Kansas State University Athletics
Sunday, March 8
Stanford, Calif.
3 p.m.
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Wicks’ Seven Strong, Phillips’ Homer Clinch Series over Cardinal
Mar 08, 2020 | Baseball
STANFORD, Calif. – K-State starter Jordan Wicks logged seven innings of one-run baseball while Dylan Phillips added a two-run home run to power the Wildcats to a series-clinching 6-1 victory over Stanford Sunday afternoon at Sunken Diamond.
Wicks turned in his third quality start of the season in improving his record to 3-0, as he scattered five hits to go with four strikeouts and no walks. The run given up by Wicks marked the first run allowed by the sophomore lefty in his four starts, snapping a scoreless streak of 24 2/3 innings to begin the season.
"Today we needed our guy to be our guy and, as usual, he was," said head coach Pete Hughes. "Jordan Wicks was awesome. He controls and dominates the entire tempo of the game, for both sides. That's what elite guys do and that's what he did today. It buys us time to manufacture some innings when you have a quality arm like that going for you. No one in your dugout panics and can let the game come to them."
Wicks, the 2019 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, allowed just two Cardinal baserunners to reach in his first five innings of work and put down 17 of the first 19 he faced. Wicks retired eight consecutive hitters before a two-out double by Austin Kretzschmar in the sixth inning.
Carson Greene followed Kretschmar's double with an RBI single to put an end to Wicks' career-long scoreless streak and cut K-State's lead to 3-1.
Phillips broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with his two-run homer. Phillips' team-leading third home run of the year marked the Wildcats' first hit of the game. Stanford starter Nathan Fleischli retired seven of the nine hitters he faced before giving way to Brandon Dieter in the third.
Dieter took the loss after allowing three earned in 3 1/3 innings.
In the top half of the sixth, Zach Kokoska doubled to lead off the frame and later scored on an RBI groundout by Terrence Spurlin to push the Cats' lead to 3-0. Kokoska led K-State with two hits in going 2 for 3 with two runs scored, two walks and an RBI.
After Stanford trimmed the Wildcat lead to just two, K-State responded with two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth.
K-State capitalized on the Cardinal's second error of the game in the eighth, scoring on a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt put down by Spurlin before Chris Ceballos lifted a sacrifice fly.
Kokoska's RBI single in the ninth scored Dom Hughes, who led off the inning with a pinch-hit double.
The Cats drove in three of their six runs with two outs while four of their six hits went for extra bases (three doubles and a home run).
Cameron Thompson doubled for the fourth time in the series and scored in the game.
"I thought we situationally hit very well, which we hadn't done in the previous couple games," Hughes added. "We moved some people over and executed some productive outs. The little things you have to do to get Big 12 ready."
Tyler Eckberg took over for Wicks and tossed the final two innings with a pair of strikeouts. Eckberg and Wicks combined to hold Stanford to 1 for 13 (.077) with runners on base.
In all three wins in the four-game series, the K-State pitching staff allowed a single run. The Cats have given up one run in six of their last seven games (all wins).
K-State picked up its first series win over a Pac-12 team since sweeping UCLA in a three-game series at home in 2001. The series victory marked the first road series win over a team from the Pac-12 in program history.
"It's one of our goals, to be a better road team," Hughes finished. "Tough programs play well on the road and they set up shop and make it your home field for three days. That was our challenge this weekend and I thought we did that. We are going to have to do that this year in some tough places to play."
K-State returns to Tointon Family Stadium for a two-game midweek series against South Dakota State beginning Tuesday at 6 p.m. The series will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ 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
Wicks turned in his third quality start of the season in improving his record to 3-0, as he scattered five hits to go with four strikeouts and no walks. The run given up by Wicks marked the first run allowed by the sophomore lefty in his four starts, snapping a scoreless streak of 24 2/3 innings to begin the season.
"Today we needed our guy to be our guy and, as usual, he was," said head coach Pete Hughes. "Jordan Wicks was awesome. He controls and dominates the entire tempo of the game, for both sides. That's what elite guys do and that's what he did today. It buys us time to manufacture some innings when you have a quality arm like that going for you. No one in your dugout panics and can let the game come to them."
Wicks, the 2019 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, allowed just two Cardinal baserunners to reach in his first five innings of work and put down 17 of the first 19 he faced. Wicks retired eight consecutive hitters before a two-out double by Austin Kretzschmar in the sixth inning.
