Kansas State University
University of Arkansas
Apr 26, 2017 | Baseball
GAME RECAP
5
6
NR
K-STATE
WILDCATS
21-20 (4-11 Big 12)
14
ARKANSAS
RAZORBACKS
33-10 (12-6 SEC)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KSU | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| ARK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 1 |
- Time of Game: 4:25
- First Pitch: 5:37
- Temperature: 74 F
- Wind: SSW 5
- Attendance: 1,738
- ? GAMECENTER
- ? HIGHLIGHTS
- ? BOX SCORE
KANSAS CITY – A wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning gave the No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks a 6-5 walk-off victory over Kansas State Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium in front of 2,988 fans.
With two outs in the 10th inning, K-State freshman reliever Tyler Eckberg threw his first pitch to Evan Lee in the dirt and after it slipped through catcher Josh Rolette's legs, Carson Shaddy scampered home to score the game-ending run for the Razorbacks (33-10).
K-State (21-20) stranded seven runners in the game's final three innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the top of the 10th, but were unable to plate the go-ahead run. The Wildcats ended the game with 13 runners left on base.
"It was a good game, back and forth," head coach Brad Hill said after the game. "Both teams competed pretty darn hard against each other. Couple baseball things that happened there, get runner on third and less than two outs, got to cash in and get those runs across.
"A lot of men left on base, but at the same time we had some big hits and guys made some big pitches along the way," added Hill. "It was a good game; you hate to see it end on a wild pitch."
Jake Scudder opened the scoring and added to his Big 12-leading home run total with a solo shot right-center field in the second inning – the only runs scored in the game's first four and a half innings.
Arkansas broke through with back-to-back two-out base hits in the fifth inning off reliever Mitch Zubradt. A single from Lee scored Dominic Fletcher and Shaddy before Chad Spanberger doubled to right-center field to score Lee for a 3-1.
K-State cut the deficit to a single run in the top half of the sixth inning with a two-out, two-strike single through the right side off the bat of Rolette to plate Cameron Thompson.
After Will Brennan tied the game with an RBI single up the middle, Quintin Crandall belted a line-drive home run that hugged the left-field foul pole to give the Cats a 5-3 lead as the game reached the seventh-inning stretch.
The Razorbacks immediately responded in the home half with a pair of runs of their own to tie the game at 5-all. Lee brought home Eric Cole on a fielder's choice to first base and a sacrifice fly from Luke Bonfield leveled the score.
K-State got two men aboard with only one out in both the eighth and ninth innings, however, were unable to bring the go-ahead run home, leaving runners on second and third in the eighth and at the corners in the ninth.
Arkansas also had two runners aboard with one out in eighth and ninth innings but a Jordan Floyd struck out the side in the eighth and Eckberg was able to wiggle out of the jam in the ninth.
Wildcat starter Jared Marolf, who put in three innings of work, and Bryce Ward, with one inning, quieted the Arkansas offense, allowing just one hit through the game's first four innings.
K-State used seven pitchers in the ballgame and Arkansas used nine. Marolf threw a game-high three innings and was the only pitcher to last longer than two innings.
Eckberg was tagged for his second straight loss.
Eight of the starting nine Wildcats tallied a base hit, and Scudder had the Cats' only multi-hit game. Crandall drove in a team-best two runs on his eighth homer of the season.
Lee recorded a game-high three RBI in the game for the Razorbacks.
"Our kids have competed pretty hard all the way through … since the beginning of the year," said Hill. "We've had some ups and down, of course, the Big 12 has been rough on us but the kids keep competing. I give them a lot of credit for that. Still a lot of baseball left for us and things to play for. We're playing just as hard as the start of the year and I'm proud of them for that."
K-State returns to Tointon Family Stadium for a three-game non-conference series with Abilene Christian beginning Friday. Game one of the series begins at 6:30 p.m., and will be nationally broadcast on K-StateHD.TV. Fans can also listen to the game on KMAN 1350 AM, 93.3 FM and streaming free at k-statesports.com.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• K-State scored five runs on nine hits and committed one error and left 13 runners on base. Arkansas scored six runs on eight hits with one error and stranded 10 baserunners.
• Scudder had the only multi-hit game for K-State, going 2-for-5 with a homer.
• Crandall led the Cats with two RBI.
• Seven Wildcat pitchers combined to collect seven strikeouts while nine Razorback pitchers struck out 10 K-State hitters.
• The teams combined to go 5-for-29 with runners in scoring position.
• K-State got its leadoff man on base in six of 10 innings while Arkansas did so in five of the game's 10 innings.
• The Wildcats went 2-for-12 (.167) with two outs and the Razorbacks went 2-for-10 (.200).
NOTES
• K-State is now 19-30 all-time vs. Arkansas and is 1-2 at neutral sites.
• The Cats are now 4-7 against ranked teams and 1-5 in extra-inning games.
• K-State is 1-1 against the SEC this season.
• The team's combined 38 home runs are the most since 2010.
