Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, March 30
Manhattan, Kan.
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
15-12, 2-3
11
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Texas
16-12, 5-3
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Kansas State
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Thompson Delivers Walk-Off Single, K-State Survives Wild Night
Mar 31, 2018 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Cameron Thompson delivered a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give K-State an 11-10 walk-off victory over the Texas Longhorns Friday night at Tointon Family Stadium.
Thompson's fifth hit of the ballgame came on the heels of Texas tying the game with seven runs in the top of the ninth – all with two outs. K-State (15-12, 2-3 Big 12) clinched its first home series win over Texas (16-12, 5-3 Big 12) since 1998.
"Wow, I'm speechless for once," said head coach Brad Hill. "I've been around [baseball] 32 years, and that's one of the craziest things I've seen. Great resolve by our guys after they put up a seven-spot in the top of the ninth. You think you're walking out of here with a win, next thing you know, it's tied up. Our guys came out and got that run to win it, that says a lot about them."
Freshman second baseman Brett Owen sparked the Wildcats' rally with a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth off Longhorns reliever Beau Ridgeway. After Ridgeway hit the next two batters he faced, the bases were full for Thompson, who drove home the game-winning run.
"We needed something good to happen for us, he made it happen," Hill said of Owen's leadoff single. "A couple hit by pitch and we took advantage. We were so much better at the plate, we put pretty good swings on the ball."
"That was pretty crazy," Thompson said. "They brought in five infielders, so I was just trying to get something up, but I hit it up the middle. I was just trying to keep it simple.
"Everybody bounced back really well, I saw no frustration in the dugout."
Thompson, a sophomore shortstop, finished 5-for-5 with two runs batted in and three runs scored and was a home run short of the cycle. His five hits were a career high.
Eleven Texas batters came to the plate in the Longhorns' seven-run ninth inning, as they registered five hits and drew three walks off K-State's Mitch Zubradt and Jaxon Passino. Zubradt began the inning and recorded two outs but surrendered four hits and was charged with five runs. Passino walked the first two batters he saw before giving up a three-run double to Tate Shaw that tied the game.
Zubradt tossed a career-high 3 2/3 innings and issued four walks. Passino earned his first win of the year.
The Wildcats held a 5-1 lead after three innings after senior Trent McMaster belted a three-run home run in the third inning, the first of his career. McMaster ended the night going 2-for-4 with a career-high five RBI.
A four-run sixth inning that included two-run, two-out singles by both McMaster and Dylan Watts pushed the Cats' lead to 9-3. Thompson scampered home on a wild pitch in the eighth following his leadoff triple, and K-State led the Horns 10-3 headed to the game's last frame.
Watts finished the game 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored.
K-State starting pitcher Caleb Littlejim allowed three earned runs on three hits in 3 2/3 innings of work. Littlejim allowed two in the fourth before being lifted in favor of freshman Andrew Stratman.
Stratman held UT scoreless through 1 1/3 innings before Zubradt took over to begin the sixth. Zubradt limited Texas to one base hit before the ninth inning.
Senior outfielder Hanz Harker posted a two-hit game, as four Wildcats registered multi-hit performances.
K-State chased UT starter Nolan Kingham after just two innings after he gave up two earned runs and three hits. In 2017, Kingham tossed nine scoreless innings against the Cats in a 2-0 win in Austin.
All 10 of Texas' runs in the game came with two outs, including a solo home run by Andy McGuire in the second inning. It was the first career home run for McGuire.
K-State and Texas conclude the three-game set at Tointon Family Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m., as senior Justin Heskett gets the ball for the Cats. The series finale will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the ESPN app, while fans can also be listen live on KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) and streaming live on kstatesports.com.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Thompson's fifth hit of the ballgame came on the heels of Texas tying the game with seven runs in the top of the ninth – all with two outs. K-State (15-12, 2-3 Big 12) clinched its first home series win over Texas (16-12, 5-3 Big 12) since 1998.
"Wow, I'm speechless for once," said head coach Brad Hill. "I've been around [baseball] 32 years, and that's one of the craziest things I've seen. Great resolve by our guys after they put up a seven-spot in the top of the ninth. You think you're walking out of here with a win, next thing you know, it's tied up. Our guys came out and got that run to win it, that says a lot about them."
Freshman second baseman Brett Owen sparked the Wildcats' rally with a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth off Longhorns reliever Beau Ridgeway. After Ridgeway hit the next two batters he faced, the bases were full for Thompson, who drove home the game-winning run.
"We needed something good to happen for us, he made it happen," Hill said of Owen's leadoff single. "A couple hit by pitch and we took advantage. We were so much better at the plate, we put pretty good swings on the ball."