Carson Greene followed Kretschmar's double with an RBI single to put an end to Wicks' career-long scoreless streak and cut K-State's lead to 3-1.
Phillips broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with his two-run homer. Phillips' team-leading third home run of the year marked the Wildcats' first hit of the game. Stanford starter Nathan Fleischli retired seven of the nine hitters he faced before giving way to Brandon Dieter in the third.
Dieter took the loss after allowing three earned in 3 1/3 innings.
In the top half of the sixth, Zach Kokoska doubled to lead off the frame and later scored on an RBI groundout by Terrence Spurlin to push the Cats' lead to 3-0. Kokoska led K-State with two hits in going 2 for 3 with two runs scored, two walks and an RBI.
After Stanford trimmed the Wildcat lead to just two, K-State responded with two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth.
K-State capitalized on the Cardinal's second error of the game in the eighth, scoring on a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt put down by Spurlin before Chris Ceballos lifted a sacrifice fly.
Kokoska's RBI single in the ninth scored Dom Hughes, who led off the inning with a pinch-hit double.
The Cats drove in three of their six runs with two outs while four of their six hits went for extra bases (three doubles and a home run).
Cameron Thompson doubled for the fourth time in the series and scored in the game.
"I thought we situationally hit very well, which we hadn't done in the previous couple games," Hughes added. "We moved some people over and executed some productive outs. The little things you have to do to get Big 12 ready."
Tyler Eckberg took over for Wicks and tossed the final two innings with a pair of strikeouts. Eckberg and Wicks combined to hold Stanford to 1 for 13 (.077) with runners on base.
In all three wins in the four-game series, the K-State pitching staff allowed a single run. The Cats have given up one run in six of their last seven games (all wins).
K-State picked up its first series win over a Pac-12 team since sweeping UCLA in a three-game series at home in 2001. The series victory marked the first road series win over a team from the Pac-12 in program history.
"It's one of our goals, to be a better road team," Hughes finished. "Tough programs play well on the road and they set up shop and make it your home field for three days. That was our challenge this weekend and I thought we did that. We are going to have to do that this year in some tough places to play."
K-State returns to Tointon Family Stadium for a two-game midweek series against South Dakota State beginning Tuesday at 6 p.m. The series will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ 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
- K-State scored six runs on six hits without an error and left six on base.
- Stanford scored one run on seven hits and committed two errors with seven left on base.
- Wicks improved to 3-0 with his third quality outing in four starts.
- Wicks' scoreless streak to begin the season was snapped at 24 2/3 innings.
- Four of the Wildcats' six hits went for extra bases.
- Phillips hit his team-leading third home run of the season.
- Hughes, Kokoska and Thompson each doubled in the game.
- Thompson doubled four times in the series.
- Kokoska hit a team-high .500 in the series, going 7 for 14 with three doubles and a triple.
- Spurlin drove in 10 in the series with a double and a homer.
- Three of K-State's six runs came with two outs.
- K-State limited Stanford to 1 for 13 (.077) with runners on base on Sunday.
- The all-time series between K-State and Stanford is now tied 3-3.
- The series marked the first meeting between the teams since the 2011 Fullerton Regional.
- The series victory was the Wildcats' first over a Pac-12 team since 2001 (UCLA).
- It also marked the program's first road series win over a team from the Pac-12.
- The Wildcats have won six of their last seven games, yielding one run in all six wins.
- Thompson made his 182nd consecutive start for the Wildcats.
- Thompson is now seventh all-time at K-State with 732 career at-bats.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wicks, Jordan (3-0)
L: Dieter,Brandon (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Hughes, Dom 1
HR: Phillips, Dylan 1
RBI: Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Spurlin, Terrence 1 ; Phillips, Dylan 2 ; Ceballos, Chris 1
SH: Spurlin, Terrence 1
SF: Ceballos, Chris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kokoska, Zach 2 ; Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Spurlin, Terrence 1 ; Phillips, Dylan 1 ; Hughes, Dom 1
CS: Littlejim, Caleb 1
HBP: Littlejim, Caleb 1
Batting:
2B: Kretzschmar,Austin 2
RBI: Greene, Carson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kretzschmar,Austin 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
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2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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LHP
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