Kansas State University Athletics
Wednesday, February 21
Elon, N.C.
3 p.m.
Kansas State University
at
Elon
K-State Makes Midweek Stop at Elon
Feb 20, 2018 | Baseball
ELON, N.C. – K-State baseball continues an eight-game stretch away from home with a Wednesday matchup with Elon at Walter C. Latham Park, first pitch is slated for 3 p.m. CT, and can be heard live on KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM).
GAME #5
K-STATE (1-3, 0-0 Big 12) vs. ELON (1-3, 0-0 CAA)
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 // 3 p.m. CT // Walter C. Latham Field (2,000) // Elon, N.C.
Projected Starters: RHP Caleb Littlejim (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Dean McCarthy (0-0, 27.00 ERA)
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Mitch Fortner (play-by-play) / Christopher Brown (analyst)
Listen Online (free) | Live Stats
A LOOK AT K-STATE
Kansas State competed at the 19th Annual Brittain Resorts Baseball at the Beach in Myrtle Beach and Conway, South Carolina, in the season's opening weekend ... K-State finished 1-3 in the tournament, picking up its lone win on the final day of the event in a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech at TicketReturn.com Field ... Junior-transfer Drew Mount's three-run home run in the eighth inning capped the Wildcat comeback after the Cats trailed the Hokies, 5-2, entering the inning ... Will Brenna singled home Brett Owen to begin K-State's four-run eighth ... Rainer Ausmus also hit a home run in the game, breaking up VT's no-hit bid in the sixth inning ... The homer was Ausmus' first hit and homer as a Wildcat ... K-State faced back-to-back ranked opponent to open the season, its first time meeting a ranked team in the season's first weekend since head coach Brad Hill's first season (2004).
2018 OUTLOOK
The Cats said farewell to nine seniors from the 2017 team, and 14 total letterwinners from a year ago, including Jake Scudder, who led the team each of the past two seasons in homers and RBI ... K-State welcomes in 14 newcomers to the 2018 Wildcats (11 freshmen. 3 transfers), to pair with key returners Will Brennan, Cameron Thompson, Kasey Ford and others ... K-State graduated its entire starting infield while catcher Josh Rolette was selected in last season's MLB Draft ... Four position players - Brennan, Thompson, Kyle Barfield and Hanz Harker - are the only players set to return that started at least 20 games last year ... The Cats will lean heavily on their group of newcomers, including junior-transfer Drew Mount who is expected to earn the starting center field job, moving Thompson to his natural position of shortstop ... K-State was selected to finish ninth in the Big 12's preseason coaches' poll, collecting nine points.
SCOUTING ELON
K-State meets Elon in a midweek matchup at Latham Park in Elon, North Carolina ... The Phoenix went 0-3 in the season's first weekend after being swept at home by Penn State ... Elon lost all three games by a combined four runs, including two one-run ballgames ... The Phoenix pitching staff averaged over 14 strikeouts a game against the Nittany Lions ... Opening Day starter George Kirby had 11 strikeouts in five innings ... Three Phoenix starters combined to fan 28 hitters in the three-game set ... Junior infielder Shawn Blake is 5-for-9 (.556) with a homer and four runs to lead Elon through three games ... Elon was picked fifth in the Colonial preseason coaches' poll and finished 2017 with a 24-32 overall record.
MAKING A SPLASH
K-State welcomes 14 newcomers to its 2018 squad ... TK McWhertor, Rainer Ausmus and Drew Mount, all junior transfers, each collected their first hits in a Wildcat uniform as home runs ... McWhertor hit a two-run shot in his first at-bat in the season opener vs South Alabama, as he drove in four runs in the game after missing all of 2017 due to Tommy John surgery ... Ausmus hit a game-tying bomb in the sixth inning Monday against Virginia Tech while Mount's three-run homer proved to be the game-winning hit in the eighth inning against the Hokies.
CARDIAC CATS
After three wins when trailing after seven innings last season, K-State has already picked up one such victory in 2018 (6-5 over Virginia Tech on Monday) ... The day before, K-State scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to force extra innings at Coastal Carolina ... Cameron Thompson's two-run single in the ninth helped K-State erase a three-run deficit against the Chanticleers ... Mount's homer also erased a three-run hole for the Cats against Virginia Tech.
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
K-State's leadoff hitter Will Brennan has shown no signs of slowing down after his freshman all-American campaign a year ago ... The sophomore left fielder ended 2017 on a 23-game on-base streak and has hit safely in all four games of 2018, extending his career-long streak ... Last season, Brennan was the Big 12's most difficult player to strike out, going over 15 at-bats for every strikeout and has yet to go down on strikes this year ... Sophomore righty Kasey Ford earned the honor of being the Opening Day starter and struck out a career-best eight batters over five innings.
CAN'T TOUCH THIS
Through the season's first four games, the K-State pitching staff has accumulated 42 strikeouts against just 10 walks (10.6 K/9, 2.5 BB/9) ... The staff struck out a season-high 11 hitters with just one walk in a 6-5 victory over Virginia Tech ... Kasey Ford and Jared Marolf have topped their single-game highs they set last season, as Ford fanned eight Friday and Marolf punched out seven in relief at Coastal Carolina ... Eleven of K-State's 14 pitchers that have appeared have picked up multiple strikeouts.
