Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, March 7
Stanford, Calif.
3:45 p.m.
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Cats Split Saturday Doubleheader at Stanford
Mar 07, 2020 | Baseball
STANFORD, Calif. – Behind a career-high five RBI from Terrence Spurlin, K-State defeated Stanford 11-1 in the nightcap to split a Saturday doubleheader at Sunken Diamond after dropping the day's first game, 7-5.
Spurlin lifted a two-run home run in the fourth inning to go with a two-RBI single in the eighth while Zach Kokoska and Cameron Thompson each registered three hits and two RBI in game two. The Wildcats (8-6) scored nine runs over a three-inning stretch to take two of the first three games from the Cardinal (5-10).
Starter Kasey Ford and reliever Zak Herbers combined to hold Stanford to one run over eight innings while striking out seven and walking one. Herbers earned the first victory of his Wildcat career, logging 4 1/3 innings without allowing a run on four hits.
"Good bounce-back win for our program, but disappointing because we want to play clean baseball the entire day," said head coach Pete Hughes. "We didn't do that, but we finished the day strong and we are heading into tomorrow with a positive attitude.
"In baseball, you've got to have a short-term memory, we did that. We executed a really nice game plan (in game two) and got great pitching from Kasey (Ford) and (Zak) Herbers. Zak was outstanding in his first win. More importantly, he really saved our bullpen going into tomorrow and he gave our offense a chance to work and build a lead."
Daniel Carinci went 2 for 4 while Dylan Phillips drove in two and Kamron Willman added an RBI in game two. Four Cats registered multi-hit games, as K-State tallied a dozen hits in the win.
After falling behind by five runs in the day's first game, K-State rallied to put across three runs in the eighth. Spurlin roped a two-run single and Phillips followed with an RBI double and the Cats trimmed the deficit to two with two runners in scoring position and nobody out.
Dylan Caplinger was thrown out trying to score from third on a ball that got away from catcher Christian Molfetta, and the Wildcats were unable to close the gap with any further damage in the inning.
"We beat ourselves, honestly, in game one," Hughes added. "We left four runs on the field by the way we ran the bases. That's fundamental baseball and we've got to be fundamentally sound. You get a bad taste in your mouth, but you don't have too much time to feel sorry for yourself. You've got to recover, and our guys are resilient, and they did a great job to bounce back."
Chris Ceballos and Spurlin each drove in two in the day's opener, with Ceballos going 3 for 4. Thompson doubled twice and Kokoska went 2 for 4 with two runs scored in the leadoff spot.
Stanford put together three consecutive two-out hits as part of a three-run third after the Cats took an early 1-0 lead. Tim Tawa doubled before Christian Molfetta's RBI triple capped the frame for the Cardinal. In total, Stanford recorded four hits in taking its first lead of the series.
Nick Brueser tacked on a run in the following inning with his RBI double to bring in Zach Sehgal, stretching the Cardinal lead to 4-1 after four.
After allowing a run on two hits in the first, Cardinal starter Quinn Mathews did not allow another baserunner until Kokoska singled in the sixth – a stretch of 14 straight Wildcat hitters retired.
Following Kokoska's single in the sixth, Thompson doubled and scored when Ceballos registered his second RBI single to cut the Cats' deficit to 4-2.
In the home half of the sixth, the Cardinal responded by adding three runs on two hits and an error to push the lead to five runs. Brueser doubled to score a pair before a squeeze bunt was laid down by Austin Kretzschmar.
Brueser spearheaded the Stanford offense in game one, going 3 for 4 with three RBI.
In the start for K-State, Connor McCullough was tagged for his first loss of the year. The redshirt freshman allowed four earned runs on six hits and four walks while striking out six.
Over the entire doubleheader, Spurlin drove in seven while Kokoska went 5 for 8 with two doubles, a triple and two RBI. Thompson recorded three doubles in a 5-for-10 day.
K-State and Stanford wrap up the four-game series on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT. The series finale will be streamed through Stanford Live Stream with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio is also available at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Spurlin lifted a two-run home run in the fourth inning to go with a two-RBI single in the eighth while Zach Kokoska and Cameron Thompson each registered three hits and two RBI in game two. The Wildcats (8-6) scored nine runs over a three-inning stretch to take two of the first three games from the Cardinal (5-10).
Starter Kasey Ford and reliever Zak Herbers combined to hold Stanford to one run over eight innings while striking out seven and walking one. Herbers earned the first victory of his Wildcat career, logging 4 1/3 innings without allowing a run on four hits.
"Good bounce-back win for our program, but disappointing because we want to play clean baseball the entire day," said head coach Pete Hughes. "We didn't do that, but we finished the day strong and we are heading into tomorrow with a positive attitude.
"In baseball, you've got to have a short-term memory, we did that. We executed a really nice game plan (in game two) and got great pitching from Kasey (Ford) and (Zak) Herbers. Zak was outstanding in his first win. More importantly, he really saved our bullpen going into tomorrow and he gave our offense a chance to work and build a lead."
