Kansas State University Athletics
Kansas State University
6-8
Old Dominion
11-3
Monarchs Take Sunday’s Rubber Match, 8-2
Mar 10, 2019 | Baseball
Old Dominion (11-3) capitalized on a first-inning error by K-State (6-8), leading to four unearned runs in the opening frame off Wildcat starter Will Brennan. The Wildcats scraped across two runs in the bottom of the fifth, only to see the Monarchs respond with four in the top half of the sixth.
"We certainly didn't help Will (Brennan) in his efforts to win a series and it started in the first inning," said head coach Pete Hughes. "It's frustrating because not a lot of balls left the infield (in the first inning). You don't make plays you should make and next thing you know, it's a 37-pitch inning. We have to do a better job defensively. We could've kept his pitch counts down and they wouldn't have scored four runs."
In total, ODU brought 10 hitters to the plate and three of its five hits in the inning were infield singles off Brennan. Brennan finished the inning by striking out the side and left the bases loaded.
Brennan went on to hold Old Dominion hitless over the next four innings and the Wildcat offense cut the deficit in half with two runs in the fifth. Consecutive singles from Terrence Spurlin, Zach Kokoska and Rainer Ausmus earned the Cats' initial run. Chris Ceballos' RBI fielder's choice put the score at 4-2 after five innings.
In the following half inning, Tommy Bell and Michael Marrale recorded back-to-back singles to spark ODU's four-run sixth. Andy Garriola delivered a two-out single with the bases loaded that pushed the Monarchs' lead to six runs at 8-2.
"We got a chance to cut it to a one-run game, but then Thomas (Hughes) hits into a double play," Hughes added. "Rather than having a shutdown inning, they get another four-run inning. Really good teams win series on Sundays and always avoid the big inning. We are learning to become that program. When you have a bad inning, it's a one-run or two-run inning, it never gets to four. We did that twice today and that was the story of the game."
Brennan suffered the loss, going 5 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and two walks. The junior lefty yielded a career-high seven runs (three earned) on eight hits.
Old Dominion starter Ryne Moore surrendered four hits over seven innings, striking out six without a walk in taking credit for the victory. Moore, and reliever Aaron Holiday, produced nine strikeouts without issuing a base on balls.
"He threw to the inside part of the plate," Hughes said of Moore. "We just didn't make adjustments on that all day long. We knew the plan of attack, but he slowed down our bats. He mixed his pitches but being able to throw to the inside part of the plate is what made his outing."
The first five hitters in the K-State lineup went without a base hit, as the Cats tallied five singles in the game.
ODU's leadoff hitter Kyle Battle went 2-for-5 with a double, the game's only extra-base hit. Catcher Michael Marrale was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
K-State went 1-for-10 with two outs while Old Dominion hit .400 (6-for-15).
Four Wildcat relievers combined to limit ODU to one hit over the final 3 1/3 innings, recording a total of six strikeouts and did not issue a walk.
K-State welcomes Northern Illinois to Tointon Family Stadium for a two-game midweek series starting Tuesday at 3 p.m. Both games against the Huskies will stream live on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. Coverage is also available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with streaming audio on K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
· K-State scored two runs on five hits and committed two errors and left four runners on base.
· Old Dominion scored eight runs on nine hits with two errors and stranded six baserunners.
· K-State went 1-for-10 with two outs while Old Dominion hit .400 (6-for-15).
· Battle's double in the sixth was the game's only extra-base hit.
· K-State got its leadoff man on base just once while ODU did so in four innings.
· The Wildcats were 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position while the Monarchs hit .357 (5-for-14) in the same situation.
· K-State reliever Andrew Stratman struck out the side in order in the top of the ninth inning.
· Four Wildcat relievers combined to limit ODU to one hit over the final 3 1/3 innings, recording a total of six strikeouts and did not issue a walk.
· K-State's top five batters in the lineup did not register a base hit.
NOTES
· The all-time series between K-State and Old Dominion is now tied 3-3.
· K-State has led in 11 of 14 games this season.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ryne Moore (3-0)
L: Brennan, Will (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Kyle Battle 1
RBI: Andy Garriola 2 ; Vinnie Pasquantino 1 ; Tommy Bell 1 ; Michael Marrale 1 ; Bryce Windham 2
SH: Bryce Windham 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kyle Battle 2 ; Matt Burch 1 ; Matt Schwarz 2 ; Vinnie Pasquantino 1 ; Erik Stock 1 ; Tommy Bell 1
SB: Matt Schwarz 1 ; Andy Garriola 1
CS: Bryce Windham 1
HBP: Matt Schwarz 1 ; Tommy Bell 1
Batting:
RBI: Ausmus, Rainer 1 ; Ceballos, Chris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Spurlin, Terrence 1 ; Kokoska, Zach 1
