Kansas State University Athletics
Thursday, April 18
Manhattan, Kan.
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
vs
TCU
K-State Set for Big 12 Tilt with No. 19 TCU
Apr 17, 2019 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Winners of four of its last five games, K-State returns to Tointon Family Stadium for a three-game conference series with the 19th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs beginning Thursday at 6 p.m.
K-State (17-21, 3-6 Big 12), who played eight of its last nine games away from home, are coming off back-to-back shutout victories following a 5-0 win over Nebraska Tuesday. The Wildcats claimed their first Big 12 series of the season, taking two of three games at No. 14 Texas last weekend.
K-State will send Griffin Hassall to the hill for the series opener, marking his sixth straight series-opening start. Junior Kasey Ford will take the hill on Friday at 6 p.m. while freshman lefty Jordan Wicks, who ranks in the Big 12's top five in both ERA and strikeouts, is slated to work in the series finale Saturday at 4 p.m.
Wicks tossed a five-hit shutout of the Longhorns on Sunday to clinch the series, earning him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.
TCU (22-13, 5-4 Big 12) has dropped its last two games and are 5-5 over its last 10 overall. The Frogs rank second in the Big 12 with a team batting average of .306.
The entire three-game set will be broadcast on ESPN3 and streaming on the ESPN app. Coverage is also available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with streaming audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
GAME #39
K-STATE (16-21, 3-6 BIG 12) vs. #22 TCU (22-13, 5-4 BIG 12)
Thursday, April 18 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Griffin Hassall (1-1, 2.61 ERA) vs. LHP Nick Lodolo (5-2, 1.34 ERA)
Watch: ESPN3 // ESPN app // Matt Walters, Mike Clark, Bridget Howard
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Brian Smoller, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350kman.com
Promotion: Jersey Night/Baseball Koozie Giveaway | Buy Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats
GAME #40
K-STATE (16-21, 3-6 BIG 12) vs. #22 TCU (22-13, 5-4 BIG 12)
Friday, April 19 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Kasey Ford (0-3, 13.32 ERA) vs. RHP Charles King (2-1, 3.05 ERA)
Watch: ESPN3 // ESPN app // Matt Walters, Mike Clark, Bridget Howard
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Brian Smoller, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350kman.com
Promotion: Dollar Dog Friday | Buy Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats
GAME #41
K-STATE (16-21, 3-6 BIG 12) vs. #22 TCU (22-13, 5-4 BIG 12)
Saturday, April 20 // 4 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: LHP Jordan Wicks (5-1, 2.11 ERA) vs. LHP Brandon Williamson (3-2, 4.74 ERA)
Watch: ESPN3 // ESPN app // Matt Walters, Mike Clark, Bridget Howard
Radio: K-State Sports Radio Network // Brian Smoller, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350kman.com
Promotion: Postgame Egg Hunt | Buy Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats
A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State (17-21, 3-6 Big 12) returns to Tointon Family Stadium to host No. 19 TCU for a three-game series beginning Thursday ... The Wildcats have won four of their last five games after a 5-0 win at Nebraska Tuesday night, marking the Cats second straight shutout victory including a 2-0 win at No. 14 Texas on Sunday ... The back-to-back shutout are the first by K-State since 2008 and first consecutive road shutouts since 1967 ... At Nebraska, Caleb Littlejim Eric Torres and Will Brennan combined for the five-hit shutout while Cameron Thompson hit a homer for the second straight game ... Last weekend, K-State clinched its first conference series win of the season after taking two of three games at No. 14 Texas ... After splitting the first two games, freshman Jordan Wicks tossed a five-hit shutout as the Cats took the rubber match 2-0 ... The win marked the program's first-ever shutout victory over Texas to go with just the second road series win over a ranked opponent ... For his efforts, Wicks was rewarded with his first Big 12 Newcomer of the Week accolade on Monday ... Griffin Hassall tossed five one-hit innings in the series opener while Will Brennan came on to record a six-out save ... Brennan retired all six hitters he faced, picking up four strikeouts for his first save of the year and second in his career ... Zach Kokoska and Dylan Phillips each had four hits in the series to lead the K-State offense while the Cats homered in all three games of the series ... Chris Ceballos hit a two-run shot in the opener before Caleb Littlejim hit a solo shot in Game 2 ... Cameron Thompson led off the series finale with a home run for the Wildcats' second leadoff homer of the year and Thompson's first of the season ... K-State played eight of its last nine games on the road and has now won four of its last five games following a 1-9 stretch.