Daniel Carinci went 2 for 4 while Dylan Phillips drove in two and Kamron Willman added an RBI in game two. Four Cats registered multi-hit games, as K-State tallied a dozen hits in the win.
After falling behind by five runs in the day's first game, K-State rallied to put across three runs in the eighth. Spurlin roped a two-run single and Phillips followed with an RBI double and the Cats trimmed the deficit to two with two runners in scoring position and nobody out.
Dylan Caplinger was thrown out trying to score from third on a ball that got away from catcher Christian Molfetta, and the Wildcats were unable to close the gap with any further damage in the inning.
"We beat ourselves, honestly, in game one," Hughes added. "We left four runs on the field by the way we ran the bases. That's fundamental baseball and we've got to be fundamentally sound. You get a bad taste in your mouth, but you don't have too much time to feel sorry for yourself. You've got to recover, and our guys are resilient, and they did a great job to bounce back."
Chris Ceballos and Spurlin each drove in two in the day's opener, with Ceballos going 3 for 4. Thompson doubled twice and Kokoska went 2 for 4 with two runs scored in the leadoff spot.
Stanford put together three consecutive two-out hits as part of a three-run third after the Cats took an early 1-0 lead. Tim Tawa doubled before Christian Molfetta's RBI triple capped the frame for the Cardinal. In total, Stanford recorded four hits in taking its first lead of the series.
Nick Brueser tacked on a run in the following inning with his RBI double to bring in Zach Sehgal, stretching the Cardinal lead to 4-1 after four.
After allowing a run on two hits in the first, Cardinal starter Quinn Mathews did not allow another baserunner until Kokoska singled in the sixth – a stretch of 14 straight Wildcat hitters retired.
Following Kokoska's single in the sixth, Thompson doubled and scored when Ceballos registered his second RBI single to cut the Cats' deficit to 4-2.
In the home half of the sixth, the Cardinal responded by adding three runs on two hits and an error to push the lead to five runs. Brueser doubled to score a pair before a squeeze bunt was laid down by Austin Kretzschmar.
Brueser spearheaded the Stanford offense in game one, going 3 for 4 with three RBI.
In the start for K-State, Connor McCullough was tagged for his first loss of the year. The redshirt freshman allowed four earned runs on six hits and four walks while striking out six.
Over the entire doubleheader, Spurlin drove in seven while Kokoska went 5 for 8 with two doubles, a triple and two RBI. Thompson recorded three doubles in a 5-for-10 day.
K-State and Stanford wrap up the four-game series on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT. The series finale will be streamed through Stanford Live Stream with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio is also available at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- In game one, K-State scored five runs on 10 hits with two errors and left six on base.
- Stanford scored seven runs on 10 hits and committed two errors with seven left on base.
- In the second game, K-State scored 11 runs on 12 hits with one error and left six on base.
- Stanford scored one run on nine hits and committed two errors with eight left on base.
- Spurlin drove in a team-high seven runs in the doubleheader.
- Spurlin's five RBI in game two set a career high.
- Kokoska went 5 for 8 with two doubles, a triple and two RBI.
- Thompson doubled three times and scored five times.
- Herbers earned his first K-State victory after 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.
- In total, the Wildcats recorded 10 extra-base hits (8 doubles, triple, home run).
- The seven runs allowed in game one marked a season-high for the K-State pitching staff.
- Six Wildcat pitchers combined to strike out 18 against six walks over 17 innings pitched Saturday.
- K-State hit .379 with runners in scoring position over the two games while limiting Stanford to
- Stanford leads the all-time series 3-2.
- The series marks the first meeting between the teams since the 2011 Fullerton Regional.
- The Wildcats have yielded one run in five of their last six games.
- Thompson made his 181st consecutive start for the Wildcats.
- Thompson moved into seventh all-time at K-State with 728 career at-bats.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mathews, Quinn (1-2)
L: McCullough, Connor (2-1)
S: Dieter,Brandon (1)
Batting:
2B: Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Thompson, Cameron 2 ; Phillips, Dylan 1 ; Carinci, Daniel 1
RBI: Spurlin, Terrence 2 ; Ceballos, Chris 2 ; Phillips, Dylan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kokoska, Zach 2 ; Thompson, Cameron 2 ; Spurlin, Terrence 1
Batting:
2B: Brueser,Nick 2 ; Tawa,Tim 1 ; Molfetta,Christian 1
3B: Molfetta,Christian 1
RBI: Brueser,Nick 3 ; Kretzschmar,Austin 1 ; Greene, Carson 1 ; Tawa,Tim 1 ; Molfetta,Christian 1
SH: Kretzschmar,Austin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brueser,Nick 1 ; Greene, Carson 1 ; Tawa,Tim 1 ; Barrera, Brett 1 ; Crampton, Adam 2 ; Sehgal,Zach 1
CS: Kretzschmar,Austin 1
HBP: Crampton, Adam 1
Game Leaders
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Players Mentioned
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