It wasn’t the most intimidating lineup the Jayhawks have put on the field this year.

Gone from the lineup were the big sticks wielded by the likes of sophomore third baseman Tony Thompson and senior catcher Buck Afenir. In their places were sophomore reserves Greg Herbst and Joe Lincoln.

It didn’t matter much.

The Jayhawks finished with a season-highs in hits and runs, including six runs in the fourth inning, their largest single-inning output of the year. Herbst started that rally, knocking in the first run of the inning on a single to left field.

“I just try to play every day and maximize the opportunities that I do get,” Herbst said, “Just never give an at-bat up.”

That was the attitude that prevailed throughout a lineup that featured only three upperclassmen, none of them seniors. Sophomore outfielder Casey Lytle is one of the young players scratching at the door of the regular lineup. He has started 11 games for the Jayhawks (14-7) but didn’t see any time in Kansas’ sweep of then-No. 1 Texas. A 3-for-6 effort Tuesday raised his average to a team-leading .424, though, and he’ll likely see action this weekend against No. 15 Texas A&M.

“Basically, you’ve got to come to the field prepared every day,” Lytle said. “The midweek games prepare you for these big weekend series against these top-10 teams.”

The success Lytle and Herbst experienced permeated through most of the Kansas lineup. Eight Jayhawks drove in a run, and nine of the 11 who got at-bats finished the game with at least one hit.

Success doesn’t always come that easy, though. Freshmen Jake Marasco and Zac Elgie were both prolific hitters in their high school careers. Elgie hit the ball well enough to get drafted in the 12th round by the Oakland Athletics. Coach Ritch Price said Marasco was the top hitter in Kansas coming out of high school. Since coming to Kansas, though, the two high-school stars have hit a steep learning curve while getting accustomed to baseball at the college level.

“Marasco is trying to make some adjustments in his swing, in his mechanics,” Price said. “Anybody who has played this game knows you go backwards before you go forwards when you do that.”

The young Jayhawks know their roles, though.

“Those guys have tremendous talent,” Price said. “But they know they have to progress in order to get an opportunity to play.”

— — Edited by Andrew Wiebe