Cats Earn Split Against No. 15 Cowboys

STILLWATER, Okla. – Kansas State pounded out 28 hits in two games and got a strong outing in game two from Chase Bayuk as the Wildcats came back after a 5-3 loss in game one to take a 7-1 win over No. 15 Oklahoma State in the nightcap Sunday in a Big 12 Conference doubleheader at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.

With the split, K-State moved to 23-12 overall and 5-6 in Big 12 play, while Oklahoma State went to 26-9 overall and 7-4 in league play.

Bayuk, a junior who moved to 3-3 on the season, had his longest outing of his career in the nightcap, going 8.1 strong innings and scattering seven hits and one run with three strikeouts. Three of the seven hits he surrendered were in the fifth inning and from that point on, Bayuk retired 12 in a row before leaving the game in the ninth inning with one out. Trevor Hurley came in and got the final two outs to preserve the win.

The Wildcat offense pounded out 14 hits in the game, four coming from Adam Muenster, as a two-run second and a three-run sixth proved to be enough for the win. Brett Scott’s RBI-single in the second and Muenster’s infield single that allowed Scott to score from second gave the Cats a 2-0 lead in the second.

After Oklahoma State cut the lead to 2-1 in the fifth, the Wildcats added some insurance in the sixth as run-scoring singles from Muenster, Derek Bunker and Drew Biery upped the margin 6-1. A Byron Wiley RBI-single in the eighth and a bases-loaded balk in the ninth gave the Cats a 7-1 lead heading into the final frame.

The Cowboys’ Andrew Oliver (5-1) suffered his first loss of the season after giving up two runs on four hits in just 1.2 innings of work. Oklahoma State used seven total pitchers in the 7-1 K-State win.

K-State out-hit the Cowboys in the first game as well, 14-11, but it stranded 13 runners, including eight in the first four innings of the 5-3 Cowboy win.

Oklahoma State plated single runs in the second and third innings off starter Brad Hutt to take a 2-0 lead. Hutt did a solid job in game one of keeping the Cowboy offense off-balance and away from the big inning. Hutt (6-2) took the loss after giving up three earned runs on eight hits in 6.0 innings.

The Wildcats threatened with runners in scoring position in each of the first five innings in game one, but could not push anything across until the top of the fifth. The Cats loaded the bases in both the first and fourth innings but could not manage to score. In the fifth, Drew Biery led off with a double and scored on a Byron Wiley single to cut the lead to 2-1. Eli Rumler then drove in Wiley with a squeeze bunt to tie the game at two.

The Cats rallied in the ninth as an RBI-single from Wiley plated Biery to cut the margin to 5-3. Nate Tenbrink then walked to put the tying run on base but Rumler flied out to end the game.

Wiley collected five hits in two games Sunday, while Vasquez and Biery each had four hits. Muenster’s four-hit game in the nightcap was a career-best, while Wiley led the way with three runs driven in.

Kansas State and Oklahoma State wrap up play on Monday with a 2 p.m. matchup at Allie P. Reynolds.

– k-statesports.com –