A LOOK AT TCU
TCU (22-13, 5-4 Big 12) travels to Manhattan after dropping a road tilt at UT Arlington Tuesday, 6-3 ... The Horned Frogs, who are ranked as high as No. 19 in the national polls, have lost their last two games and are 2-3 over their last five and 5-5 over their last 10 games ... TCU claimed two of three games at Oklahoma in its last conference series ... Five Frogs are hitting over .300 this season, including Jake Guenther's league-best .395 average ... Guenther has four homers and leads his squad with 28 runs batted in ... As a team, TCU ranks second in the Big 12 with a .306 average ... Left-hander Nick Lodolo, who will get the start in the series opener, own a conference-low 1.34 ERA with a 5-2 record ... Opponents are hitting just .196 against Lodolo while he is second in the Big 12 with 74 strikeouts.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
TCU owns a 19-7 (14-4 Big 12) edge in the all-time series that dates back to 1966 ... The Frogs have won the last nine meetings in the series, sweeping each of the last three weekend series ... K-State last defeated TCU in 2015, when the Cats took two of three games in Manhattan ... K-State is 4-5 at home vs. the Frogs ... Since TCU joined the conference in 2012, K-State has won two of the three series held at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Cats have never swept the Frogs in the series history ... TCU has won 14 of the last 16 meetings going back to 2013, with five shutout victories in that stretch.
MAKING A LITTLE HISTORY
K-State's 2-0 victory over No. 14 Texas marked the first program's first-ever shutout of the Longhorns while earning the team's first conference series win of the year ... The series victory was just the second in school history on the road against a ranked opponent ... It was the Wildcats' first road win in Austin since 2013 ... K-State has won three of its last four games against top-25 teams after going 0-8 against ranked teams in 2018 ... K-State followed up with shutout victory at Texas with a 5-0 win at Nebraska Tuesday, marking the program's first consecutive shutout wins since 2008 ... The win was also the first back-to-back road shutouts since 1967.
POWER SURGE
K-State hit at least one home run in five straight games, including one in all three games at Texas ... K-State has hit seven homers in the last five games, led by Caleb Littlejim and Cameron Thompson with two each ... Prior to its three-homer game against Omaha on April 10, the K-State offense had just two home runs over its last 11 games - including a stretch of five consecutive outings without a bomb ... Littlejim hit his team-leading sixth home run on Saturday ... The junior did not have an at-bat his previous two seasons ... Newcomers Chris Ceballos and Zach Kokoska each have five homers on the season, with two of Ceballos' long balls coming in Big 12 play ... The Wildcats are 5-1 when hitting multiple home runs.
KOKO GOIN' LOCO
K-State sophomore Zach Kokoska has catapulted himself to the top of K-State's leaderboard in all three slash categories with a .331 average, .404 on-base percentage and a .516 slugging percentage ... Kokoska is currently riding a season-long seven-game hitting streak, hitting .360 with two homers and seven RBI in that stretch ... The Latrobe, Pennsylvania, product hit in the cleanup spot for the first time in the Texas series ... He is second on the team with 24 runs batted in and 11 multi-hit games ... Kokoska boasts a team-best .353 average in Big 12 games ... Kokoska, in his first season at K-State after transferring from Virginia Tech, has hit safely in 19 of his last 25 games, raising his average from .262 to .331.
