K-State Set for Final Home Series, Sunflower Showdown

Friday, May 11

Manhattan, Kan.

6:30 p.m.

Kansas State University

Kansas

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TK McWhertor high-fives a teammate vs. Baylor at Tointon Family Stadium on April 28, 2018.

May 10, 2018 | Baseball

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State baseball enters its final home series this weekend, as it welcomes in-state rival Kansas for the 2018 Sunflower Showdown beginning Friday at Tointon Family Stadium.

Prior to Friday night's series opener, K-State Director of Athletics Gene Taylor will lead a special groundbreaking ceremony in honor of the new baseball facility. K-State will recognize its six-member senior class before Saturday's game.

The series between K-State (18-29, 3-18 Big 12) and KU (22-25, 5-12 Big 12) could determine the final berth in the 2018 Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City.

Sunday's series finale will be a national broadcast on FOX Sport 1 while Friday's game will be televised on COX Channel Kansas with free streaming available at K-StateHD.TV, K-State Sports Roku app and Apple TV.

The entire three-game series can be heard live on KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free, live audio available at k-statesports.com. Games 2 and 3 will be carried on the K-State Sports Network.

GAME #48
K-STATE (18-29, 3-18 BIG 12) vs. KANSAS (22-25, 5-12 BIG 12)
Friday, May 11, 2018 // 6:30 p.m. CT // Tointon Family Stadium (2,331) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Kasey Ford (4-2, 4.30 ERA) vs. RHP Jackson Goddard (4-1, 5.73 ERA)
TV: Cox Channel Kansas // Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Mike Clark (analyst)
Watch: K-StateHD.TV // K-State Sports Roku app and Apple TV
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters and John Kurtz
Promotion: Dollar Dog Friday // $15 ¾ Sleeve T-Shirt Package // Fort Riley Day | Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats

GAME #49
K-STATE (18-29, 3-18 BIG 12) vs. KANSAS (22-25, 5-12 BIG 12)
Saturday, May 12, 2018 // 6:30 p.m. CT // Tointon Family Stadium (2,331) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Jared Marolf (1-5, 4.03 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Zeferjahn (7-3, 4.12 ERA)
Watch: ESPN3, ESPN app // Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Mike Clark (analyst)
Radio: K-State Sports Network // Matt Walters and John Kurtz
Senior Day | Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats

GAME #50
K-STATE (18-29, 3-18 BIG 12) vs. KANSAS (22-25, 5-12 BIG 12)
Sunday, May 13, 2018 // 12 p.m. CT // Tointon Family Stadium (2,331) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: LHP Will Brennan (2-1, 3.43 ERA) vs. LHP Taylor Turski (2-7, 5.86 ERA)
TV: FOX Sports 1 // Dave Barnett (play-by-play) and Pat Combs (analyst)
Watch: FOX Sports Go
Radio: K-State Sports Network // Brian Smoller and Matt Walters
Promotion: Sunday Family 4-Pack | Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats

A LOOK AT K-STATE
Kansas State (18-29, 3-18 Big 12) enters its final conference series as Kansas visits Tointon Family Stadium for the 2018 edition of the Sunflower Showdown ... K-State comes into the weekend holding onto slim hopes of qualifying for the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City, needing to sweep the rival Jayhawks and hope KU drops all three of its games next weekend against Oklahoma ... The Wildcats were swept in Norman by the Sooners last weekend, the fifth time they have been swept in the conference schedule and the second sweep in a row (Baylor) ... The Cats were shut out in the first two games of the series before a one-run loss in the series finale ... K-State has now been kept off the scoreboard eight times this season and twice in consecutive games, equaling the most times shut out in a season in program history (1979) ... The Cats received strong starting pitching in the series, as sophomore Jared Marolf threw K-State's first complete game in a 2-0 loss Saturday ... Will Brennan added his first quality start, going 6 1/3 innings with a career-high nine strikeouts and one earned run in Sunday's finale in a no-decision effort ... Senior Kyle Barfield hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning Sunday before OU rallied with two unearned runs in the home half of the eighth for a sweep-completing 4-3 win.

