CLEBURNE, Texas – Rounding out their season-opening seven-game stretch in America's 28^th State, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies will battle the Big 12 Conference's Kansas Jayhawks in four neutral-site contests at The Depot at Cleburne Station from Friday-Monday, February 24-27.

Friday's first pitch will come at 4 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday and Monday both at 2 p.m.

Home of the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball, The Depot at Cleburne Station opened in May 2017 and features a fixed seating capacity of 1,750.

Oakland will enter Friday at 0-3 in 2023, as the Southland Conference's Lamar Cardinals defeated the Golden Grizzlies in three consecutive one-run games in Beaumont from February 17-19, two of which ended in walk-off fashion.

Kansas also began their 2023 campaign in Texas, taking two of three neutral-site clashes from the Missouri Valley Conference's Valparaiso Beacons at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi from February 17-19.

LISTED STARTING PITCHERS
Here are the listed starting pitchers for this upcoming series, included with any 2023 statistics they have accumulated to this point.

Friday
Oakland
Senior LHP Travis Densmore: 1 start, 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, .333 BAA, 4 IP, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
Kansas
Graduate student RHP Collin Baumgartner: 1 start, 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, .167 BAA, 5 IP, ER, 6 SO

Saturday
Oakland
Redshirt senior RHP Brett Hagen: 1 start, 0-0, 1.93 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, .067 BAA, 4.2 IP, ER, 4 BB, SO
Kansas
Junior RHP Sam Ireland: 1 start, 0-1, 4.76 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .200 BAA, 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO

Sunday
Oakland
Redshirt senior RHP Sean Fekete: 1 game (0 starts), 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, .158 BAA, 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB
Kansas
Redshirt junior RHP Hunter Cranton: 1 start, 0-0, 2.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .167 BAA, 4 IP, ER, 4 BB, 5 SO

Monday
Oakland
Redshirt senior RHP Bryce Konitzer: 1 start, 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, .400 BAA, IP, ER, BB
Kansas
Junior LHP Ethan Bradford

JAYHAWKS RUNDOWN
Coming to Kansas after one season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator with the Southeastern Conference's LSU Tigers in 2022, the Jayhawks are led by first-year head coach Dan Fitzgerald.

Picked to finish eighth in the 2023 Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll, Kansas went just 20-35 (4-20) a year ago, but the Jayhawks have shown an affinity for odd-numbered years by posting winning records in 2017, 2019 and 2021.

Redshirt sophomore third baseman Michael Brooks, a UCF Knights transfer, recorded three hits in 10 at-bats against Valparaiso and redshirt junior shortstop Collier Cranford is off to a .273 (3-11) start and is tied for the team lead with three RBI, along with sophomore left fielder Chase Jans and freshman second baseman Kodey Shojinaga.

On the mound, Baumgartner is a 6-foot-6, 250-pound SIU Edwardsville Cougars transfer who faced the Golden Grizzlies in 2022, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts over 3.2 innings in the second game of a March 13 doubleheader.

The other three scheduled starting pitchers for Kansas are transfers, as well, as Ireland spent three seasons in the Big Ten Conference with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Cranton was in the Mountain West with the San Diego State Aztecs for a year and Bradford was a Nebraska Cornhusker from 2020-22.

RADIO AND LIVE STATS LINKS
This weekend's action will not be televised, but the Kansas Jayhawk Radio Network will be broadcasting the games, which can be accessed here.

Additionally, the Live Stats are available at this link.