"That was pretty crazy," Thompson said. "They brought in five infielders, so I was just trying to get something up, but I hit it up the middle. I was just trying to keep it simple.
"Everybody bounced back really well, I saw no frustration in the dugout."
Thompson, a sophomore shortstop, finished 5-for-5 with two runs batted in and three runs scored and was a home run short of the cycle. His five hits were a career high.
Eleven Texas batters came to the plate in the Longhorns' seven-run ninth inning, as they registered five hits and drew three walks off K-State's Mitch Zubradt and Jaxon Passino. Zubradt began the inning and recorded two outs but surrendered four hits and was charged with five runs. Passino walked the first two batters he saw before giving up a three-run double to Tate Shaw that tied the game.
Zubradt tossed a career-high 3 2/3 innings and issued four walks. Passino earned his first win of the year.
The Wildcats held a 5-1 lead after three innings after senior Trent McMaster belted a three-run home run in the third inning, the first of his career. McMaster ended the night going 2-for-4 with a career-high five RBI.
A four-run sixth inning that included two-run, two-out singles by both McMaster and Dylan Watts pushed the Cats' lead to 9-3. Thompson scampered home on a wild pitch in the eighth following his leadoff triple, and K-State led the Horns 10-3 headed to the game's last frame.
Watts finished the game 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored.
K-State starting pitcher Caleb Littlejim allowed three earned runs on three hits in 3 2/3 innings of work. Littlejim allowed two in the fourth before being lifted in favor of freshman Andrew Stratman.
Stratman held UT scoreless through 1 1/3 innings before Zubradt took over to begin the sixth. Zubradt limited Texas to one base hit before the ninth inning.
Senior outfielder Hanz Harker posted a two-hit game, as four Wildcats registered multi-hit performances.
K-State chased UT starter Nolan Kingham after just two innings after he gave up two earned runs and three hits. In 2017, Kingham tossed nine scoreless innings against the Cats in a 2-0 win in Austin.
All 10 of Texas' runs in the game came with two outs, including a solo home run by Andy McGuire in the second inning. It was the first career home run for McGuire.
K-State and Texas conclude the three-game set at Tointon Family Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m., as senior Justin Heskett gets the ball for the Cats. The series finale will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the ESPN app, while fans can also be listen live on KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) and streaming live on kstatesports.com.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored 11 runs on 13 hits with one error and left 10 runners on base. Texas scored 10 runs on 10 hits without an error and stranded 10 baserunners.
- Four Wildcats had multi-hit games: Harker, McMaster, Thompson and Watts.
- Thompson had a career-high five hits and was a home run short of the cycle.
- McMaster hit the first home run of his career and had a career-best five RBI.
- Thompson and Watts each had two RBI.
- Texas scored all 10 of its runs with two outs and hit .400 (6-for-15) with two outs in the game.
- K-State had seven two-out RBI.
- Zubradt tossed a career-high 3 2/3 innings.
- Texas now leads the all-time series, 55-18-1, are 44-18-1 in Big 12 play.
- K-State clinched its first home series against Texas since 1998.
- The Cats win their first series overall with the Longhorns since 2013.
- The Wildcats' 11 runs are their highest output against the Longhorns since 2007.
- The 21 combined runs are the most in a game in the series since 2008 (22 runs).
- Hill is now 13-33-1 in his career vs. Texas.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Passino, Jaxon (1-0)
L: Ridgeway, Beau (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Shaw, Tate 1 ; Zubia, Zach 1
HR: McGuire, Andy 1
RBI: Shaw, Tate 3 ; Zubia, Zach 1 ; McGuire, Andy 3 ; McKenzie, Jake 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Shaw, Tate 1 ; Clemens, Kody 1 ; Zubia, Zach 1 ; Petrinsky, DJ 1 ; McCann, Michael 1 ; McGuire, Andy 3 ; Hamilton, David 1 ; Ellis, Duke 1
SB: Hamilton, David 1
Batting:
2B: Watts, Dylan 1 ; Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Harker, Hanz 1
3B: Thompson, Cameron 1
HR: McMaster, Trent 1
RBI: Watts, Dylan 2 ; Thompson, Cameron 2 ; McMaster, Trent 5
SH: McWhertor, TK 1 ; Owen, Brett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brennan, Will 1 ; Watts, Dylan 2 ; Thompson, Cameron 3 ; McMaster, Trent 1 ; Harker, Hanz 2 ; Owen, Brett 2
HBP: Brennan, Will 2 ; Watts, Dylan 1 ; Harker, Hanz 1 ; Owen, Brett 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
3
H
5
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
5
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
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