SE: In Return to Manhattan, K-State Baseball Still Focused on Community
Oct 13, 2020 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Get the win on the mound. Go 2-2 at the dish with a home run.
At any other baseball park on any other day, those would be the most important things Caleb Littlejim did at Tointon Family Stadium. Not on Saturday afternoon.
"Coach Hughes preaches that every day: Care about something other than yourself and the game of baseball," Littlejim said. "Get involved in the community and whenever that relationship is built, people want to come to the games and root for you. It creates a great community atmosphere."
K-State Baseball hosted the team's annual Shave for the Brave event on Saturday, as players and coaches cut their hair and raised funds to benefit College Baseball vs. Cancer, the signature fundraising campaign for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
For the third season in a row, K-State Baseball led the nation in fundraising for children's cancer research, raising more than $35,000 as part of this year's fundraiser.
"It's certainly one of our most selfless community service acts," Pete Hughes said. "These kids have to get out of their comfort zone and represent a cause that's bigger than anything else we take part in as a program."
Before the Wildcats hosted Shave for the Brave, there was some business to take care of on the field - namely, the team's first opportunity to play a series in front of fans since March.
The Wildcats played three intrasquad games over the weekend as part of their Fall World Series, between players drafted onto Team Purple and Team Grey.
"The atmosphere in this park last night and today was phenomenal," Hughes said. "I think that's an indication of how far our program has come, where it's headed and the kind of spring that we're looking forward to having."
In front of a socially distanced crowd at Tointon Family Stadium, Team Grey won the series on Saturday behind Littlejim's strong start and contributions at the plate.
In a six-inning game, the senior pitched four innings with three strikeouts and two earned runs allowed.
For a group of pitchers that Hughes dubbed an "Omaha staff" during last season's COVID-19 shortened season, the weekend was a chance to reintroduce themselves after a long layoff.
"That spring feeling is good for us to get back in the game flow," Littlejim said. "Our pitchers have done an unbelievable job this fall really controlling the hitters, but our hitters have gotten loose a little bit in these scrimmages. It's just been back-and-forth and really competitive."
Zak Herbers and Luke Hauswirth faced off on the mound in Friday's game, turning in a pair of impressive starts in a 4-0 win for Team Grey.
Herbers tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings, while Hauswirth matched him for Team Purple with 4 1/3 innings of two-run baseball, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced.
The K-State bats showed up on Saturday night, as Cameron Thompson's game-tying solo shot in the fifth inning gave Team Purple a chance to win it.
In the final frame, Brady Day laid down a sacrifice bunt that scored Dylan Caplinger from second for the winning run after the ball was mishandled.
"When you have a staff this talented and deep, you just kind of hold your breath in the fall and hope you get out of it healthy. We did that," Hughes said. "Our really good guys got better and everyone in our program made a jump. It doesn't happen without a committed group of kids."
Hughes said the baseball program has not had a student-athlete test positive for COVID-19 over the last two months, as his players are focused on taking the steps necessary to stay safe.
"To go two full months in a college town without a positive test, that speaks volume," Hughes said. "That just doesn't happen. Especially in a non-traditional season, for the guys to realize it's that important to make the right decisions on a daily basis so we can come out here to work and get a jump on people, that's what I'm most proud of."
Saturday's Shave for the Brave event is just one part of the 19 Ways program that Hughes brought to Manhattan when he joined K-State Baseball in 2018.
Hughes created the program to honor the memory of his mother Alice and her favorite number, with the goal of making sure his team found 19 ways to impact the community every year.
K-State Baseball will continue that mission later this month at their annual ALS Awareness Halloween game at Tointon Family Stadium.
"Coach Hughes is really about the community," Littlejim said. "He's a big advocate for getting into the community and caring about something other than just baseball."
Get the win on the mound. Go 2-2 at the dish with a home run.
At any other baseball park on any other day, those would be the most important things Caleb Littlejim did at Tointon Family Stadium. Not on Saturday afternoon.
