Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, March 9
Manhattan, Kan.
3 p.m.
Kansas State University
vs
Mercer
K-State, Mercer Streak into Weekend Set at Tointon
Mar 08, 2018 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State, winners of eight of its last nine games, will face a nonconference test in the Mercer Bears, who visit Tointon Family Stadium for a three-game series beginning Friday at 3 p.m.
Mercer (11-3) possesses the nation's fourth-highest scoring offense at over 10 runs per game while ranking fifth with 23 total home runs. The Bears, like the Wildcats, are 8-1 in their last nine games.
The entire three-game series will be streamed live on the ESPN app and WatchESPN with live audio also streaming at k-statesports.com. Fans in the Manhattan area can also listen to action on KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM).
GAME #13
K-STATE (8-4, 0-0 BIG 12) vs. MERCER (11-3, 0-0 SOCON)
Friday, March 9, 2018 // 3 p.m. CT // Tointon Family Stadium (2,331) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Kasey Ford (2-0, 5.09 ERA) vs. LHP Christian Vann (2-0, 1.56 ERA)
Watch: ESPN app // ESPN3 // Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Craig Wilson (analyst)
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters and John Kurtz
Promotion: Dollar Dog Friday | Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats
GAME #14
K-STATE (8-4, 0-0 BIG 12) vs. MERCER (11-3, 0-0 SOCON)
Saturday, March 10, 2018 // 2 p.m. CT // Tointon Family Stadium (2,331) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Gabe Littlejim (1-1, 7.17 ERA) vs. LHP Austin Cox (3-0, 4.80 ERA)
Watch: ESPN app // ESPN3 // Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Mike Clark (analyst)
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters and John Kurtz
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats | Tickets
GAME #15
K-STATE (8-4, 0-0 BIG 12) vs. MERCER (11-3, 0-0 SOCON)
Sunday, March 11, 2018 // 12 p.m. CT // Tointon Family Stadium (2,331) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Justin Heskett (1-1, 5.51 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Burks (2-0 (5.02 ERA)
Watch: ESPN app // ESPN3 // Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Mike Clark (analyst)
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters and John Kurtz
Promotion: Family Day & Willie's Fun Zone | Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats
A LOOK AT K-STATE
Kansas State picked up its fourth straight win, and eighth in its last nine, with a 14-3, run-rule shortened win over Incarnate Word Wednesday at Tointon Family Stadium ... In the contest, Jake Biller drove in a career-high six runs, including his first-career grand slam as part of an eight-run sixth inning ... Biller has three homers in his past five games ... Drew Mount added a solo shot in the fourth, pushing his team-leading total to five ... Mount tallied two RBI to up his season total to 18 to lead the Big 12 ... Seven different Wildcats drove in a run in the Cats' highest-scoring game of the season ... K-State sent 10 to the plate in the third inning and brought 13 hitters up to bat in the sixth inning.
A LOOK AT MERCER
Mercer (11-3) visits Manhattan for the team's first-ever meeting ... The Bears, like K-State, have won eight of their last nine games after a 10-1 home win over Savannah State on Wednesday ... Mercer possesses the nation's fourth-highest scoring offense at 10.1 runs per game, including a program-record 33 runs scored on Monday vs. Holy Cross ... The Bears' 23 home runs rank fifth in the country and 141 total runs scored are third ... Catcher JT Thomas was selected the 2018 Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year and named a preseason all-American ... The 5-foot-10 senior is batting .444 with 24 base hits ... On the mound, Mercer ranks second nationally with 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings, aided by two games with 23 strikeouts.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
K-State and Mercer will meet for the first time Friday ... The Wildcats are a combined 1-6 against current members of the Southland Conference, including an 0-3 record at home after a three-game sweep at the hands of Western Carolina in 2016.
FRIENDLY CONFINES OF TOINTON
K-State won its first four home games for the sixth straight season ... The Cats won their first five games at home last season and won their first nine home games in 2014 ... In K-State's 4-0 home start this season, it boasts a slash line of .359/.449/.648 with six home runs and 24 extra-base hits ... Junior Drew Mount's .571 average (8-for-14) in home games leads the Wildcats while Jake Biller's 10 runs batted in in home games is best on the team ... K-State is averaging 9.8 runs per game and 13.0 hits per game at Tointon Family Stadium in 2018 ... In 2017, K-State posted a 15-5 (.750) home nonconference mark.
HIT PARADE
K-State has reached double-digit hits in each of its last eight games, its longest such streak under 15th-year head coach Brad Hill ... Over those eight contests, the Cats are putting up 12.6 hits/game to go with 9.6 runs/game ... The eight consecutive games with 10 or more hits is the longest streak since the Wildcats recorded 10+ hits in the last eight games of the 2002 season ... Last season, K-State's longest string of double-figure hits was just five games.
