'There's no panic'

The Kansas baseball team entered last weekend with the opportunity to lock up the first Big 12 regular season title in program history. 

And, despite getting swept by West Virginia, the Jayhawks will enter this weekend with the same opportunity. 

It would’ve been a little easier for the Jayhawks to close things out by winning a game or two against the Mountaineers. But, even after losing three games in three days to WVU, KU remains in first place in the Big 12 Conference by a game with three to play. 

That means, for a team that had won 27 of its last 30 games heading into last week, a sweep at BYU this weekend will give KU the outright conference crown. Taking 2 of 3 from the Cougars will guarantee at least a share of the Big 12 title. 

Not a bad spot to be in entering the final series of the regular season. And it’s made even better by the Jayhawks’ mindset moving forward. 

“There’s zero panic,” KU coach Dan Fitzgerald said after losing Game 2 to WVU, which pushed the Jayhawks’ losing streak to 3 before it reached 4 on Sunday. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong here. I think it’s baseball. Things don’t always go your way, and we know that, but we acted a couple times (this series) like things always need to go our way and that’s insanity. I don’t think there’s anything we need to do other than be ourselves.”

Doing that has led to good things for the Jayhawks, both this season and since Fitzgerald arrived. It’s about executing in the moment, being an excellent teammate and working as hard as possible for everything you get. 

While targeting those specific traits helps control some of the mental movement that exists in baseball, Fitzgerald said managing it is very much a learned skill.

“If right now, we all thought about the 15 most positive things in our life, we’d all feel better,” he explained. “That’s a learned deal. And if we all sat around and thought about the 15 worst things in our life, we would feel worse. So, I think for our guys it’s a program-wide culture thing.” 

Fitzgerald and his coaching staff pursue players who are wired that way on the recruiting trail. And they emphasize the approach from Day 1 on when they get them to Lawrence. 

“There’s always talk surrounding the end of the year and magic numbers,” Fitzgerald said. “And that stuff hasn’t even entered our equation. And, by the way, never will. I’m sure that there are guys on the team that jump online and look at things and (try to figure out) if this and that, but that stuff gets flushed and I promise none of that is going on in the middle of a game. There’s so much season left.” 

Not just so much season, but also the most important part of it. And the Jayhawks, who remained ranked in the Top 20 nationally — No. 14 by D1 Baseball and No. 16 by Baseball America — remain in shape to position themselves for success in everything that’s ahead. 

They’re a lock for a double-bye in the conference tournament in two weeks. A good showing at BYU makes them likely to host a regional for the first time in school history and the consistency they’ve shown all season has people outside of Lawrence believing that the Jayhawks are a sneaky pick for a trip to Omaha and the College World Series in June. 

“Everyone’s just vibing,” senior first baseman Josh Dykhoff said Saturday, after hitting an inside-the-park home run in the 5-2 loss. “We all just love being with each other, so there’s no panic. We’re just out here having fun playing baseball. At the end of the day, that’s all it’s about.” 

One reason Fitzgerald believes his players are wired the way Dykhoff demonstrated is because they all want to be great and, therefore, are all willing to follow the paths laid out for them to get there. 

“Taking things for granted and looking into the future doesn’t help you play well in the moment,” Fitzgerald said. “And when you tell ‘em, ‘Hey, projecting everything forward doesn’t make you great,’ it’s pretty quick buy-in.”

Added Dykhoff: “We prepare well. You watch our BP, you watch our ground balls and everything like that. Our preparation is good. It’s just about going and doing it now. We’re still out here like little kids and we’re gonna play as long as they tell us we can.” 

Because BYU plays Thursday through Saturday each week, there is no midweek game for the Jayhawks before they head to Provo, Utah on Wednesday. 

Game 1 is set for a 7 p.m. (central) start on Thursday night from Miller Park. Game 2 is also scheduled for a 7 p.m. (central) first pitch and Saturday’s finale will start at 2 p.m. (central). 

All three games will be shown on ESPN+.