Kansas State University Athletics
SE: K-State Tops Texas Southern to Cap Midweek Turnaround
May 08, 2019 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
K-State baseball cruised to an 11-5 win against Texas Southern on Tuesday afternoon, a game that started early because of weather and was played in a steady amount of rainfall.
The Wildcats did not let their focus slip from the wet conditions or allow their intensity to be drowned by a midweek afternoon atmosphere. They jumped to a 9-0 lead in the first five innings en route to ending their non-conference schedule on a five-game win streak, a point of pride in the program.
"You have to preach it because (weekday games are) just not the best atmosphere, and if you get sucked into that, you don't play well. But, to me, winning is winning whether it's on a Tuesday or a Friday," K-State head coach Pete Hughes said. "That's our mentality. When the scoreboard's on, we're playing to win, and sometimes you play on Tuesdays. After you play well on a Tuesday, you feel good at practice the rest of the week, and then you go into the conference weekend feeling good. That's the whole key."
There was a time this season when K-State (24-26, 7-11) and midweek games did not go well together. At one point, the Wildcats lost four of five Tuesday/Wednesday games. This was in the midst of dropping 10 of 12, overall.
There was a time when K-State committed seven errors in a 15-3 midweek loss to Canisius. There was the Tuesday night when the Wildcats were blanked in a 7-0 loss at home to Nebraska.
The day after, they were handed a 17-2 loss at Missouri. That was on April 3. It was K-State's last midweek loss of the season.
The following week, the proverbial tide started to turn.
K-State topped Omaha, 7-2, on a Wednesday. The Wildcats committed zero errors and walked only two batters in that outing. They also pounded out three home runs to start a 14-game streak with at least one long ball — the program's longest such stretch in the Big 12 era.
"When I looked at that game before it happened, we were just trying to get better against a team that was red hot," Hughes said of Omaha, which had won 16 of 17 before that meeting. "It gives you a boost. That's what got us going."
A series win at Texas followed K-State's win against Omaha.
Then, K-State shut out Nebraska in Lincoln on a Tuesday. A series win against TCU followed that.
"That little patch right there got our guys to believe in just playing at one energy level, one frame of mind, whether it's on the road, whether it's on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday," Hughes said. "It's always one of my goals, to play great midweek just so you feel good going into the weekends. Honestly, when you start talking about wanting to be an at-large bid team, you better get it done in the midweek. I think we're getting there. I think we've done a really good job lately midweek."
K-State has been competitive in every Big 12 series since its win against Omaha. The Wildcats lost a series-deciding game against Oklahoma in extra innings and fell a run short of stealing a road series against conference-leading Baylor last weekend.
With only two Big 12 series left, starting with this weekend's home finale versus No. 21 West Virginia, the Wildcats look to ride their strong midweek momentum into a push up the Big 12 standings. K-State currently sits one game back of a tie for fifth and with an RPI (66) that could be conceivably raised high enough for an NCAA Regional bid by season's end.
"I think it's just being close to the end of the year and knowing what we need to do to get where we want to be, postseason-wise," freshman left fielder Dylan Phillips said, after blasting two home runs and driving in four against Texas Southern. "We know these games are important, and that's just how we approach them now, like they're must-win games for us now."
K-State baseball cruised to an 11-5 win against Texas Southern on Tuesday afternoon, a game that started early because of weather and was played in a steady amount of rainfall.
The Wildcats did not let their focus slip from the wet conditions or allow their intensity to be drowned by a midweek afternoon atmosphere. They jumped to a 9-0 lead in the first five innings en route to ending their non-conference schedule on a five-game win streak, a point of pride in the program.
"You have to preach it because (weekday games are) just not the best atmosphere, and if you get sucked into that, you don't play well. But, to me, winning is winning whether it's on a Tuesday or a Friday," K-State head coach Pete Hughes said. "That's our mentality. When the scoreboard's on, we're playing to win, and sometimes you play on Tuesdays. After you play well on a Tuesday, you feel good at practice the rest of the week, and then you go into the conference weekend feeling good. That's the whole key."
There was a time this season when K-State (24-26, 7-11) and midweek games did not go well together. At one point, the Wildcats lost four of five Tuesday/Wednesday games. This was in the midst of dropping 10 of 12, overall.
There was a time when K-State committed seven errors in a 15-3 midweek loss to Canisius. There was the Tuesday night when the Wildcats were blanked in a 7-0 loss at home to Nebraska.
The day after, they were handed a 17-2 loss at Missouri. That was on April 3. It was K-State's last midweek loss of the season.
The following week, the proverbial tide started to turn.
K-State topped Omaha, 7-2, on a Wednesday. The Wildcats committed zero errors and walked only two batters in that outing. They also pounded out three home runs to start a 14-game streak with at least one long ball — the program's longest such stretch in the Big 12 era.
"When I looked at that game before it happened, we were just trying to get better against a team that was red hot," Hughes said of Omaha, which had won 16 of 17 before that meeting. "It gives you a boost. That's what got us going."
A series win at Texas followed K-State's win against Omaha.
Then, K-State shut out Nebraska in Lincoln on a Tuesday. A series win against TCU followed that.
"That little patch right there got our guys to believe in just playing at one energy level, one frame of mind, whether it's on the road, whether it's on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday," Hughes said. "It's always one of my goals, to play great midweek just so you feel good going into the weekends. Honestly, when you start talking about wanting to be an at-large bid team, you better get it done in the midweek. I think we're getting there. I think we've done a really good job lately midweek."
K-State has been competitive in every Big 12 series since its win against Omaha. The Wildcats lost a series-deciding game against Oklahoma in extra innings and fell a run short of stealing a road series against conference-leading Baylor last weekend.
With only two Big 12 series left, starting with this weekend's home finale versus No. 21 West Virginia, the Wildcats look to ride their strong midweek momentum into a push up the Big 12 standings. K-State currently sits one game back of a tie for fifth and with an RPI (66) that could be conceivably raised high enough for an NCAA Regional bid by season's end.
"I think it's just being close to the end of the year and knowing what we need to do to get where we want to be, postseason-wise," freshman left fielder Dylan Phillips said, after blasting two home runs and driving in four against Texas Southern. "We know these games are important, and that's just how we approach them now, like they're must-win games for us now."
Players Mentioned
OF/LHP
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