Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, March 23
Stillwater, Okla.
2:35 p.m.
Kansas State University
11-12, 0
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Oklahoma State
14-7, 0
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9
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K-State
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11
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Oklahoma State
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X
5
8
1
Late Run Clinches Series for OSU
Mar 23, 2019 | Baseball
STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State's Jake Taylor lifted a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a tie game and give the Cowboys a 5-4 win over K-State Saturday at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
Oklahoma State (14-7, 2-0 Big 12) outfielder Carson McCusker led off the eighth with his second triple of the game off reliever Caleb Littlejim. Noah Sifrit entered as a pinch runner and beat Will Brennan's throw from center field to score the winning run.
K-State (11-12, 0-2 Big 12), who held a 4-3 lead after five and a half innings, drop its conference-opening series for the seventh straight season and has lost its last seven games overall to the Cowboys.
Wildcat starter Jordan Wicks matched his career high with eight strikeouts, as the freshman lefty went five full innings and yielded three earned runs on five hits.
Littlejim, who suffered the loss, drove in two at the plate for the Cats. Rainer Ausmus, Jeffrey Boggess, Chris Ceballos and Thomas Hughes each registered multi-hit games as K-State out-hit OSU, 11-8.
The K-State offense finished 1-for-9 (.111) with runners in scoring position while going 1-for-10 with two outs. The Cats stranded a dozen baserunners.
"If you don't do the little things right, then you get beat said head coach Pete Hughes said after the game. "There's no margin for error in this league and at this level. We've got to keep working at it until we start doing the little things right. We'll start winning games when that happens."
K-State manufactured single runs in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings to overcome a 2-0 hole after the first inning. OSU led 3-1 after three innings before the Cats scored three unanswered for a one-run edge.
OSU tied the game in the sixth with another sac fly before the game-winning sacrifice in the eighth.
Oklahoma State greeted Wicks with three straight hits to begin the home first, capped by a two-run double by Colin Simpson. Simpson's double scored Hueston Morrill and Andrew Navigato who singled.
Over the next four innings Wicks would allow just two hits and a walk with one run allowed. The Cats are now 5-1 in games Wicks starts.
With two outs in the top of the second, four straight Wildcat hitters reached base. Boggess started with a single before Ausmus walked and Hughes was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Littlejim worked a four-pitch walk to cut OSU's lead in half, 2-1.
Navigato led off the third with a home run off Wicks, pushing the Cowboy lead to 3-1. It marked Navigato's fourth homer of the season.
In the top of the fourth, a one-out double by Ausmus was followed by a single by Hughes, putting runners on the corners with one out. Littlejim drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly to right field, again cutting the deficit to one run at 3-2.
The Wildcats manufactured game-tying run in the top of the fifth after Cameron Thompson led off with a single and would come around to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Terrence Spurlin.
Brennan's RBI groundout gave the Cats their first lead of the game in the top of the sixth. Ausmus led off the frame with a single and Hughes walked. Littlejim's sacrifice bunt moved the runners 90 feet to make way for Brennan's run driven in on the season.
Oklahoma State leveled the score in the next half inning after Carson McCusker led off with a triple off Littlejim, who lifted Wicks after five innings. McCusker would come home on a sacrifice fly by Christian Funk.
Senior Mitch Zubradt retired all three batters he faced after coming into the game with no out in the bottom of the eight. Zubradt has not allowed an earned run in 10 relief appearances (12 innings) this season.
Wicks, Littlejim and Zubradt combined to limit OSU to a .111 average with two outs and 2-for-11 (.182) with runners on base.
McCusker, Navigato and Simpson each had two-hit games for the Cowboys, with Simpson driving in two.
OSU starter Joe Lienhard went five innings, allowing three earned on six hits. Lienhard struck out five and walked four.
K-State and Oklahoma State wrap up the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. The finale will be broadcast on FOX Sports Oklahoma and the FOX Sports app. Coverage is also available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free audio streaming at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Oklahoma State (14-7, 2-0 Big 12) outfielder Carson McCusker led off the eighth with his second triple of the game off reliever Caleb Littlejim. Noah Sifrit entered as a pinch runner and beat Will Brennan's throw from center field to score the winning run.
K-State (11-12, 0-2 Big 12), who held a 4-3 lead after five and a half innings, drop its conference-opening series for the seventh straight season and has lost its last seven games overall to the Cowboys.
Wildcat starter Jordan Wicks matched his career high with eight strikeouts, as the freshman lefty went five full innings and yielded three earned runs on five hits.
