LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas scored in six different innings, touching up Missouri State pitching for seven extra-base hits and 16 total hits in an 11-6 victory Tuesday evening at Hoglund Ballpark.

Benjamin Sems' four-hit effort paced the KU offense, as all 10 Jayhawks who recorded an official at-bat registered at least one hit in the contest, helping the home club plate at least one run in each inning except the third and sixth frames. Skyler Messinger drove in three runs, and all six of the Jayhawks' doubles directly contributed to a run.

KU (17-15) overcame a two-out, two-run double by Ben Whetstone that staked the Bears to a 2-0 first-inning lead. The Jayhawks answered the Bears' rally by scoring two of their own in the home half of the first, then pushing home the go-ahead run in the second.

Sems led off the go-ahead rally with his first hit—a double to left-center on a 2-2 pitch from MSU starter Nick Schmidt. The junior then stole third before coming home on Messinger's chopper to short for a 3-2 KU lead.

Sems sparked the Jayhawk offense again in the fourth, starting another two-run rally with a one-out single off MSU lefty Nate Witherspoon. Messinger doubled the baserunner to third, before Nolan Metcalf's sacrifice fly to right made it a two-run game. Brett Vosik added another tally to the KU run total, driving the fourth Jayhawk double of the game into left-center to stretch the margin to 5-2.

The Bears responded with a two-run surge of their own in the fifth, using a hit batsman to fuel their charge. After Drew Millas absorbed a Daniel Hegarty offering, back-to-back singles by Joey Polak and Dakota Kotowski plated the first run, before Whetstone drove in his third baserunner of the night with a sacrifice liner to right.

James Cosentino got one of those runs back for KU in the fifth, lining a one-out offering from Witherspoon down the right-field line for a solo shot that made it a 6-4 game.

KU would strike for three more in the seventh, using a pair of clutch two-out hits to build a five-run cushion. Once again, Messinger was a key figure, driving a two-run single through the left side of the Bears' infield, before Blake Shinkle added a run-scoring double to center.

MSU (11-21) scored two runs in the eighth and had a chance to slice further into the KU advantage when Millas lined a two-out double off the wall in center. But Rudy Karre teamed up with Cosentino to gun down a baserunner attempting to score to squash the threat, dashing the Bears' opportunity to bring the potential tying run to the plate.

The Jayhawks offense delivered one final blow to MSU's comeback bid in the home half of the eighth, using RBI singles from Sems and Karre to reclaim the five-run margin. KU's 16 hits represented a 2019 high for a Missouri State opponent.

Schmidt (0-1) took the loss for MSU after surrendering the first three runs of the game on four hits in his 2.0 innings.

Millas and Jack Duffy led the MSU offense with two-hit performances, while Whetstone delivered his first three-RBI game of the season. Duffy's fourth-inning double also extended his career-best hit streak to nine-straight games.

Missouri State will conclude its nine-game road swing with a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series at Illinois State, beginning with a 5 p.m. (CDT) contest Friday at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Ill.