MOUNT CRUSHMORE
For the second consecutive week, K-State junior-transfer Drew Mount took home Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, the conference office announced Monday ... He is the first Wildcat to earn the distinction in back-to-back weeks since the award's inception in 2011 ... In the three-game sweep of La Salle, he posted a slash line of .545/600/1.455 with five of his six hits going for extra bases ... He posted two triples and a home run in Friday's 9-3 win, becoming the first Wildcat to record a multi-triple game since 2013 (Ross Kivett) ... The Santa Clara, California, native leads the Big 12 in runs batted (18) and is tied for second with five homers and ranks third in slugging at .881 ... His three triples, which all came in the La Salle series, and 10 stolen bases rank him tops in the conference and third nationally in the categories.
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 ... He leads the Big 12 with 25 base hits, which ranks fourth in the nation ... Brennan's .455 average places him second on the conference charts, just ahead and teammate TK McWhertor's .452 clip that places him third ... The sophomore left fielder ended 2017 on a 23-game on-base streak and has hit safely in all 12 games of 2018, extending his career-long on-base streak to 35 games ... In 55 at-bats, Brennan has struck out just twice, making him the most difficult hitter to strike out in the conference ... Last season, Brennan led the conference in the category, going 15.3 at-bats per strikeout.
SPEED KILLS
Through the season's first 12 games, K-State has swiped 34 bases on 36 attempts to rank No. 4 in the nation and first in the Big 12 - 14 more than Texas who is second with 20 steals ... Four of the top seven on the league leaderboard for stolen bases are Wildcats, with Drew Mount leading the way with 10 ... Will Brennan has nine (2nd), Cameron Thompson has five (6th) and Kyle Barfield has four steals (7th) ... Through 11 games in 2017, K-State had just seven steals (12 attempts) ... The 34 stolen bases are the Cats' highest total through 12 games since 2009 when they had 39 steals ... K-State went on to steal a program-record 149 bags that season.
QUALITY FOR ALL
Through the season's first three weekends, K-State starting pitchers have combined to toss five quality starts (6IP, 3 ER) in 12 games with each weekend starter (Kasey Ford, Gabe Littlejim, Justin Heskett) contributing at least one ... Ford has produced back-to-back quality starts and picked up two wins at Old Dominion and vs. La Salle (both Friday night starts) ... Heskett also has two quality starts, including a career-long outing of 7 2/3 innings on Sunday in helping K-State complete the sweep of La Salle ... Littlejim's first two starts of the season, and his Wildcat career, were quality efforts and the junior-transfer has yet to walk a batter through three Saturday starts.
Mercer (11-3) possesses the nation's fourth-highest scoring offense at over 10 runs per game while ranking fifth with 23 total home runs. The Bears, like the Wildcats, are 8-1 in their last nine games.
The entire three-game series will be streamed live on the ESPN app and WatchESPN with live audio also streaming at k-statesports.com. Fans in the Manhattan area can also listen to action on KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM).
GAME #13
K-STATE (8-4, 0-0 BIG 12) vs. MERCER (11-3, 0-0 SOCON)
Friday, March 9, 2018 // 3 p.m. CT // Tointon Family Stadium (2,331) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Kasey Ford (2-0, 5.09 ERA) vs. LHP Christian Vann (2-0, 1.56 ERA)
Watch: ESPN app // ESPN3 // Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Craig Wilson (analyst)
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters and John Kurtz
Promotion: Dollar Dog Friday | Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats
GAME #14
K-STATE (8-4, 0-0 BIG 12) vs. MERCER (11-3, 0-0 SOCON)
Saturday, March 10, 2018 // 2 p.m. CT // Tointon Family Stadium (2,331) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Gabe Littlejim (1-1, 7.17 ERA) vs. LHP Austin Cox (3-0, 4.80 ERA)
Watch: ESPN app // ESPN3 // Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Mike Clark (analyst)
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters and John Kurtz
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats | Tickets
GAME #15
K-STATE (8-4, 0-0 BIG 12) vs. MERCER (11-3, 0-0 SOCON)
Sunday, March 11, 2018 // 12 p.m. CT // Tointon Family Stadium (2,331) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Justin Heskett (1-1, 5.51 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Burks (2-0 (5.02 ERA)
Watch: ESPN app // ESPN3 // Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Mike Clark (analyst)
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters and John Kurtz
Promotion: Family Day & Willie's Fun Zone | Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats
A LOOK AT K-STATE
Kansas State picked up its fourth straight win, and eighth in its last nine, with a 14-3, run-rule shortened win over Incarnate Word Wednesday at Tointon Family Stadium ... In the contest, Jake Biller drove in a career-high six runs, including his first-career grand slam as part of an eight-run sixth inning ... Biller has three homers in his past five games ... Drew Mount added a solo shot in the fourth, pushing his team-leading total to five ... Mount tallied two RBI to up his season total to 18 to lead the Big 12 ... Seven different Wildcats drove in a run in the Cats' highest-scoring game of the season ... K-State sent 10 to the plate in the third inning and brought 13 hitters up to bat in the sixth inning.
