Kansas baseball players visit orphanage after Dominican win

After a 9-5 victory against the Kansas City Royals Dominican Academy, players from the Kansas Jayhawks baseball team visited the Casa Santa Rosa Orphanage near San Pedro de Macoris, according to the school's athletic website.

The Jayhawks players donated Kansas gear, sports equipment, coloring books, crayons, chalk, kites and jump ropes to the orphanage and organized games of volleyball, baseball and soccer with nearly 250 kids in a gymnasium and outdoor field.

Kansas will continue its series against the Royals affiliate on Tuesday morning before traveling to deliver health kits to impoverished areas near the Royals' complex.

The 2013 season for the Jayhawks isn't set to begin until mid-February, but the team can hope that the Dominican Republic Foreign Tour will help them to prepare for a season that finishes better than their 24-34 record in the 2012 season. Kansas was eliminated in the semifinals of the Big 12 Baseball Championship and did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament.