KU hits homers early, singles late to open NCAA regional with win vs. Northeastern
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- KU hit three early homers to take a 4-1 lead against Northeastern.
- Tyson LeBlanc set KU's single-season record with his 22nd homer.
- KU added two insurance runs with four eighth-inning singles to win 6-3.
The most prolific home-run hitting team in University of Kansas baseball history displayed its power early in the Jayhawks’ 6-3 NCAA baseball regional tournament victory over Northeastern on Friday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.
Catcher Augusto “Augie” Mungarrieta ripped a two-run home run to open the scoring in the second inning. That was followed by solo shots from Dariel Osoria and Tyson LeBlanc, in the second and third innings, respectively, to give the Jayhawks a 4-1 lead.
LeBlanc’s home run was a KU record-setter. His 22nd of the season surpassed the school-record 21 bashed by Tony Thompson in 2009. LeBlanc’s blast also upped the team’s total to a school-record 105 this season. The old record, 104, was set last season.
The early long-ball barrage showed the Jayhawks (43-16) were not negatively affected by a batting-practice session held in the rain prior to the first-ever NCAA regional contest in Lawrence.
It did not rain a drop during the actual contest.
“It was an awesome feeling to be able to go out there and compete and put some runs on the board early,” LeBlanc said. “I stuck to my approach that’s been working (and) put a good swing on it. I’m super proud of the two guys in front of me that hit home runs, as well.”
With the win, KU (43-16) advanced to a 5 p.m. Saturday game against Missouri State or Arkansas — those two team were playing later Friday. Northeastern will play MSU or Arkansas at noon Saturday.
“The home runs early were obviously huge because they separated the score a little bit,” fourth-year KU coach Dan Fitzgerald said.
The runs came in support of starting pitcher Dominic Voegele (6-3), who allowed three runs on seven hits in seven strong innings. He struck out nine and walked one.
Voegele on Friday set KU’s single-season strikeout record. He has 117, surpassing Mike Zagurski, who had 112 in 2005.
“I had absolutely no clue that I was even close to breaking that record, but it was pretty cool to hear it and got me a little bit more excited,” Voegele said.
Closer Boede Raye — no hits allowed in the final two innings — was supported by Tyson Owens, who made a diving catch in center field on a ball hit by AJ Aschettino with two outs and nobody aboard in the eighth. At that time, KU led by just one run, 4-3.
KU put it away with not more home runs, but four singles, in the eighth. The singles, which together produced two insurance runs, came off the bats of Dylan Schlotterback, Brady Ballinger, LeBlanc and Cade Baldridge.
As he stepped to the plate, Ballinger received a loud ovation from the announced crowd of 3,571. Because of an injury, he had missed KU’s three wins in the recent Big 12 tournament.
“I think they (KU hitters) grinded through at-bats,” Fitzgerald said. “And even in the middle, when we didn’t score, I thought we were doing a good job of swinging at the right pitches. You’ve got to score in different ways. We scored differently than they do, but we stuck to our plan and think it was huge.”
Northeastern thought it had scored what could have been a pivotal run when Ryan Gerety, who tripled, tried to steal home with two outs in the fourth and KU up 4-1. Northeastern felt KU catcher Mungarrieta had illegally blocked the plate.
By rule, however, the play was not reviewable.
“I don’t know if I have to be careful or not, but I’m just going to tell you what I saw, and they missed the call, and that’s just a fact,” said Northeastern coach Mike Glavine. “It’s a non-reviewable call, so there was a mistake there. You cannot step in front of home plate like their catcher did. It’s clear as day. That’s interference, it’s obstruction, and they missed it. You know, it’s obviously a huge call. It’s one that shouldn’t be missed.
“I asked if we could challenge it, and the original answer was yes, but it’s a non-challengeable call. So that call needs to be made on the field, and it’s pretty easy one, if you watch it. It shouldn’t be missed.”
Said Glavine’s counterpart, KU’s Fitzgerald: “That’s a tricky one. I think it’s the tip of the plate that if the catcher crosses the tip of the plate back, technically he is forward. But again, it’s a really hard call for an umpire. Think about all the things that are going on. It’s hard, hard to tell that one. So, like a lot of things, our sport continues to evolve, and I think more and more things will become reviewable as we move forward.
“It’s a huge spot. Every run today was worth its weight in gold, both ways.”
This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 3:35 PM.
