Kansas State University Athletics
Bats Stay Hot as Cats Complete Sweep of Knights
Feb 29, 2020 | Baseball
K-State (6-5) scored multiple runs in four consecutive innings, spanning from the third to the sixth, highlighted by a seven-run fourth that saw the Wildcats bring a dozen batters to the plate. The Cats plated six runs in the inning before an out was recorded.
"Jordan [Wicks] gave us the big start on the mound and we built a lead early, we were able to get some guys in that will help us win some games down the road this year," head coach Pete Hughes said after the game. "[The hitting] carried over from yesterday and it's all confidence. You get a couple hits going and it is contagious, it runs through your lineup, so it was good have the last couple games.
"Nothing like winning to get you feeling good, just to get those bats going. We are headed into a big task at Stanford here next week, so I think we have some confidence offensively and we are pitching pretty good and playing good defense. Just what we were looking for."
After three more runs in the fifth, K-State had brought across 12 runs, which was more than enough to support Wicks. Wicks scattered four hits without issuing a walk in collecting his second win of the season. The sophomore left-hander has yet to allow a run this season, a scoreless streak of 19 innings to begin the year.
"I knew these guys were going to put up some runs for me," Wicks said. "There are a lot of great hitters in our lineup and I knew that it was just a matter of time, honestly.
"Early on, the ball was a little more up than we liked. Later on, I was able to work it down and work off the changeup a little bit more. With the wind blowing out to left, we wanted to stay away from righties a little bit and stay away from their strength. It always starts and stops with fastball-changeup, so I think that's where a lot of the success came from."
Six different Wildcats turned in multi-hit efforts, as 11 players registered a base hit in the game. Kamron Willman had a team-high three hits, going 3 for 5 with two RBI and three runs scored.
Daniel Carinci and Jordan Maxson each drove in three to lead a group of seven Cats with multiple RBI.
In the third inning, K-State took advantage of two walks, a wild pitch and a hit batter. Maxson delivered a single with two outs to score Dylan Phillips and Zach Kokoska for a 2-0 Wildcat advantage.
The Cats' seven-run fourth came on seven hits in the frame. Phillips and Chris Ceballos each drove in a pair to highlight the big inning. Kokoska, Cameron Thompson and Willman also drove in runs, as K-State extended to a 9-0 lead.
The offense continued with three runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth. Carinci drove in a pair in the fifth, while Blake Burrows doubled in two to increase the K-State edge to 17-0 after six innings.
Willman drove in a single run and Zach Hogueisson followed with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to complete the K-State scoring.
Fairleigh Dickinson scored its only run in the eighth inning on a double by Brad Levinson. It was the first earned run of the weekend for the Knights.
In relief of Wicks, Caleb Littlejim, Griffin Hassall, Luke Bay and Tyler Eckberg saw action on the mound for the Cats. Eckberg struck out the side in order to end the game while Hassall and Littlejim each threw a scoreless inning in their first outings of the season.
K-State tallied 11 two-out RBI and hit .458 (11 for 24) with runners in scoring position.
The Wildcats will head west to take on Stanford in a four-game series beginning Friday, March 6. The series can be seen on Stanford's live stream with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio is also available on K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored 20 runs on 18 hits without an error and left 11 on base.
- Fairleigh Dickinson scored one run on six hits with two errors and stranded six baserunners.
- Ten Wildcats drove in a run with seven registering multiple RBI.
- Willman had a team-high three hits while Carinci and Maxson each picked up three RBI.
- Wicks extended his scoreless streak to 19 innings to begin the season.
- Hogueisson hit the first home run of his K-State career in the eighth.
- The Cats drove in 11 runs with two outs and hit .458 with runners in scoring position.
- K-State plated six of its seven runs in the fourth before an out was recorded.
- The Cats allowed one earned run in the three-game series.
- Eleven Wildcats recorded a base hit in the game while six had multiple base hits.
- K-State leads the all-time series with Fairleigh Dickinson, 3-0.
- The Wildcats improve to 6-0 all-time in Leap Day (Feb. 29).
- Thompson made his 178th consecutive start for the Wildcats.
- K-State scored 20 runs for the first time since Feb. 28, 2016 against Utah (20-4).
- It marked the Cats' largest margin of victory since defeating Northern Colorado 24-3 on March 15, 2014.
- With two hits, Thompson extended his on-base streak to 15 games, dating back to last season.
20 🍔#KStateBSB pic.twitter.com/kaho2KjqMC
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) March 1, 2020
"I knew these guys were going to put up some runs for me. There's a lot of great hitters in our lineup." #KStateBSB x @wicks_jordan pic.twitter.com/q9wrFGDY2r
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) March 1, 2020
"Overall, a good team weekend. I thought we built depth in our program this weekend, & there's nothing like winning to learn lessons." #KStateBSB x Coach Hughes pic.twitter.com/mApC506DnI
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) March 1, 2020
At the light show #KStateBSB pic.twitter.com/YfS3yELIOm
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) March 1, 2020
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wicks, Jordan (2-0)
L: COHN, Aaron (0-1)
Batting:
2B: LEVINSON, Brad 1 ; RUSCITTI, Tom 1
RBI: LEVINSON, Brad 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ELLOWITZ, Jake 1
HBP: BRODSKY, Nate 1 ; RUSCITTI, Tom 1
PO: BRODSKY, Nate 1

Batting:
2B: Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Spurlin, Terrence 1 ; Ceballos, Chris 1 ; Maxson, Jordan 1 ; Burrows, Blake 1
HR: Hogueisson, Zach 1
RBI: Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Phillips, Dylan 2 ; Ceballos, Chris 2 ; Crews, Mason 1 ; Maxson, Jordan 3 ; Carinci, Daniel 3 ; Willman, Kamron 2 ; Burrows, Blake 2 ; Hogueisson, Zach 2
SF: Carinci, Daniel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kokoska, Zach 2 ; Thompson, Cameron 2 ; Phillips, Dylan 3 ; Herb, Chris 1 ; Spurlin, Terrence 2 ; Garrett, Austin 1 ; Ceballos, Chris 1 ; Crews, Mason 1 ; Maxson, Jordan 2 ; Willman, Kamron 3 ; Burrows, Blake 1 ; Hogueisson, Zach 1
HBP: Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Herb, Chris 1 ; Willman, Kamron 1 ; Burrows, Blake 1