Keylan Killgore’s last start against the Kansas Jayhawks was less than stellar. Wednesday evening, he got a chance to redeem himself.

He made the most of his second chance.

Killgore allowed only one hit over four and a third innings of work as WSU shut out KU to avenge their loss to the Jayhawks last week.

“A lot of it is just letting the defense work and keeping the ball down in the zone,” Killgore said. “It was good to come out and shut it down tonight. It’s a fun rivalry, and it’s always fun to come out and get a W against them.”

Junior Gunnar Troutwine singled up the middle to begin the third inning. Sophomore Jordan Boyer was hit by a pitch in the following at-bat, and sophomore Greyson Jenista reached on a fielder’s choice.

Sophomore Alec Bohm drove in the first runs for WSU with a dribbler up the middle that only just skidded off of the glove of the diving Kansas shortstop. Troutwine scored easily, but excellent baserunning by Jenista paired with a gutsy send by third-base coach Brian Walker allowed the Shockers to take a 2-0 lead on Bohm’s hit.

Killgore worked his best inning following the two-run inning. He retired the side, including back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.

Killgore would record the first out of the fifth inning before being pulled from the game after giving up his first hit to David Kyriacou.

WSU tallied on one more run in the fifth inning, courtesy of a single by senior Willie Schwanke that scored Jenista.

The Jayhawks threatened to score in the eighth inning, when Devin Foyle singled to right field and Jaxx Groshans walked to put runners on first and second with one out.

Sophomore Codi Heuer would recover, however, by retiring the next two batters to keep the ‘Hawks off the scoreboard.

“The guys who came in late did a fantastic job,” head coach Todd Butler said.

If the game wasn’t already decided, the Shockers put it out of reach in the eighth. Schwanke singled to begin the inning, followed by a bunt single by sophomore Dayton Dugas. With two outs, freshman Noah Croft, pinch-hitting for Troutwine, singled to left field, scoring Dugas.

Sophomore Jordan Boyer continued the rally with a double, scoring Croft and freshman Alex Jackson. Boyer would come around to score on an error by the Jayhawks’ second baseman. Sophomore Travis Young, in for sophomore Luke Ritter, singled to score Jenista, pushing the WSU lead to 8.

Freshman Preston Snavely, in his first appearance since March 24^th against Texas Tech, closed the ninth inning to secure the victory for the Shockers.

The win pushes the Shockers’ record to 18-18.

Their next game is this Friday in Springfield, Missouri, where they will begin a three-game series with Missouri State.