A LOOK AT KANSAS
Kansas (22-25, 5-12 Big 12) have won three of its last four games, including a home series won over West Virginia, after snapping its season-long 11-game losing streak ... KU's pitching staff ranks last in team ERA in both overall and conference games at 6.29 and 8.43, respectively ... Jaxx Groshans leads his team with 61 hits, 38 RBI and a .341 average ... Groshans leads four Jayhawks who are hitting over .300 ... Devin Foyle is the team leader in home runs (8) and a .421 on-base percentage ... Ryan Zeferjahn, who will start on the mound Saturday, is second in the Big 12 with seven wins and 78 strikeouts ... Zack Leban is the conference leader with 11 saves out of the bullpen.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES
K-State leads the all-time series with KU, 178-169-1 (38-24 Big 12), dating back to 1897 ... K-State has played KU more than any other single opponent in program history and has defeated the Jayhawks more than any other opponent ... The Wildcats are 101-80-1 all-time in the series at home ... Last season, Kansas won two of three games in Lawrence ... K-State won two of three in the last series in Manhattan (2016) ... The Cats last swept the Jayhawks at home in 2008 and last swept them overall in 2013 ... KU has not swept K-State in any series since 2004 ... Head coach Brad Hill is 27-18 against KU in his career ... The teams have split the last 10 games overall in the series while K-State is 6-4 in the last 10 in Manhattan.

THE NEXT OHTANI
K-State sophomore Will Brennan is already known as one of the nation's best hitters, but he has earned his first two victories in his last four appearances the mound - all starts ... Brennan turned in his first-career quality start Sunday in the series finale at Oklahoma, going a career-long 6 1/3 innings with just one earned run allowed while striking out a career-best nine hitters in a no-decision ... In his first career start at Nebraska on April 17, Brennan retired all six batters he faced over two innings on just 21 pitches ... The Stilwell, Kansas, product earned his first Big 12 start in the series finale at West Virginia, as he went a five innings while giving up just one earned run and scattering six base hits in the win ... He owns a team-low 3.43 overall ERA with a 2.70 earned run average in Big 12 games ... Opponents are hitting just .225 against him in league play with a 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio ... At the plate, he continues to be among the Big 12 leaders in hits and average, leading the Wildcats with a .351 average and 66 base hits ... His average, on-base percentage and hit total all rank in the league's top 10 ... Batting leadoff, Brennan is the toughest player in the Big 12 to strikeout, going 18.8 at-bats per strikeout (188 AB, 10 K), which is the ninth-best rate in the nation.

SEEING 20/10
K-State's Drew Mount is one home run away from becoming just the second Wildcat to have 20 stolen bases and 10 home runs in a season, joining Todd Fereday who stole 21 bases and hit 11 home runs in 1997 ... With his next homer, Mount will be just the sixth player in NCAA Division I to have 10 or more home runs and 10 or more steals this season and the first to have 20 steals with 10 homers.

CALL THE COPS
K-State's 73 stolen bases are second in the Big 12 and rank 30th in the country ... West Virginia leads the conference with 83 steals ... The Wildcats have just two steals over their last six games after they failed to record a steal in their three-game series with Baylor (0-for-2) and had two steals at Oklahoma last weekend ... Three of the top eight base stealers in the conference are Wildcats, led by Drew Mount and his 20 steals (4th) ... Will Brennan is seventh with 17 and Cameron Thompson ranks eighth with 16.

BIG COUNTRY'S RETURN
After missing his last three starts, sophomore ace Kasey Ford is set to make his return to the mound Friday night ... Ford began the season as the Friday night starter but left his start at Texas Tech on April 15 after just two innings pitched with an arm injury ... Despite missing three starts, the 6-foot-6 righty still leads the team in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched.

MAROLF GOES THE DISTANCE
Sophomore Jared Marolf got the first Big 12 start of his career Saturday at Oklahoma ... The 6-3 right-hander turned in K-State's first complete game of the season, going eight full innings in a 2-0 loss to the Sooners ... Marolf scattered six hits over his career-long outing, allowing just two earned runs ... It was the first complete game thrown by a Wildcat since Parker Rigler tossed a no-hitter against Eastern Illinois on March 5, 2017.

SAYING GOOD BYE
After 15 seasons as the Wildcats' skipper, head coach Brad Hill announced Tuesday that he will be stepping aside at the end of the season … The two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year is the program's all-time winningest coach, taking K-State to four NCAA Regionals in five seasons to go with a 2103 Super Regional berth and the program's only Big 12 title (2013).