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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- With the bases loaded and the score knotted at 5-5 in the top of the ninth inning, Kansas pinch hitter Ty Denzer connected on a 1-1 pitch and sent a grand slam over the wall in right field to give the Jayhawks a decisive 9-5 advantage over the Samford University baseball team in the final matchup of a three-game series held at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
 
"They started with the two singles and then we committed an error and they followed it up with the big home run behind it," said Samford head coach Casey Dunn. "We left guys on base with less than two outs and that's definitely the frustrating thing. We had some really poor at-bats with a runner on third and nobody out early in the game and then in a similar position late in the game when we had runners on first and third."
 
Despite Sunday's loss, Samford (23-18) won the weekend series, 2-1, and moved its all-time record against Big 12 opponents to 3-3. In 2012, the Bulldogs played a three-game series at No. 24-ranked Oklahoma and finished the set with a 1-2 mark.
 
Kansas (17-22) was able to use some late heroics Sunday to salvage the series finale. The Jayhawks opened the ninth inning with back-to-back singles from Colby Wright and Devin Foyle. Next up, Kansas' Ryan Pidhaichuk was able to load the bases as he reached on a throwing error from pitcher Josh Rich.
 
Following Samford's miscue, the Jayhawks sent pinch hitter Denzer to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out.
 
Kansas jumped out to an early 4-0 lead Sunday with a run in the top of the first inning and then three more in the second. The Jayhawks' offense was paced by Joe Moroney's 3-for-6 outing at the plate. He also drove in three runs, scored twice and hit a home run.
 
Despite falling behind, Samford rallied in the bottom of the second inning to score three runs of its own to trim Kansas' advantage to 4-3.
 
The Bulldogs' Alex Lee opened the frame with a single up the middle and then moved to second as Damon Waller roped a single to left field. Following a sacrifice bunt from Danny Rodriguez, Samford's Parker Curry powered a double into the gap in right-center field to score the Bulldogs' second run of the inning.
 
Samford's third run of the frame was scored as center fielder T.J. Dixon roped a single into left-center field to bring in Curry from second base.
 
Dixon and Waller both registered three-hit outings Sunday, while Swilling, Austin Edens and Lee all tallied two hits apiece. Waller went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs scored as Dixon notched a 3-for-4 performance. True freshman Jordan Fucci went 1-for-2 on the day, while Richard Greene hit a deep two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the sixth and turned in a 1-for-3 day against Kansas.
 
Greene's fourth home run of the season evened the score of the game at 5-5 in the sixth inning. The teams then played two more innings of scoreless baseball before Denzer's grand slam in the top of the ninth.
 
Kansas' Stephen Villines (5-2) earned the victory on the mound after striking out three Bulldogs in three full innings of action. Samford's Josh Rich (1-3) was issued the loss after opening the ninth stanza on the mound.
 
The Samford University baseball team will next be in action Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Alabama Crimson Tide to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a highly-anticipated in-state matchup.
 
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