GAME #5
K-STATE (1-3, 0-0 Big 12) vs. ELON (1-3, 0-0 CAA)
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 // 3 p.m. CT // Walter C. Latham Field (2,000) // Elon, N.C.
Projected Starters: RHP Caleb Littlejim (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Dean McCarthy (0-0, 27.00 ERA)
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Mitch Fortner (play-by-play) / Christopher Brown (analyst)
Listen Online (free) | Live Stats
A LOOK AT K-STATE
Kansas State competed at the 19th Annual Brittain Resorts Baseball at the Beach in Myrtle Beach and Conway, South Carolina, in the season's opening weekend ... K-State finished 1-3 in the tournament, picking up its lone win on the final day of the event in a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech at TicketReturn.com Field ... Junior-transfer Drew Mount's three-run home run in the eighth inning capped the Wildcat comeback after the Cats trailed the Hokies, 5-2, entering the inning ... Will Brenna singled home Brett Owen to begin K-State's four-run eighth ... Rainer Ausmus also hit a home run in the game, breaking up VT's no-hit bid in the sixth inning ... The homer was Ausmus' first hit and homer as a Wildcat ... K-State faced back-to-back ranked opponent to open the season, its first time meeting a ranked team in the season's first weekend since head coach Brad Hill's first season (2004).
2018 OUTLOOK
The Cats said farewell to nine seniors from the 2017 team, and 14 total letterwinners from a year ago, including Jake Scudder, who led the team each of the past two seasons in homers and RBI ... K-State welcomes in 14 newcomers to the 2018 Wildcats (11 freshmen. 3 transfers), to pair with key returners Will Brennan, Cameron Thompson, Kasey Ford and others ... K-State graduated its entire starting infield while catcher Josh Rolette was selected in last season's MLB Draft ... Four position players - Brennan, Thompson, Kyle Barfield and Hanz Harker - are the only players set to return that started at least 20 games last year ... The Cats will lean heavily on their group of newcomers, including junior-transfer Drew Mount who is expected to earn the starting center field job, moving Thompson to his natural position of shortstop ... K-State was selected to finish ninth in the Big 12's preseason coaches' poll, collecting nine points.
SCOUTING ELON
K-State meets Elon in a midweek matchup at Latham Park in Elon, North Carolina ... The Phoenix went 0-3 in the season's first weekend after being swept at home by Penn State ... Elon lost all three games by a combined four runs, including two one-run ballgames ... The Phoenix pitching staff averaged over 14 strikeouts a game against the Nittany Lions ... Opening Day starter George Kirby had 11 strikeouts in five innings ... Three Phoenix starters combined to fan 28 hitters in the three-game set ... Junior infielder Shawn Blake is 5-for-9 (.556) with a homer and four runs to lead Elon through three games ... Elon was picked fifth in the Colonial preseason coaches' poll and finished 2017 with a 24-32 overall record.
MAKING A SPLASH
K-State welcomes 14 newcomers to its 2018 squad ... TK McWhertor, Rainer Ausmus and Drew Mount, all junior transfers, each collected their first hits in a Wildcat uniform as home runs ... McWhertor hit a two-run shot in his first at-bat in the season opener vs South Alabama, as he drove in four runs in the game after missing all of 2017 due to Tommy John surgery ... Ausmus hit a game-tying bomb in the sixth inning Monday against Virginia Tech while Mount's three-run homer proved to be the game-winning hit in the eighth inning against the Hokies.
CARDIAC CATS
After three wins when trailing after seven innings last season, K-State has already picked up one such victory in 2018 (6-5 over Virginia Tech on Monday) ... The day before, K-State scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to force extra innings at Coastal Carolina ... Cameron Thompson's two-run single in the ninth helped K-State erase a three-run deficit against the Chanticleers ... Mount's homer also erased a three-run hole for the Cats against Virginia Tech.
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
K-State's leadoff hitter Will Brennan has shown no signs of slowing down after his freshman all-American campaign a year ago ... The sophomore left fielder ended 2017 on a 23-game on-base streak and has hit safely in all four games of 2018, extending his career-long streak ... Last season, Brennan was the Big 12's most difficult player to strike out, going over 15 at-bats for every strikeout and has yet to go down on strikes this year ... Sophomore righty Kasey Ford earned the honor of being the Opening Day starter and struck out a career-best eight batters over five innings.
CAN'T TOUCH THIS
Through the season's first four games, the K-State pitching staff has accumulated 42 strikeouts against just 10 walks (10.6 K/9, 2.5 BB/9) ... The staff struck out a season-high 11 hitters with just one walk in a 6-5 victory over Virginia Tech ... Kasey Ford and Jared Marolf have topped their single-game highs they set last season, as Ford fanned eight Friday and Marolf punched out seven in relief at Coastal Carolina ... Eleven of K-State's 14 pitchers that have appeared have picked up multiple strikeouts.
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