Kansas State University
University of Oklahoma
May 06, 2017 | Baseball
GAME RECAP
7
9
NR
OKLAHOMA
SOONERS
31-17 (9-8 Big 12)
NR
K-STATE
WILDCATS
26-21 (5-12 Big 12)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OU | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| KSU | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | X | 9 | 15 | 0 |
- Time of Game: 3:35
- First Pitch: 2:02
- Temperature: 83 F
- Wind: NNE 5
- Attendance: 2,259
- ? GAMECENTER
- ? HIGHLIGHTS
- ? BOX SCORE
MANHATTAN, Kan. – On a day Kansas State honored its nine-man senior class, senior infielder Jake Wodtke's RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning broke a 7-7 tie as K-State scored five runs in the inning to come back from three down and overtake Oklahoma, 9-7, Saturday at Tointon Family Stadium.
K-State's (26-21, 5-12 Big 12) five-run sixth inning came on the heels of Oklahoma (31-17, 9-8) erasing the Wildcats' 4-2 lead by way of a five-run sixth inning of its own. The Wildcats split the first two games of the series and snapped a four-game losing streak to OU, dating back to last season.
"Big time win for our guys," said head coach Brad Hill. "Great character right there, great toughness. For them to get a five spot, that's not easy. Being able to get two or three, but they scored five. For our guys, again, to keep life and string together great at-bats, just proud. [Steve] Serratore and Wodtke, a couple huge hits for our seniors. Seniors had a really nice day today. Obviously very proud of them, glad to be able to get that win."
Freshman reliever Jared Marolf (4-0) came on in the sixth and retired all 10 Oklahoma hitters he faced to end the game, striking out three on his way to earning the victory.
"He doesn't have any fear," Hill said of Marolf. "He doesn't overthink things. He attacks the zone, he doesn't get rattled, he doesn't try to strike people out or do too much. He just throws the ball where it's called and make the ball move a little bit. He's got very good composure for a young guy."
Wodtke, a fifth-year senior, finished the day 4-for-5 with a double, run scored and what proved to be the game-winning RBI. His four-hit game matched his career high and is a new career best in a Big 12 game.
"He's a leader, he plays with great passion, great spirit and, emotionally, for us, it's really important to have him out there," added Hill of Wodtke.
"It's awesome," Wodtke said. "It's a good way to make another great memory on this field. I've spent a lot of time out here, so it's good to get this win today. We're not done yet, we've got to take care of business tomorrow."
Headed into the sixth inning, K-State owned a 4-2 advantage before Oklahoma scored five in the top half of the sixth to take a 7-4 lead.Â
Quintin Crandall and Cameron Thompson walked to lead off the bottom of the sixth, while seniors Jake Scudder and Steve Serratore followed with back-to-back RBI singles, as the first four Wildcat hitters reached base off Oklahoma reliever Vincenzo Aiello. After Scudder scampered home on a wild pitch to tie the game, Aiello was chased without recording an out.
Braidyn Fink replaced Aiello and recorded two quick outs, and with Serratore standing on second, Wodtke singled up the middle to break the seven-all tie. After swiping second, Wodtke came around to score off Will Brennan's line-drive single to left that capped the five-run inning for the Cats.
Aiello (0-1) took the loss after he relieved Oklahoma starter Kyle Tyler, who went five innings while giving up four earned on nine hits, with four strikeouts and five walks.
K-State struck first with a pair of runs in the first after the first four Wildcat hitters of the game reached safely. After a leadoff single by Brennan, Crandall followed with a single of his own and after Thompson walked, the bases were loaded for Scudder. Scudder drove in Brennan and Crandall with a single to right center.
Scudder went 2-for-5 with a team-high three runs driven in.
Crandall's second hit of the game, a two-out single in the bottom of the second, brought home Brennan and added a third run to the Wildcats' lead.
Wildcat starter Parker Rigler walked the first two Oklahoma hitters in the third inning, both of which came around to score when Renae Martinez drove a ball to the left-center field gap for a standup double. Rigler worked out of the jam and stranded two Sooners in the inning.
Rigler, a senior southpaw, made it through five innings, allowing four earned runs on four hits with five walks and two strikeouts.
K-State catcher Josh Rolette's homered in the fifth to give the Cats a two-run lead. The solo shot was Rolette's sixth home run of the year.
Oklahoma started its sixth with a single from Austin O'Brien and a double by Brylie Ware cut K-State's lead to 4-3 and ended Rigler's day. With Ware on second, Hudson Treu's first pitch to Ben Hollas was sent over the right-field fence and gave the Sooners a 5-4 lead. A two-run double from Renae Martinez made the score 7-4 when Marolf came in and quieted the OU bats.
All five seniors in the lineup reached base safely, led by Wodtke with his four hits while Crandall and Scudder each added two. Four seniors drove in at least one run and Josh Ethier walked twice.
"Everything," Wodtke answered when asked about what his fellow seniors mean to him. "These are my brothers out here. We've been through a lot together. … We've been sharing stories all day, and this will definitely be one of them in the future.
Brennan, batting leadoff, went 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored. Thompson had his team-leading 19th multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-2 with three walks.
K-State and Oklahoma will decide the series Sunday at 1 p.m., at Tointon Family Stadium. The series rubber match will stream live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. 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 nine runs on 15 hits and committed no errors and left 13 runners on base. Oklahoma scored seven runs on six hits with two errors and stranded six baserunners.
• Five Wildcats had multiple-hit games, led by Wodtke with his four hits. The four-hit game matches his career-best output and is a new conference career high.
• Marolf retired all 10 Oklahoma batters he faced in relief.
• In two games, Oklahoma has put up a five-run inning to take the lead from K-State twice after doing so in game one of the series.
• K-State hit 6-for-14 (.429) with two outs while OU hit .100 (1-for-10).
• The Cats had more than twice as many at-bats with runners on base (27-13).
• K-State hit .375 (6-for-16) with runners in scoring position while OU went 3-for-10.
• K-State got its leadoff man on base in five innings while the Sooners got their leadoff hitter aboard three times.
• K-State has stranded double-digit runners on base in both games in the series.
NOTES
• K-State is now 78-192-1 all-time vs. Oklahoma and 18-41 in Big 12 play.
• The Wildcats snapped a four-game losing streak to OU.
• Jake Scudder extended his on-base streak to 16 games while Ethier and Brennan extended their career-long on-base streaks to 15 games.
• Six Wildcats have on-base streaks of 10 games or more (Scudder, Ethier, Brennan, Thompson, Serratore, Crandall).
• Scudder's 55 RBI are the most by a Wildcat since Jason King's 59 in 2011.