WINNING TIME
In K-State's 17 wins this season, the Wildcats are hitting .331 (56-for-169) with runners in scoring position and .316 (62-for-196) with two outs ... Conversely, the Cats have a .191 average (35-for-183) with runners in scoring position while hitting .173 (38-for-220) with two outs over 21 losses ... K-State has produced 39 two-out RBI in victories with just 18 in 21 losses ... Overall, K-State hits .301 in victories against just .223 in defeats ... In 21 defeats, K-State pitchers have combined for 106 walks (5.1 per game) while in victories the staff averages 3.4 walks per game (61 walks in 18 wins) ... K-State posts a 2.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in wins while owning a 1.7 mark in losses.
NO K FOR YOU
Junior Will Brennan owns the title of toughest player to strike out in the nation, going 23.7 at-bats per strikeout this season (142 AB, 6 K) ... Brennan has not struck out in his last 51 at-bats ... The Stilwell native has finished each of the last two seasons as the toughest hitter in the conference to punch out ... In 2017, Brennan had 12 strikeouts in 183 at-bats and only went down on strikes 11 times in 220 at-bats last season ... Brennan owns a career at-bat-to-strikeout ratio of 18.8, with just 29 strikeouts in 545 at-bats.
IMPACT LEFTY
Freshman left-handed pitcher Jordan Wicks has made nine straight weekend starts to open the season, going 5-1 with a 2.11 ERA (13 ER, 55.1 IP) while picking up 63 strikeouts to pace the Wildcats ... Wicks ranks in the league's top five in innings pitched, wins, ERA and strikeouts ... Five of Wicks' nine starts have been quality outings, including his first career shutout at Texas Sunday ... K-State is 7-2 in games he has started ... He has struck out at least six in eight of his nine starts and was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Monday.
VS RANKED OPPONENTS
K-State is 3-3 against ranked teams this season after taking two of three games at No. 14 Texas last weekend ... K-State has won three of its last four games against top-25 teams and clinched a road series victory over a ranked team for just the second time in program history and first since 2009 (at Texas) ... K-State went 0-8 against ranked teams last season and the Cats' 5-4 win over No. 10 Texas Tech on March 31 snapped a string of 11 straight ranked losses.
K-State (17-21, 3-6 Big 12), who played eight of its last nine games away from home, are coming off back-to-back shutout victories following a 5-0 win over Nebraska Tuesday. The Wildcats claimed their first Big 12 series of the season, taking two of three games at No. 14 Texas last weekend.
K-State will send Griffin Hassall to the hill for the series opener, marking his sixth straight series-opening start. Junior Kasey Ford will take the hill on Friday at 6 p.m. while freshman lefty Jordan Wicks, who ranks in the Big 12's top five in both ERA and strikeouts, is slated to work in the series finale Saturday at 4 p.m.
Wicks tossed a five-hit shutout of the Longhorns on Sunday to clinch the series, earning him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.
TCU (22-13, 5-4 Big 12) has dropped its last two games and are 5-5 over its last 10 overall. The Frogs rank second in the Big 12 with a team batting average of .306.