A LOOK AT MERCER
Mercer (11-3) visits Manhattan for the team's first-ever meeting ... The Bears, like K-State, have won eight of their last nine games after a 10-1 home win over Savannah State on Wednesday ... Mercer possesses the nation's fourth-highest scoring offense at 10.1 runs per game, including a program-record 33 runs scored on Monday vs. Holy Cross ... The Bears' 23 home runs rank fifth in the country and 141 total runs scored are third ... Catcher JT Thomas was selected the 2018 Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year and named a preseason all-American ... The 5-foot-10 senior is batting .444 with 24 base hits ... On the mound, Mercer ranks second nationally with 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings, aided by two games with 23 strikeouts.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
K-State and Mercer will meet for the first time Friday ... The Wildcats are a combined 1-6 against current members of the Southland Conference, including an 0-3 record at home after a three-game sweep at the hands of Western Carolina in 2016.
FRIENDLY CONFINES OF TOINTON
K-State won its first four home games for the sixth straight season ... The Cats won their first five games at home last season and won their first nine home games in 2014 ... In K-State's 4-0 home start this season, it boasts a slash line of .359/.449/.648 with six home runs and 24 extra-base hits ... Junior Drew Mount's .571 average (8-for-14) in home games leads the Wildcats while Jake Biller's 10 runs batted in in home games is best on the team ... K-State is averaging 9.8 runs per game and 13.0 hits per game at Tointon Family Stadium in 2018 ... In 2017, K-State posted a 15-5 (.750) home nonconference mark.
HIT PARADE
K-State has reached double-digit hits in each of its last eight games, its longest such streak under 15th-year head coach Brad Hill ... Over those eight contests, the Cats are putting up 12.6 hits/game to go with 9.6 runs/game ... The eight consecutive games with 10 or more hits is the longest streak since the Wildcats recorded 10+ hits in the last eight games of the 2002 season ... Last season, K-State's longest string of double-figure hits was just five games.
MOUNT CRUSHMORE
For the second consecutive week, K-State junior-transfer Drew Mount took home Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, the conference office announced Monday ... He is the first Wildcat to earn the distinction in back-to-back weeks since the award's inception in 2011 ... In the three-game sweep of La Salle, he posted a slash line of .545/600/1.455 with five of his six hits going for extra bases ... He posted two triples and a home run in Friday's 9-3 win, becoming the first Wildcat to record a multi-triple game since 2013 (Ross Kivett) ... The Santa Clara, California, native leads the Big 12 in runs batted (18) and is tied for second with five homers and ranks third in slugging at .881 ... His three triples, which all came in the La Salle series, and 10 stolen bases rank him tops in the conference and third nationally in the categories.
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 ... He leads the Big 12 with 25 base hits, which ranks fourth in the nation ... Brennan's .455 average places him second on the conference charts, just ahead and teammate TK McWhertor's .452 clip that places him third ... The sophomore left fielder ended 2017 on a 23-game on-base streak and has hit safely in all 12 games of 2018, extending his career-long on-base streak to 35 games ... In 55 at-bats, Brennan has struck out just twice, making him the most difficult hitter to strike out in the conference ... Last season, Brennan led the conference in the category, going 15.3 at-bats per strikeout.
SPEED KILLS
Through the season's first 12 games, K-State has swiped 34 bases on 36 attempts to rank No. 4 in the nation and first in the Big 12 - 14 more than Texas who is second with 20 steals ... Four of the top seven on the league leaderboard for stolen bases are Wildcats, with Drew Mount leading the way with 10 ... Will Brennan has nine (2nd), Cameron Thompson has five (6th) and Kyle Barfield has four steals (7th) ... Through 11 games in 2017, K-State had just seven steals (12 attempts) ... The 34 stolen bases are the Cats' highest total through 12 games since 2009 when they had 39 steals ... K-State went on to steal a program-record 149 bags that season.
QUALITY FOR ALL
Through the season's first three weekends, K-State starting pitchers have combined to toss five quality starts (6IP, 3 ER) in 12 games with each weekend starter (Kasey Ford, Gabe Littlejim, Justin Heskett) contributing at least one ... Ford has produced back-to-back quality starts and picked up two wins at Old Dominion and vs. La Salle (both Friday night starts) ... Heskett also has two quality starts, including a career-long outing of 7 2/3 innings on Sunday in helping K-State complete the sweep of La Salle ... Littlejim's first two starts of the season, and his Wildcat career, were quality efforts and the junior-transfer has yet to walk a batter through three Saturday starts.
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