Littlejim, who suffered the loss, drove in two at the plate for the Cats. Rainer Ausmus, Jeffrey Boggess, Chris Ceballos and Thomas Hughes each registered multi-hit games as K-State out-hit OSU, 11-8.
The K-State offense finished 1-for-9 (.111) with runners in scoring position while going 1-for-10 with two outs. The Cats stranded a dozen baserunners.
"If you don't do the little things right, then you get beat said head coach Pete Hughes said after the game. "There's no margin for error in this league and at this level. We've got to keep working at it until we start doing the little things right. We'll start winning games when that happens."
K-State manufactured single runs in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings to overcome a 2-0 hole after the first inning. OSU led 3-1 after three innings before the Cats scored three unanswered for a one-run edge.
OSU tied the game in the sixth with another sac fly before the game-winning sacrifice in the eighth.
Oklahoma State greeted Wicks with three straight hits to begin the home first, capped by a two-run double by Colin Simpson. Simpson's double scored Hueston Morrill and Andrew Navigato who singled.
Over the next four innings Wicks would allow just two hits and a walk with one run allowed. The Cats are now 5-1 in games Wicks starts.
With two outs in the top of the second, four straight Wildcat hitters reached base. Boggess started with a single before Ausmus walked and Hughes was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Littlejim worked a four-pitch walk to cut OSU's lead in half, 2-1.
Navigato led off the third with a home run off Wicks, pushing the Cowboy lead to 3-1. It marked Navigato's fourth homer of the season.
In the top of the fourth, a one-out double by Ausmus was followed by a single by Hughes, putting runners on the corners with one out. Littlejim drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly to right field, again cutting the deficit to one run at 3-2.
The Wildcats manufactured game-tying run in the top of the fifth after Cameron Thompson led off with a single and would come around to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Terrence Spurlin.
Brennan's RBI groundout gave the Cats their first lead of the game in the top of the sixth. Ausmus led off the frame with a single and Hughes walked. Littlejim's sacrifice bunt moved the runners 90 feet to make way for Brennan's run driven in on the season.
Oklahoma State leveled the score in the next half inning after Carson McCusker led off with a triple off Littlejim, who lifted Wicks after five innings. McCusker would come home on a sacrifice fly by Christian Funk.
Senior Mitch Zubradt retired all three batters he faced after coming into the game with no out in the bottom of the eight. Zubradt has not allowed an earned run in 10 relief appearances (12 innings) this season.
Wicks, Littlejim and Zubradt combined to limit OSU to a .111 average with two outs and 2-for-11 (.182) with runners on base.
McCusker, Navigato and Simpson each had two-hit games for the Cowboys, with Simpson driving in two.
OSU starter Joe Lienhard went five innings, allowing three earned on six hits. Lienhard struck out five and walked four.
K-State and Oklahoma State wrap up the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. The finale will be broadcast on FOX Sports Oklahoma and the FOX Sports app. Coverage is also available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free audio streaming at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored four runs on 11 hits without an error and left 12 on base.
- Oklahoma State scored five runs on eight hits with one error and left six on base.
- Four Wildcats had multi-hit games: Ausmus, Boggess, Ceballos and Hughes.
- Wicks matched in career high with eight strikeouts.
- K-State is now 5-1 in games Wicks starts.
- The 12 stranded runner marked K-State's second-highest total this season.
- The Cats were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and are now 2-for-19 in the series.
- Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 170-58 with a 46-18 mark in Big 12 play.
- The Wildcats are now 17-97 all-time in Stillwater.
- The Cowboys have taken the last seven games in the series overall.
- OSU has claimed the last 10 series between the teams.
- K-State has dropped its league-opening for the seventh straight season.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Leeper, Ben (1-0)
L: Littlejim, Caleb (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Ausmus, Rainer 1
RBI: Littlejim, Caleb 2 ; Brennan, Will 1 ; Spurlin, Terrence 1
SH: Littlejim, Caleb 1
SF: Littlejim, Caleb 1 ; Spurlin, Terrence 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Boggess, Jeff 1 ; Ausmus, Rainer 2
SB: Hughes, Thomas 1
HBP: Hughes, Thomas 1
Batting:
2B: Simpson, Colin 1
3B: McCusker, Carson 2
HR: Navigato, Andrew 1
RBI: Navigato, Andrew 1 ; Simpson, Colin 2 ; Funk, Christian 1 ; Taylor, Jake 1
SF: Funk, Christian 1 ; Taylor, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Morrill, Hueston 1 ; Navigato, Andrew 2 ; McCusker, Carson 1 ; Sifrit, Noah 1
HBP: Funk, Christian 1
Game Leaders
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RBI
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dh/2b
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3
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2
H
2
RBI
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Players Mentioned
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