Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, May 11
Manhattan, Kan.
4 p.m.
Kansas State University
25-27, 8-12
8
vs
6
West Virginia
30-18, 12-11
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West Virginia
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K-State
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1
Spurlin’s Two Homers Propel Cats Over No. 20 WVU
May 11, 2019 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State sophomore Terrence Spurlin's two-homer day helped push the Wildcats to an 8-6 victory over No. 20 West Virginia Saturday at Tointon Family Stadium.
K-State (25-27, 8-12 Big 12) got a two-run home run from catcher Chris Ceballos in the fifth inning that gave the Cats an 8-3 lead. West Virginia (30-18, 12-11 Big 12) cut it to a two-run game after three runs in the sixth, but Andrew Stratman and Will Brennan combined to hold WVU hitless over the final 3 1/3 innings to even the three-game series.
"Terry Spurlin had a big day for us," said head coach Pete Hughes after the game. "He got us going with a big three-run homer in the first. But that game was never easy. A key point to that game was when Stratman came in and kind of settled everything down. West Virginia is such a momentum team and they had it going in their direction. Stratman came in and did a good job and just quieted things down.
"Our guys are pretty resilient. They came out and it was a new day, they flushed everything from last night. That's why baseball is a great sport, you can start feeling good after less than 24 hours later. Our guys believe that, and they played that way."
After being shut out and limited to three hits Friday night, K-State recorded five extra-base hits, including three home runs. The Cats scored five runs on four hits in the first inning, bringing eight to the plate with an RBI triple from Caleb Littlejim.
"It just takes the monkey off your back," Hughes said of the five-run first. "These guys played relaxed. I was worried about a little hangover after that [shutout]. So just relief, we had some guys step up for us."
Spurlin finished 3-for-3 with four RBI and three runs scored while Ceballos ended the day 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Littlejim went 2-for-4.
For the second straight game, Tyler Doanes led off the game with home run to give the Mountaineers an early 1-0 lead.
WVU tallied single runs in the second and third innings, highlighted by a solo home run from Paul McIntosh in the second, to climb within two runs at 5-3. Spurlin's second homer, a solo shot in the third, pushed the Cats' lead back to three runs.
Ceballos' two-run dinger handed the Wildcats a five-run lead after five innings, 8-3. Ceballos leads K-State with nine home runs and 36 runs batted in.
K-State's Nos. 4-6 hitters combined to go 7-for-11 with three home runs, seven RBI and six runs scored.
West Virginia responded with three runs in the top of the sixth to make it a two-run ballgame. Marques Inman legged out an infield RBI single before McIntosh collected a run-scoring double off reliever Eric Torres.
Stratman lifted Torres in the sixth, inheriting two runners, and struck out WVU's Kevin Brophy on three pitches to escape without further damage. Stratman, a sophomore, struck out three over his 2 1/3 innings of relief.
Brennan tosses a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to pick up his third save of the season.
Torres (1-1) picked up the first victory of his Wildcat career, as the freshman lefty allowed two earned runs on three hits over 2 2/3 innings. Torres took over for starter Griffin Hassall after three innings of work and three earned runs allowed.
McIntosh led the Mountaineers, going 2-for-3 with two runs batted in.
WVU starter Jackson Wolf (2-4) suffered the loss after giving up eight earned runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.
The series' rubber match is set for Sunday with an 11 a.m. first pitch and will air on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) and live streaming audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
K-State (25-27, 8-12 Big 12) got a two-run home run from catcher Chris Ceballos in the fifth inning that gave the Cats an 8-3 lead. West Virginia (30-18, 12-11 Big 12) cut it to a two-run game after three runs in the sixth, but Andrew Stratman and Will Brennan combined to hold WVU hitless over the final 3 1/3 innings to even the three-game series.
"Terry Spurlin had a big day for us," said head coach Pete Hughes after the game. "He got us going with a big three-run homer in the first. But that game was never easy. A key point to that game was when Stratman came in and kind of settled everything down. West Virginia is such a momentum team and they had it going in their direction. Stratman came in and did a good job and just quieted things down.
"Our guys are pretty resilient. They came out and it was a new day, they flushed everything from last night. That's why baseball is a great sport, you can start feeling good after less than 24 hours later. Our guys believe that, and they played that way."