"Coach Hughes preaches that every day: Care about something other than yourself and the game of baseball," Littlejim said. "Get involved in the community and whenever that relationship is built, people want to come to the games and root for you. It creates a great community atmosphere."
K-State Baseball hosted the team's annual Shave for the Brave event on Saturday, as players and coaches cut their hair and raised funds to benefit College Baseball vs. Cancer, the signature fundraising campaign for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
"It brings us together as a team and makes us fee like one."
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) October 11, 2020
✂️ Shave For The Brave #KStateBSB x @Vs_Cancer pic.twitter.com/xEhYU0kQsh
For the third season in a row, K-State Baseball led the nation in fundraising for children's cancer research, raising more than $35,000 as part of this year's fundraiser.
"It's certainly one of our most selfless community service acts," Pete Hughes said. "These kids have to get out of their comfort zone and represent a cause that's bigger than anything else we take part in as a program."
Before the Wildcats hosted Shave for the Brave, there was some business to take care of on the field - namely, the team's first opportunity to play a series in front of fans since March.
The Wildcats played three intrasquad games over the weekend as part of their Fall World Series, between players drafted onto Team Purple and Team Grey.
"The atmosphere in this park last night and today was phenomenal," Hughes said. "I think that's an indication of how far our program has come, where it's headed and the kind of spring that we're looking forward to having."
In front of a socially distanced crowd at Tointon Family Stadium, Team Grey won the series on Saturday behind Littlejim's strong start and contributions at the plate.
In a six-inning game, the senior pitched four innings with three strikeouts and two earned runs allowed.
For a group of pitchers that Hughes dubbed an "Omaha staff" during last season's COVID-19 shortened season, the weekend was a chance to reintroduce themselves after a long layoff.
"That spring feeling is good for us to get back in the game flow," Littlejim said. "Our pitchers have done an unbelievable job this fall really controlling the hitters, but our hitters have gotten loose a little bit in these scrimmages. It's just been back-and-forth and really competitive."
Zak Herbers and Luke Hauswirth faced off on the mound in Friday's game, turning in a pair of impressive starts in a 4-0 win for Team Grey.
Herbers tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings, while Hauswirth matched him for Team Purple with 4 1/3 innings of two-run baseball, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced.
The K-State bats showed up on Saturday night, as Cameron Thompson's game-tying solo shot in the fifth inning gave Team Purple a chance to win it.
In the final frame, Brady Day laid down a sacrifice bunt that scored Dylan Caplinger from second for the winning run after the ball was mishandled.
"When you have a staff this talented and deep, you just kind of hold your breath in the fall and hope you get out of it healthy. We did that," Hughes said. "Our really good guys got better and everyone in our program made a jump. It doesn't happen without a committed group of kids."
"These last three days are a good indication of where are program is going and how far it's come."
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) October 11, 2020
🎙 Coach Pete Hughes #KStateBSB x Fall World Series pic.twitter.com/rzmw41ak9y
Hughes said the baseball program has not had a student-athlete test positive for COVID-19 over the last two months, as his players are focused on taking the steps necessary to stay safe.
"To go two full months in a college town without a positive test, that speaks volume," Hughes said. "That just doesn't happen. Especially in a non-traditional season, for the guys to realize it's that important to make the right decisions on a daily basis so we can come out here to work and get a jump on people, that's what I'm most proud of."
Saturday's Shave for the Brave event is just one part of the 19 Ways program that Hughes brought to Manhattan when he joined K-State Baseball in 2018.
Hughes created the program to honor the memory of his mother Alice and her favorite number, with the goal of making sure his team found 19 ways to impact the community every year.
K-State Baseball will continue that mission later this month at their annual ALS Awareness Halloween game at Tointon Family Stadium.
"Coach Hughes is really about the community," Littlejim said. "He's a big advocate for getting into the community and caring about something other than just baseball."
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