Cats and Red Raiders Split First Two Games

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State and Texas Tech split a pair of games Saturday in Big 12 Conference action as the Wildcats rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 4-3 win in the nightcap at Tointon Stadium. The Red Raiders knocked off the Wildcats in the first game, 16-5, in seven innings.

With the split, Kansas State moved to 19-8 overall and 2-3 in league play, while Texas Tech went to 20-11 and 4-4.

Down 3-1 in the eighth inning of the second game, which was originally suspended on Friday in the second inning, Kansas State collected five straight hits with two outs to plate the tying and winning runs. After a Rob Vaughn groundout and a Derek Bunker strikeout, Eddie Vasquez got things going with a single down the left field line. Drew Biery then singled through the left side and Byron Wiley plated Vasquez with a single through the right side, chasing Tech pitcher Colt Hynes.

With the Cats still down 3-2, Justin Bloxom welcomed pitcher Travis Young with a double off the wall in right on the first pitch to plate Biery and tie the score at three. Pinch hitter Jordan Cruz then drove in the winning run with a infield single to second that scored Wiley to give the Cats the 4-3 lead.

Closer Daniel Edwards, after giving up a leadoff infield single, retired the next three batters, two by way of a strikeout, to earn his Big 12-leading eighth save of the season.

K-State’s comeback win, its fifth of the season when trailing after seven innings, made a winner of reliever Justin Murray, who moved to 3-2 on the season. Murray entered the game in the seventh inning and scattered two hits over 1.1 shutout innings of relief.

Hutt went 6.2 innings, which included the first two innings of work played on Friday night, and finished with four strikeouts while yielding three runs on eight hits.

Bloxom led the offense in the nightcap with three hits and two RBI, while Vasquez also had three hits and scored two runs. With hits in both games, Biery extended his current hitting streak to a career-long seven games.

Texas Tech took the first game of the day on Saturday, 16-5, in a seven-inning affair that was called after the 10-run rule went into effect. The Red Raiders opened up a 9-0 lead after three innings until K-State countered with five runs on four hits and four walks to close the gap to 9-5.

But, Tech answered back with seven more runs over the next two innings to take a 16-5 lead.

A.J. Ramos (6-1) took the win on the mound for Tech, while K-State starter Chase Bayuk (2-2) was saddled with the loss after giving up eight runs on six hits over 2.1 innings.

The series will wrap up Sunday with a 1 p.m. rubber matchup at Tointon Stadium.

– k-statesports.com –