The entire three-game set will be broadcast on ESPN3 and streaming on the ESPN app. Coverage is also available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with streaming audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
GAME #39
K-STATE (16-21, 3-6 BIG 12) vs. #22 TCU (22-13, 5-4 BIG 12)
Thursday, April 18 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Griffin Hassall (1-1, 2.61 ERA) vs. LHP Nick Lodolo (5-2, 1.34 ERA)
Watch: ESPN3 // ESPN app // Matt Walters, Mike Clark, Bridget Howard
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Brian Smoller, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350kman.com
Promotion: Jersey Night/Baseball Koozie Giveaway | Buy Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats
GAME #40
K-STATE (16-21, 3-6 BIG 12) vs. #22 TCU (22-13, 5-4 BIG 12)
Friday, April 19 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Kasey Ford (0-3, 13.32 ERA) vs. RHP Charles King (2-1, 3.05 ERA)
Watch: ESPN3 // ESPN app // Matt Walters, Mike Clark, Bridget Howard
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Brian Smoller, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350kman.com
Promotion: Dollar Dog Friday | Buy Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats
GAME #41
K-STATE (16-21, 3-6 BIG 12) vs. #22 TCU (22-13, 5-4 BIG 12)
Saturday, April 20 // 4 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: LHP Jordan Wicks (5-1, 2.11 ERA) vs. LHP Brandon Williamson (3-2, 4.74 ERA)
Watch: ESPN3 // ESPN app // Matt Walters, Mike Clark, Bridget Howard
Radio: K-State Sports Radio Network // Brian Smoller, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350kman.com
Promotion: Postgame Egg Hunt | Buy Tickets
Watch | Listen Online | Live Stats
A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State (17-21, 3-6 Big 12) returns to Tointon Family Stadium to host No. 19 TCU for a three-game series beginning Thursday ... The Wildcats have won four of their last five games after a 5-0 win at Nebraska Tuesday night, marking the Cats second straight shutout victory including a 2-0 win at No. 14 Texas on Sunday ... The back-to-back shutout are the first by K-State since 2008 and first consecutive road shutouts since 1967 ... At Nebraska, Caleb Littlejim Eric Torres and Will Brennan combined for the five-hit shutout while Cameron Thompson hit a homer for the second straight game ... Last weekend, K-State clinched its first conference series win of the season after taking two of three games at No. 14 Texas ... After splitting the first two games, freshman Jordan Wicks tossed a five-hit shutout as the Cats took the rubber match 2-0 ... The win marked the program's first-ever shutout victory over Texas to go with just the second road series win over a ranked opponent ... For his efforts, Wicks was rewarded with his first Big 12 Newcomer of the Week accolade on Monday ... Griffin Hassall tossed five one-hit innings in the series opener while Will Brennan came on to record a six-out save ... Brennan retired all six hitters he faced, picking up four strikeouts for his first save of the year and second in his career ... Zach Kokoska and Dylan Phillips each had four hits in the series to lead the K-State offense while the Cats homered in all three games of the series ... Chris Ceballos hit a two-run shot in the opener before Caleb Littlejim hit a solo shot in Game 2 ... Cameron Thompson led off the series finale with a home run for the Wildcats' second leadoff homer of the year and Thompson's first of the season ... K-State played eight of its last nine games on the road and has now won four of its last five games following a 1-9 stretch.
A LOOK AT TCU
TCU (22-13, 5-4 Big 12) travels to Manhattan after dropping a road tilt at UT Arlington Tuesday, 6-3 ... The Horned Frogs, who are ranked as high as No. 19 in the national polls, have lost their last two games and are 2-3 over their last five and 5-5 over their last 10 games ... TCU claimed two of three games at Oklahoma in its last conference series ... Five Frogs are hitting over .300 this season, including Jake Guenther's league-best .395 average ... Guenther has four homers and leads his squad with 28 runs batted in ... As a team, TCU ranks second in the Big 12 with a .306 average ... Left-hander Nick Lodolo, who will get the start in the series opener, own a conference-low 1.34 ERA with a 5-2 record ... Opponents are hitting just .196 against Lodolo while he is second in the Big 12 with 74 strikeouts.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
TCU owns a 19-7 (14-4 Big 12) edge in the all-time series that dates back to 1966 ... The Frogs have won the last nine meetings in the series, sweeping each of the last three weekend series ... K-State last defeated TCU in 2015, when the Cats took two of three games in Manhattan ... K-State is 4-5 at home vs. the Frogs ... Since TCU joined the conference in 2012, K-State has won two of the three series held at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Cats have never swept the Frogs in the series history ... TCU has won 14 of the last 16 meetings going back to 2013, with five shutout victories in that stretch.
