Kansas State University Athletics
Sunday, February 16
Edinburg, Texas
2 p.m.
Kansas State University
1-2
4
at
0
UTRGV
2-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
K-State
0
0
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
4
6
0
UT Rio Grande Valley
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
Wicks Twirls Gem in Cats’ 4-0 Win over UTRGV
Feb 16, 2020 | Baseball
EDINBURG, Texas – Jordan Wicks tossed seven shutout innings while Dylan Phillips launched a two-run home run to propel K-State to its first win of the 2020 season, a 4-0 victory over UT Rio Grande Valley Sunday afternoon at UTRGV Baseball Stadium.
Wicks, the reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year, struck out seven and did not issue a walk in holding UTRGV scoreless. The left-hander from Conway, Arkansas, scattered four hits and retired the Vaqueros in order in four separate innings in turning in the ninth quality start of his career.
"He was awesome," head coach Pete Hughes said of Wicks' outing. "What better guy to get you back on the winning side than that kid. Everybody in our dugout trusts him, every coach trusts him. He's got really good stuff and he was awesome today."
Redshirt junior Tyler Eckberg entered the game two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning but worked out of trouble to preserve the shutout and pick up a four-out save. Eckberg, who missed nearly all last season with an injury, struck out one in picking up the eighth save of his career and first since 2018.
"Proud of him, he got the game ball," added Hughes of Eckberg. "He was tireless in his rehab for almost a year, for that moment. It was great to see him execute in a high-leverage situation but with really, really good stuff. We are so proud of Tyler."
Phillips' homer came in the fourth inning and handed K-State (1-2) a 2-0 lead. Cameron Thompson led off the inning with a walk and later stole second before Phillips connected on his 11th career homer. Phillips, a sophomore who set the program's freshman home run record with 10, snapped a 0 for 8 streak to begin the year.
"Big hit and good for him for grinding and grinding," Hughes said of Phillips. "This game will beat you down if you let it. You've got to stay in the right place and stay focused. He did that enough to get us going and took a lot of pressure off us. There's a ton of confidence when you have a two-run lead and Wicks is on the mound throwing like he was."
The fifth inning saw the Wildcats double their lead, as Blake Burrows sparked the frame with a single and a stolen base before scoring on a triple off the bat of Zach Kokoska. Kokoska would come around to score on a single by Thompson.
Burrows led the Cats with a pair of hits, going 2 for 4 with two steals. In total, K-State swiped five bases in the game.
UTRGV (2-1) starting pitcher Christian Ramos gave up the home run to Phillips as he allowed three earned runs on three hits in 4 1/3 innings in taking the loss.
Reliever Ricky Arevalo surrendered one run on two hits while recording one out.
K-State pitchers limited UTRGV to 0 for 8 with runners on base while stranding nine.
The four-game series will wrap up Monday at 7 p.m. and will be streamed lived on the WAC Digital Network. Radio coverage is also available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with live, free audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Wicks, the reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year, struck out seven and did not issue a walk in holding UTRGV scoreless. The left-hander from Conway, Arkansas, scattered four hits and retired the Vaqueros in order in four separate innings in turning in the ninth quality start of his career.
"He was awesome," head coach Pete Hughes said of Wicks' outing. "What better guy to get you back on the winning side than that kid. Everybody in our dugout trusts him, every coach trusts him. He's got really good stuff and he was awesome today."
Redshirt junior Tyler Eckberg entered the game two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning but worked out of trouble to preserve the shutout and pick up a four-out save. Eckberg, who missed nearly all last season with an injury, struck out one in picking up the eighth save of his career and first since 2018.
"Proud of him, he got the game ball," added Hughes of Eckberg. "He was tireless in his rehab for almost a year, for that moment. It was great to see him execute in a high-leverage situation but with really, really good stuff. We are so proud of Tyler."
Phillips' homer came in the fourth inning and handed K-State (1-2) a 2-0 lead. Cameron Thompson led off the inning with a walk and later stole second before Phillips connected on his 11th career homer. Phillips, a sophomore who set the program's freshman home run record with 10, snapped a 0 for 8 streak to begin the year.
"Big hit and good for him for grinding and grinding," Hughes said of Phillips. "This game will beat you down if you let it. You've got to stay in the right place and stay focused. He did that enough to get us going and took a lot of pressure off us. There's a ton of confidence when you have a two-run lead and Wicks is on the mound throwing like he was."
The fifth inning saw the Wildcats double their lead, as Blake Burrows sparked the frame with a single and a stolen base before scoring on a triple off the bat of Zach Kokoska. Kokoska would come around to score on a single by Thompson.
Burrows led the Cats with a pair of hits, going 2 for 4 with two steals. In total, K-State swiped five bases in the game.
UTRGV (2-1) starting pitcher Christian Ramos gave up the home run to Phillips as he allowed three earned runs on three hits in 4 1/3 innings in taking the loss.
Reliever Ricky Arevalo surrendered one run on two hits while recording one out.
K-State pitchers limited UTRGV to 0 for 8 with runners on base while stranding nine.
The four-game series will wrap up Monday at 7 p.m. and will be streamed lived on the WAC Digital Network. Radio coverage is also available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with live, free audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored four runs on six hits without an error and left eight on base.
- UTRGV scored no runs on six hits with no errors and stranded nine baserunners.
- Wicks tossed seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in the win.
- It marked the ninth quality start of Wicks' career.
- Eckberg collected a four-out save, his eighth career save and first since 2018.
- Phillips hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, the 11th of his career.
- Burrows led the Cats with two hits and two steals.
- K-State stole five bases in the game.
- K-State limited UTRGV to 0 for 8 with runners on base.
- K-State leads the all-time series, 5-4.
- K-State is 2-2 on the road against UTRGV.
- The Wildcats snapped a three-game skid to the Vaqueros
- Thompson made his 170th consecutive start for the Wildcats.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wicks, Jordan (1-0)
L: Ramos, Cristian (0-1)
S: Eckberg, Tyler (1)
Batting:
3B: Kokoska, Zach 1
HR: Phillips, Dylan 1
RBI: Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Phillips, Dylan 2
SH: Littlejim, Caleb 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Burrows, Blake 1 ; Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Phillips, Dylan 1
SB: Burrows, Blake 2 ; Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Caplinger, Dylan 1
CS: Carinci, Daniel 1
HBP: Kokoska, Zach 1
Batting:
2B: Diaz, Conrado 1
Base Running:
HBP: Rojas Jr., Freddy 1 ; Atwood, Andy 1 ; Diaz, Conrado 1 ; Luper, Darian 1
PO: Sepulveda, Christian 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
dh/p
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ Baseball
IF/OF
/ Baseball
LHP
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