After being shut out and limited to three hits Friday night, K-State recorded five extra-base hits, including three home runs. The Cats scored five runs on four hits in the first inning, bringing eight to the plate with an RBI triple from Caleb Littlejim.
"It just takes the monkey off your back," Hughes said of the five-run first. "These guys played relaxed. I was worried about a little hangover after that [shutout]. So just relief, we had some guys step up for us."
Spurlin finished 3-for-3 with four RBI and three runs scored while Ceballos ended the day 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Littlejim went 2-for-4.
For the second straight game, Tyler Doanes led off the game with home run to give the Mountaineers an early 1-0 lead.
WVU tallied single runs in the second and third innings, highlighted by a solo home run from Paul McIntosh in the second, to climb within two runs at 5-3. Spurlin's second homer, a solo shot in the third, pushed the Cats' lead back to three runs.
Ceballos' two-run dinger handed the Wildcats a five-run lead after five innings, 8-3. Ceballos leads K-State with nine home runs and 36 runs batted in.
K-State's Nos. 4-6 hitters combined to go 7-for-11 with three home runs, seven RBI and six runs scored.
West Virginia responded with three runs in the top of the sixth to make it a two-run ballgame. Marques Inman legged out an infield RBI single before McIntosh collected a run-scoring double off reliever Eric Torres.
Stratman lifted Torres in the sixth, inheriting two runners, and struck out WVU's Kevin Brophy on three pitches to escape without further damage. Stratman, a sophomore, struck out three over his 2 1/3 innings of relief.
Brennan tosses a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to pick up his third save of the season.
Torres (1-1) picked up the first victory of his Wildcat career, as the freshman lefty allowed two earned runs on three hits over 2 2/3 innings. Torres took over for starter Griffin Hassall after three innings of work and three earned runs allowed.
McIntosh led the Mountaineers, going 2-for-3 with two runs batted in.
WVU starter Jackson Wolf (2-4) suffered the loss after giving up eight earned runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.
The series' rubber match is set for Sunday with an 11 a.m. first pitch and will air on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) and live streaming audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored eight runs on nine hits and committed one error and left five on base.
- West Virginia scored six runs on six hits with one error and stranded four baserunners.
- Spurlin produced the first multi-homer game of his career.
- Ceballos leads the Wildcats with nine home runs and 36 runs batted in.
- Stratman and Brennan combined to hold WVU without a hit over the game's final 3 1/3 innings.
- Brennan tossed a perfect ninth for his third save of the year.
- Littlejim tripled while going 2-for-4.
- The Cats registered five extra-base hits, including three homers.
- K-State's Nos. 4-6 hitters combined to go 7-for-11 with three home runs, seven RBI and six runs scored.
- The Cats hit .571 with runners in scoring position and .417 with runners on base.
- West Virginia leads the all-time series 11-9.
- K-State is 6-5 at home vs. WVU.
- K-State is 7-7 against ranked teams, its highest single-season total since 2011.
- The Cats have homered in 17 of their last 19 games and are 8-1 when hitting multiple home runs.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Torres, Eric (1-1)
L: Wolf, Jackson (2-4)
S: Brennan, Will (3)
Batting:
2B: McIntosh, Paul 1
HR: Doanes, Tyler 1 ; McIntosh, Paul 1
RBI: Doanes, Tyler 1 ; Inman, Marques 1 ; McIntosh, Paul 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Doanes, Tyler 1 ; White, Brandon 1 ; Hill, Darius 1 ; Inman, Marques 1 ; McIntosh, Paul 1 ; Tucker, Tevin 1
CS: Doanes, Tyler 1 ; McIntosh, Paul 1
PO: Doanes, Tyler 1 ; McIntosh, Paul 1
Batting:
2B: Ceballos, Chris 1
3B: Littlejim, Caleb 1
HR: Spurlin, Terrence 2 ; Ceballos, Chris 1
RBI: Spurlin, Terrence 4 ; Ceballos, Chris 2 ; Littlejim, Caleb 1 ; Maxson, Jordan 1
SF: Maxson, Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brennan, Will 1 ; Hughes, Thomas 1 ; Spurlin, Terrence 3 ; Ceballos, Chris 2 ; Littlejim, Caleb 1
SB: Brennan, Will 2
CS: Maxson, Jordan 1
PO: Maxson, Jordan 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
3
H
3
RBI
4
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
cf/p
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF/LHP
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
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