It was another rough week for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats salvaged the last game of their week on Sunday, picking up their first conference win of the season against the Top 25-ranked Red Raiders of Texas Tech. Unfortunately, the rest of the week didn’t go K-State’s way. The ‘Cats ended the week at 12-16 overall, 1-2 in the Big 12.
Wednesday. The Wildcats came up short, 8-5, in a non-conference tilt on the road against Wichita State. K-State didn’t get a strong start from Kasey Ford (0-1). The big right-hander lasted only two innings, giving up five runs (three earned). The ‘Cats dug an early hole for themselves, and that was that. On the bright side, Zach Kokoska and Rainer Ausmus each had two hits.
Friday. The Wildcats kicked off the home portion of the Big 12 schedule with an 11-4 loss against nationally-ranked Texas Tech. For the third Friday night in a row, Wildcat starter Griffin Hassal performed admirably, allowing only one earned runs (three total) in the first six innings. But it wasn’t enough. Jaxson Passino, who was ineffective relieving Hassal, took the loss. Defensively, the Wildcats committed five errors on the day. Texas Tech starter and winner Micah Dallas (3-0) was solid, throwing six innings of three-run ball. K-State’s Kokoska continued to swing a hot bat with three hits. Freshman teammate Dylan Phillips hit his 4th homer of the year.
Saturday. The Wildcats dropped the middle game of the series by the score of 4-3. It was a game that could have gone either way, but didn’t, perhaps showing why TTU is a trendy pick to win the conference title and the ‘Cats are picked for last place. But it looked good early for the home team. The Wildcats jumped on the Red Raiders with three runs in the second, and with freshman star Jordan Wicks on the mound, things looked promising. But Texas Tech had other ideas, working methodically to take the lead. One way was to drive up Wicks’ pitch count and get him out of the game. It worked. Wicks suffered his first loss of the season, allowing a season-high eight hits and four runs. K-State’s Rainer Ausmus recorded three hits on the day, including a double and a triple. Kokoska recorded his third straight multi-hit game in the losing effort.
Sunday. Kansas St. showed heart and grit by knocking off the Red Raiders on Sunday, 5-4, in a come-from-behind win. Trailing 4-2 entering the 7th, the Wildcats rallied for three runs to take the lead. Manager Pete Hughes decided to bring in Will Brennan from the bullpen rather than start him, and that call paid off. Brennan threw the last four innings and allowed only one run as he struck out four. Dylan Phillips and Thomas Hughes picked up huge RBI singles to complete the comeback. Terrence Spurlin added a double and triple for the Wildcats.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats have a busy week ahead of them, starting with games against former Big 12 foes. On Tuesday, K-State will complete a four-game homestand with a non-conference game against Nebraska (13-9). On Wednesday, the ‘Cats go on the road to Columbia MO to play the Missouri Tigers (18-10-1). It’s a make-up game from an earlier rainout. The ‘Cats will stay on the road over the weekend, in Omaha, to play a three-game series against the Creighton Blue Jays (14-6).