MAKING A LITTLE HISTORY
K-State's 2-0 victory over No. 14 Texas marked the first program's first-ever shutout of the Longhorns while earning the team's first conference series win of the year ... The series victory was just the second in school history on the road against a ranked opponent ... It was the Wildcats' first road win in Austin since 2013 ... K-State has won three of its last four games against top-25 teams after going 0-8 against ranked teams in 2018 ... K-State followed up with shutout victory at Texas with a 5-0 win at Nebraska Tuesday, marking the program's first consecutive shutout wins since 2008 ... The win was also the first back-to-back road shutouts since 1967.
POWER SURGE
K-State hit at least one home run in five straight games, including one in all three games at Texas ... K-State has hit seven homers in the last five games, led by Caleb Littlejim and Cameron Thompson with two each ... Prior to its three-homer game against Omaha on April 10, the K-State offense had just two home runs over its last 11 games - including a stretch of five consecutive outings without a bomb ... Littlejim hit his team-leading sixth home run on Saturday ... The junior did not have an at-bat his previous two seasons ... Newcomers Chris Ceballos and Zach Kokoska each have five homers on the season, with two of Ceballos' long balls coming in Big 12 play ... The Wildcats are 5-1 when hitting multiple home runs.
KOKO GOIN' LOCO
K-State sophomore Zach Kokoska has catapulted himself to the top of K-State's leaderboard in all three slash categories with a .331 average, .404 on-base percentage and a .516 slugging percentage ... Kokoska is currently riding a season-long seven-game hitting streak, hitting .360 with two homers and seven RBI in that stretch ... The Latrobe, Pennsylvania, product hit in the cleanup spot for the first time in the Texas series ... He is second on the team with 24 runs batted in and 11 multi-hit games ... Kokoska boasts a team-best .353 average in Big 12 games ... Kokoska, in his first season at K-State after transferring from Virginia Tech, has hit safely in 19 of his last 25 games, raising his average from .262 to .331.
WINNING TIME
In K-State's 17 wins this season, the Wildcats are hitting .331 (56-for-169) with runners in scoring position and .316 (62-for-196) with two outs ... Conversely, the Cats have a .191 average (35-for-183) with runners in scoring position while hitting .173 (38-for-220) with two outs over 21 losses ... K-State has produced 39 two-out RBI in victories with just 18 in 21 losses ... Overall, K-State hits .301 in victories against just .223 in defeats ... In 21 defeats, K-State pitchers have combined for 106 walks (5.1 per game) while in victories the staff averages 3.4 walks per game (61 walks in 18 wins) ... K-State posts a 2.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in wins while owning a 1.7 mark in losses.
NO K FOR YOU
Junior Will Brennan owns the title of toughest player to strike out in the nation, going 23.7 at-bats per strikeout this season (142 AB, 6 K) ... Brennan has not struck out in his last 51 at-bats ... The Stilwell native has finished each of the last two seasons as the toughest hitter in the conference to punch out ... In 2017, Brennan had 12 strikeouts in 183 at-bats and only went down on strikes 11 times in 220 at-bats last season ... Brennan owns a career at-bat-to-strikeout ratio of 18.8, with just 29 strikeouts in 545 at-bats.
IMPACT LEFTY
Freshman left-handed pitcher Jordan Wicks has made nine straight weekend starts to open the season, going 5-1 with a 2.11 ERA (13 ER, 55.1 IP) while picking up 63 strikeouts to pace the Wildcats ... Wicks ranks in the league's top five in innings pitched, wins, ERA and strikeouts ... Five of Wicks' nine starts have been quality outings, including his first career shutout at Texas Sunday ... K-State is 7-2 in games he has started ... He has struck out at least six in eight of his nine starts and was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Monday.
VS RANKED OPPONENTS
K-State is 3-3 against ranked teams this season after taking two of three games at No. 14 Texas last weekend ... K-State has won three of its last four games against top-25 teams and clinched a road series victory over a ranked team for just the second time in program history and first since 2009 (at Texas) ... K-State went 0-8 against ranked teams last season and the Cats' 5-4 win over No. 10 Texas Tech on March 31 snapped a string of 11 straight ranked losses.
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