s homer traveled 374 feet and marked his fourth hit of the game. The junior from American Fork, Utah also doubled and had two RBIs.

"Ryder is one of the best defenders in the country and he's really tough at the plate. He showed that again tonight," said BYU baseball head coach Trent Pratt. "Hats off to our pitching staff today. Cayson (Bell), Ashton (Johnson) and Dan (Brousseau) came in and really battled. To hold the Big 12 champions to just four runs and give us a chance to win was impressive." 

BYU (27-27; 14-16) outhit Kansas (39-16;22-8) on Saturday 15-10 and stranded one less runner on base. The Cougars had three doubles and homered twice.

Highlights
Ryder Robinson: 4-6, 2RBI, Run, HR, 2B
Matt Hansen: 1-3, Run, 2 RBI, HR
Ezra McNaughton: 2-6, 2B
Tu’alau Wolfgramm: 2-4, Run
Ashton Johnson: 4.0 IP, 1Run, 3Ks
Dan Brousseau: Win, 2.0 IP, 1Hit, No Runs

 

Summary
The Jayhawks took and early lead in the top of the first, scoring off an RBI double down the left-field line. A sacrifice fly followed, putting BYU at a 2-0 deficit. Kansas added another run on a solo home run in the top of the second, extending its lead over the Cougars to three.

BYU got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third with a single to centerfield from Ryder Robinson bringing home Luke Anderson from third, shrinking the Jayhawks’ advantage to 3-1.

After Cayson Bell and Ashton Johnson held KU scoreless for four-straight innings, the Cougars tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the sixth on a single from Tu’alau Wolfgramm, followed by a two-run home run to right field in the next at-bat by Matt Hansen.

The Cougars took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the eighth. After Hansen was hit by a pitch, Ryker Schow entered the game as a pinch runner. Bryker Hurdsman then doubled to centerfield, bringing home Schow from first for a 4-3 BYU lead.

Kansas tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the ninth on a one-out sacrifice fly. BYU was unable to score in the bottom half of the inning, sending the contest to extra innings.

After right-handed reliever Dan Brousseau held Kansas scoreless through the 10th and 11th innings, Robinson recorded BYU's third walkoff home run home of the year for a 5-4 victory.

Up Next
BYU heads to Surprise, Arizona on Monday for the Big 12 Baseball Championship presented by Allstate, May 19-23. No. 9 seed BYU will take on No. 12 seed Texas Tech to open the tournament on Tuesday, May 19 at 4:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. MDT).

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and also available on the BYU Radio app, BYUradio.org, SiriusXM 143 and 107.9 FM in Utah County.