Kansas State University Athletics
Monday, February 18
Northridge, Calif.
4 p.m.
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Kansas State
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Six-Run Ninth Saves Series Split for Wildcats
Feb 18, 2019 | Baseball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The K-State offense broke out with a six-run ninth inning, highlighted by a go-ahead two-run double from Jordan Maxson to go with a two-run triple by Chris Ceballos, as the Wildcats claimed an 11-5 victory to earn a series split with CSUN at Matador Field Monday.
K-State (2-2) climbed out of an early three-run hole with five unanswered runs and took a 5-3 lead with a three-run sixth. CSUN (2-2) tied the game with a pair in the seventh before the Wildcats registered six hits – three for extra bases – in batting around in the top of the ninth.
"Really good, resilient team win," head coach Pete Hughes said. "Showed a lot of toughness as a team and individually – great effort by all. Kasey Ford with a grinder of a start. Freshman Eric Torres with his first appearance in a huge situation and Griffin Hassall were great out of the pen. Big plays and hits by Caleb Littlejim and Maxson. Can't say enough about senior Mitch Zubradt. He was a dominant, strike-throwing machine. Proud of these guys. Good day to build on."
Cameron Thompson sparked the six-run ninth with a single. Will Brennan followed with a double before Maxson broke the tie game with his double to right-center field. Terrence Spurlin and Zach Kokoska each singled ahead of Ceballos' two-run triple.
Ceballos, a Chino Hills, California, native, paced the K-State offense, going 4-for-5 with a double, triple, three RBI and four runs scored. Littlejim had a three-hit day that included two doubles and two runs batted in.
Zubradt, who earned his first career save earlier in the series, threw the final three innings for the Cats. The senior allowed just one base hit with five strikeouts in earning the win.
Ford went 4 2/3 innings with four strikeouts in the start, yielding three earned runs on nine hits.
Hassall did not allow a head in his inning of work, as he, Torres and Zubradt combined to limit CSUN to one hit over the final 4 1/3 innings.
CSUN's Brandon Bohning launched a two-run home run in the first inning off Ford to give the Matadors an early two-run advantage. In the inning, CSUN produced three hits including a double from catcher Austin Elder.
Matadors center fielder Robert Bullard, who led off the game with a single, added a solo shot in the second to tack on one run to push CSUN's lead to 3-0 after two innings.
K-State cut into the deficit with single runs in the third and fourth innings. Ceballos singled in the third and later scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch by Matadors starter Blake Sodersten. In the fourth, Ceballos and Littlejim delivered back-to-back two-out doubles to make it a one-run game.
Torres made his collegiate debut in the bottom of the fifth with the bases loaded and two out. The freshman lefty proceeded to punch out Bullard to keep the Cats within a run.
K-State then broke through in the next half inning, plating three in the sixth on two hits. Ceballos and Littlejim again accounted for the damage as Ceballos delivered an RBI single and Littlejim followed up with an RBI double and scored on a sac fly off the bat of Thomas Hughes.
A pair of unearned runs by CSUN tied the game in the seventh. Kyle Barret's two-out single scored Denzel Clark and Andrew Lucas.
Brennan and Spurlin were each 2-for-4. The Cats out-hit the Matadors 14-10 and posted six extra-base hits.
Bullard and Elder each had three hits to lead the Matadors, who stranded 16 runners on base in the ballgame.
Sodersten, making his collegiate start for CSUN, went 4 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and two earned on six hits. Reliever Jayson Newman was tagged for the loss after giving up six earned runs on six hits over 1 2/3 innings.
K-State will make a Wednesday night stop at California Baptist for an 8 p.m. CT at James W. Totman Stadium in Riverside, California. The game will stream live on CBULancers.com with coverage also available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio can also be found at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
K-State (2-2) climbed out of an early three-run hole with five unanswered runs and took a 5-3 lead with a three-run sixth. CSUN (2-2) tied the game with a pair in the seventh before the Wildcats registered six hits – three for extra bases – in batting around in the top of the ninth.
"Really good, resilient team win," head coach Pete Hughes said. "Showed a lot of toughness as a team and individually – great effort by all. Kasey Ford with a grinder of a start. Freshman Eric Torres with his first appearance in a huge situation and Griffin Hassall were great out of the pen. Big plays and hits by Caleb Littlejim and Maxson. Can't say enough about senior Mitch Zubradt. He was a dominant, strike-throwing machine. Proud of these guys. Good day to build on."
