Soto Expected To Be Out 6-8 Weeks With Wrist Injury
Apr 18, 2003 | Baseball
April 18, 2003
Manhattan, Kan. - Junior third baseman Ty Soto is expected to be out six to eight weeks after it was discovered that he fractured his left wrist while trying to score from third base in the first inning of Kansas State's 6-4 loss to Texas A&M on April 11.
Soto, who did not start for the first time since in more than a year in Tuesday's loss to Washington, was the team's designated hitter in the last two games of the Texas A&M series. The extent of the injury was not known until Monday when an X-ray was taken.
Soto is still evaluating his options on the rehabilitation process.
A 2002 first team All-Big 12 and All-Big 12 Tournament selection, Soto was one of the Wildcats' most consistent offensive weapons this season. He led the team in multiple-hit games (16), walks (23) and on-base percentage (.471), while he ranked second in batting average (.360), hits (45), home runs (six) and slugging percentage (.568). A native of Bakersfield, Calif., Soto had started 75 consecutive games at either second, third or designated hitter for the Wildcats since March 15, 2002. In his two plus years at K-State, he has a career .343 average in 132 games played and 124 starts with 87 runs scored and 161 hits, including 11 home runs.
"We're very disappointed in the injury," said Wildcat head coach Mike Clark. "Ty is such a positive person. He is not only a great baseball player, but a great person. I just feel so bad for him. He wants so much to help this team be successful. He will be greatly missed on the playing field, but there are many things he can do off the field to help this team and I know that he will do whatever he can to help the guys break out of this slump. However, I know we have some guys that are going to step up to help this team."
Junior Zack Saunders and redshirt freshman Andrew Dunsmore are the most likely candidates to fill the spot vacated by Soto.
The injury was another in a long line of setbacks for the Wildcats, who have now lost 16 straight games dating back to March 21. The streak is the second-longest active streak in Division I and ties Canisius (March 8-April 6) and Prairie View A&M (March 2-29) for the second-longest streak in 2003. Maryland-Eastern Shore (1-21) has the longest current losing streak in the nation at 17 games, which began on March 15. UMES can break the streak on Thursday when it plays a doubleheader with Lehigh at home.
Kansas State returns to action on Friday, as the Wildcats begin a three-game series with Texas Tech (23-16, 5-9 Big 12) at Tointon Family Stadium beginning at 7 p.m. Games on Saturday and Sunday are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. The Red Raiders lead the all-time series, 15-5, however, the Wildcats won three of the five meetings in 2002, including eliminating the Raiders in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
