Postgame Reaction: Kansas captures first tournament title in 20 years
The baseball Jayhawks captured their first conference title in 20 years with a 9-0 win over West Virginia. Kansas will return home today and get ready to host an NCAA regional next weekend.
Kansas got a small taste of payback after West Virginia swept them in Lawrence during the regular season. After the game Dan Fitzgerald talked about how good the Mountaineers are.
“That’s not a good West Virginia team, that’s an elite West Virginia team, in all phases,” Fitzgerald said. “They’re incredibly well coached, they play defense, they’re super offensive, they can pitch. I mean they’re the real deal, and so to do it against them is a monster feat.”
[Jayhawks shut out West Virginia on way to title]
Winning both the league and postseason tournament is hard to do. No current Big 12 team has ever done it. They are the first team since 2009 to win the regular season and tournament in the same season when Texas did it.
The win should clinch a spot for Kansas to host a regional and Fitzgerald talked about how hard it is to accomplish both feats.
“When you think of the Big 12 season and 10 weekends, it’s a mountain to climb, and every weekend’s a battle, and then you know you come to weekend 11 and it’s another battle,” he said. “I’m super proud of these guys, great team effort, and just excited to bring this back home to Lawrence, and hosting a regional and more. It’s going to be incredible, and incredibly proud, incredibly blessed, and very thankful.”
Little time to enjoy the win for Kansas, as it is back to work
The team got to celebrate after the game and then it is back to business. They flew back from Arizona and they will be in the office today and some are already on the road recruiting.
“Celebrate it, enjoy it, stay in the moment, and then straight back to work,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ll be back at it tomorrow. Staff ‘s out recruiting tomorrow, so that never stops, and gotta do run downs at some point this next week, and I baseball never stops. You never get baseball, you never grasp it. You just keep working at it.”
Kansas assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Jon Coyne left immediately after the game for Grand Junction, Colo. where he will watch the NJCAA World Series.
Watch the postgame press conference
Fitzgerald with Tyson LeBlanc and Boede Rahe spoke with reporters after the game. Watch what what they had to in the postgame press conference.