Cameron Thompson sparked the six-run ninth with a single. Will Brennan followed with a double before Maxson broke the tie game with his double to right-center field. Terrence Spurlin and Zach Kokoska each singled ahead of Ceballos' two-run triple.
Ceballos, a Chino Hills, California, native, paced the K-State offense, going 4-for-5 with a double, triple, three RBI and four runs scored. Littlejim had a three-hit day that included two doubles and two runs batted in.
Zubradt, who earned his first career save earlier in the series, threw the final three innings for the Cats. The senior allowed just one base hit with five strikeouts in earning the win.
Ford went 4 2/3 innings with four strikeouts in the start, yielding three earned runs on nine hits.
Hassall did not allow a head in his inning of work, as he, Torres and Zubradt combined to limit CSUN to one hit over the final 4 1/3 innings.
CSUN's Brandon Bohning launched a two-run home run in the first inning off Ford to give the Matadors an early two-run advantage. In the inning, CSUN produced three hits including a double from catcher Austin Elder.
Matadors center fielder Robert Bullard, who led off the game with a single, added a solo shot in the second to tack on one run to push CSUN's lead to 3-0 after two innings.
K-State cut into the deficit with single runs in the third and fourth innings. Ceballos singled in the third and later scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch by Matadors starter Blake Sodersten. In the fourth, Ceballos and Littlejim delivered back-to-back two-out doubles to make it a one-run game.
Torres made his collegiate debut in the bottom of the fifth with the bases loaded and two out. The freshman lefty proceeded to punch out Bullard to keep the Cats within a run.
K-State then broke through in the next half inning, plating three in the sixth on two hits. Ceballos and Littlejim again accounted for the damage as Ceballos delivered an RBI single and Littlejim followed up with an RBI double and scored on a sac fly off the bat of Thomas Hughes.
A pair of unearned runs by CSUN tied the game in the seventh. Kyle Barret's two-out single scored Denzel Clark and Andrew Lucas.
Brennan and Spurlin were each 2-for-4. The Cats out-hit the Matadors 14-10 and posted six extra-base hits.
Bullard and Elder each had three hits to lead the Matadors, who stranded 16 runners on base in the ballgame.
Sodersten, making his collegiate start for CSUN, went 4 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and two earned on six hits. Reliever Jayson Newman was tagged for the loss after giving up six earned runs on six hits over 1 2/3 innings.
K-State will make a Wednesday night stop at California Baptist for an 8 p.m. CT at James W. Totman Stadium in Riverside, California. The game will stream live on CBULancers.com with coverage also available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio can also be found at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored 11 runs on 14 hits with two errors and seven left on base.
- CSUN scored five runs on 10 hits with an error and 16 left on base.
- K-State had six extra-base hits: five doubles and a triple.
- CSUN got home runs from Bullard and Bohning.
- K-State, who went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position in its previous two games, was 6-for-12 in the game.
- Ceballos went 4-for-5 with four runs and three RBI.
- Littlejim produced two doubles and a pair of RBI in a three-hit game.
- Brennan and Spurlin each went 2-for-4.
- The K-State bullpen limited CSUN to one base hit over the final 4 1/3 innings, picking up seven strikeouts.
- The all-time series between K-State and CSUN is now tied 4-4.
- K-State's all-time record moves to one game above .500 at 1,837-1836-10.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Zubradt, Mitch (1-0)
L: Newman, Jayson (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Brennan, Will 1 ; Maxson, Jordan 1 ; Ceballos, Chris 1 ; Littlejim, Caleb 2
3B: Ceballos, Chris 1
RBI: Hughes, Thomas 1 ; Maxson, Jordan 2 ; Spurlin, Terrence 1 ; Ceballos, Chris 3 ; Littlejim, Caleb 2
SF: Hughes, Thomas 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Brennan, Will 1 ; Burrows, Blake 1 ; Spurlin, Terrence 2 ; Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Ceballos, Chris 4 ; Littlejim, Caleb 1
Batting:
2B: Elder, Austin 1
HR: Bullard, Robert 1 ; Bohning, Brandon 1
RBI: Bullard, Robert 1 ; Bohning, Brandon 2 ; Barret, Kyle 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Bullard, Robert 2 ; Bohning, Brandon 1 ; Lucas, Andrew 1 ; Clarke, Denzel 1
SB: Clarke, Denzel 1
CS: Bullard, Robert 1
HBP: Ghan-Gibson, Wesley 1
Game Leaders
AB
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4
RBI
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5
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1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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