LAWRENCE, Kan. (Interstat) — Jordan Bach’s three-run homer capped a four-run sixth inning that broke open a tie game, propelling the Kansas Jayhawks to an 11-5 victory over the Saint Thomas Tommies in nonconference baseball Friday evening at Hoglund Ballpark.

The game, played before 1,247 fans under mostly cloudy skies with a strong south-southwest wind, saw the Jayhawks overcome an early five-run deficit to sweep the first two games of the weekend series and improve to 9-4. Saint Thomas fell to 1-10.

The most important part of the game unfolded in the bottom of the sixth. After the Tommies had clawed back to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the inning, Kansas responded immediately against the Saint Thomas bullpen. Reliever Max Skilbeck, who had thrown five hitless innings in relief of starter Nolan Kemp, walked John Schlotterback to open the frame. A single by Cooper Dykhoff and an RBI single by Kareem Max gave Kansas a 6-5 lead and ended Skilbeck’s outing.

With two on and one out, Bach stepped in against new pitcher Evan Petersen. On a 1-1 count, the Jayhawks’ right fielder launched a towering drive over the left-field wall for his third home run of the season, a three-run shot that stretched the lead to 9-5 and effectively sealed the outcome.

Bach, the top star for Kansas, finished 2 for 5 with four RBIs. His homer was the decisive blow in a game that had been a back-and-forth affair through the first five innings.

Saint Thomas stunned the home crowd by batting around and scoring five runs in the top of the first against Kansas starter Dominic Voegele. Matthew Maulik provided the big hit, a two-run double down the left-field line. The Tommies sent nine men to the plate, capitalizing on two walks and three hits.

Kansas answered with five runs of its own in the bottom half, chasing Saint Thomas starter Max Skilbeck before he could record an out. Tyson Owens cleared the bases with a triple and later scored on a groundout. Cade Baldridge followed with a solo home run, his second of the year, to tie the game at 5-5.

The game remained tied until the fifth, when Saint Thomas pushed across a run on an RBI single by Maulik, who drove in three runs total. Kansas reliever Carter Fink entered and stranded two runners to keep the deficit at one.

The Jayhawks’ bullpen quartet of Fink, Caleb Deer, Stone West and Kannon Carr combined for four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out three. Carr worked a perfect ninth to close it.

After Bach’s homer, Kansas added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Bach drove in another run with a single in the seventh, and pinch-hitter Diego Mungarrieta added a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Voegele earned the win for Kansas, going five innings and allowing four earned runs on seven hits while striking out seven. Skilbeck took the loss for Saint Thomas, charged with four earned runs in his five-plus innings of relief.

The teams continue the series Saturday at a neutral site in Kansas City, Missouri.