Cats Grind Out 5-2 Win to Even Series

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State's Cameron Thompson went 4-for-4 with a home run, Thomas Hughes drove in two on squeeze play and Caleb Littlejim turned in a quality start in the Wildcats' 5-2 win over Oklahoma Saturday in front of a capacity crowd of 2,239 at Tointon Family Stadium.

Thompson, who turned in his first four-hit game of the season, tied the game in the third inning with a solo homer and later scored from second base on Hughes' squeeze bunt in the seventh. Will Brennan preserved the win with an eight-out save, as K-State (21-23, 6-8 Big 12) evened its three-game series with the Sooners (29-15, 7-7 Big 12).

"Cam got some life back into our dugout," head coach Pete Hughes said after the game. "Competitive people don't like losing, so it lasted with us maybe a little too long. Cam got us going, got us feeling good.

"But the squeeze play, it was a double squeeze which you don't see often, we've been working on for the right situation and it finally presented itself. To execute it under pressure is huge. We had the right guy at the plate to do that. We had the right runners in the right situation, and everyone executed. That gives you a cushion to breathe a little bit for the last three innings – a turning point in the game."

Littlejim, who made his fourth start of the season, allowed just a pair of hits with one earned run allowed over a career-long 6 1/3 innings of work. The junior Oklahoma native earned his fourth straight win in his first weekend start of the season.

"(It was) Caleb's first start on the weekend," added Hughes. "He had thrown on Tuesday night, and we kept his pitch count down. But for him to come into a spot like that where it was a must-win to get back in the series, and to be as efficient as he was. He gave us a chance to build our offense. I can't say enough about Caleb; it was an awesome performance."

Brennan picked up his second save of the season after yielding one earned run on four hits over 2 2/3 innings. The junior lefty stranded three Sooner runners over the final two innings, including two in the ninth.

"At the end of the day, I want my most competitive person on the mound and that's what Will is," Hughes said of Brennan.

Oklahoma's first hit of the game came with two outs in the top of the third when Brady Lindsly snuck a single through the right side to score Brady Harlan. Harlan was hit by a pitch to start the inning and stood on third after a sacrifice bunt and a groundout.

Thompson's fourth home run of the season tied the game in the home half of the inning. It marked Thompson's fourth homer in his last eight games and extended the Cats' streak to 11 consecutive games with a home run.

K-State loaded the bases before an out was recorded in the fifth. Thompson sparked the inning with his third hit of the game. Brennan and Hughes each reached on bunt singles and Thompson scored when Zach Kokoska grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to give the Cats a 2-1 lead.

Blake Burrows and Thompson recorded back-to-back singles to begin the seventh and stood on second and third after a sacrifice bunt laid down by Brennan. Hughes' bunt bounced to OU reliever Wyatt Olds, who threw to first base and by the time Tyler Hardman's throw reached home, Burrows and Thompson had scored to push K-State's lead to 4-1.

Jaxon Passino added a two-out RBI single in the eighth and Oklahoma managed a run in the top of the ninth.

Littlejim and Brennan limited the Sooners to .077 (1-for-13) with runners in scoring position and 1-for-9 with two outs.

Lindsly had Oklahoma's only multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Starter Levi Prater took the loss after allowing four earned runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. Prater struck out 11 and walked three.

The series finale is scheduled for a1 p.m. start on Sunday, and will stream on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. Radio coverage is available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with live streaming audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

K-State scored five runs on eight hits without an error and left seven on base.
Oklahoma scored two runs on six hits with one error and stranded eight baserunners.
Thompson had a season-high four hits, including his fourth home run of the season.
Thompson's four homers have come over the last eight games.
Hughes drove in two on a double squeeze play in the seventh.
Six of K-State's eight hits came from the top three in the order.
Littlejim earned his fourth straight win in his fourth start of the year.
Littlejim allowed two hits over a career-long outing of 6 1/3 innings.
Brennan collected an eight-out save, his second of the year.
Prater struck out 11 over 6 1/3 innings for OU in taking the loss.
The Sooners hit .077 (1-for-13) with runners in scoring position and 1-for-9 with two outs.

NOTES

Oklahoma leads the all-time series 200-80-1
The Wildcats are now 50-86 at home against the Sooners.
K-State has homered in 11 straight games.
Kokoska's season-long 12-game hitting streak came to an end.
K-State's six Big 12 wins surpass its 2018 season total (5).
The sellout crowd of 2,239 marked a season high.

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Team Stats

Cameron Thompson

Will Brennan

Thomas Hughes

Jaxon Passino

Players Mentioned

Will Brennan

Blake Burrows

Thomas Hughes

Zach Kokoska

Caleb Littlejim

Jaxon Passino

Cameron Thompson

Players Mentioned

Will Brennan

Blake Burrows

Thomas Hughes

Zach Kokoska

Caleb Littlejim

Jaxon Passino

Cameron Thompson

Kansas State University Athletics