Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, February 19
Surprise, AZ
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Wicks, K-State Outduel Oregon State on Opening Day
Feb 19, 2021 | Baseball
SURPRISE, Ariz. – In a matchup of two of the nation's best pitchers, K-State's Jordan Wicks outdueled Oregon State's Kevin Abel as the Wildcats took the season opener, 3-2, at the Sanderson Ford College Classic Friday at Surprise Stadium.
Wicks tied his career high with 10 strikeouts, as he allowed just three hits in holding the Beavers scoreless over seven innings in the win. The lefty retired 18 of the final 20 hitters he faced after he worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the second inning.
"He was awesome," said head coach Pete Hughes. "When he gets into that rhythm, he's really tough to beat.
"Great players figure it out in those big moments in the game. That's bases loaded, no out. If you damage control that inning, you give up one run. And he comes out punch out, punch out and gets three outs in a row. That's why he's a great player and a great competitor. He completely turned the momentum around in that situation."
Abel held the Wildcats without a hit until the fifth inning, when true freshman Nick Goodwin delivered a two-run double to break the scoreless tie. Goodwin's first collegiate hit brought home Kamron Willman and Caleb Littlejim and the Cats led 2-0.
"I didn't think any moment would be too big for him," Hughes said of Goodwin. "He had two strikes and that was a big, big hit. It was the first hit and got us to relax a little bit and it helped Wicks settle in with a two-run lead."
Goodwin, who hit in the No. 2 spot in the lineup as the designated hitter, reached base four times in his Wildcat debut after drawing three walks.
Littlejim extended K-State's lead to three runs when he roped a two-out double down the left field line. Littlejim finished with a team-high two hits, going 2 for 3.
Oregon State (0-1) got a two-run homer from Ryan Ober in the eighth to cut the K-State (1-0) lead to a single run, 3-2. Tyler Eckberg struck out two in the ninth inning, including the final out, to earn his ninth career save.
"Any time that you can beat a program like that, it gives you a lot of confidence in your dugout," Hughes added. "Hopefully we can build on that and play well this weekend. I like the way we played today."
Ober's two-out home run broke a stretch of 22 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings thrown by the K-State bullpen.
Abel, a national freshman of the year in 2018 and playing in his first game since 2019, took the loss after striking out seven over 4 2/3 innings with one hit allowed. Six Beaver pitchers combined to issue seven walks.
K-State snapped a five-game losing streak to OSU while claiming its first Opening Day win since the 2016 season.
K-State continues the Sanderson Ford College Classic Saturday against Gonzaga at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on FloBaseball (paid) with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Fans can also catch live, free audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Wicks tied his career high with 10 strikeouts, as he allowed just three hits in holding the Beavers scoreless over seven innings in the win. The lefty retired 18 of the final 20 hitters he faced after he worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the second inning.
"He was awesome," said head coach Pete Hughes. "When he gets into that rhythm, he's really tough to beat.
"Great players figure it out in those big moments in the game. That's bases loaded, no out. If you damage control that inning, you give up one run. And he comes out punch out, punch out and gets three outs in a row. That's why he's a great player and a great competitor. He completely turned the momentum around in that situation."
Abel held the Wildcats without a hit until the fifth inning, when true freshman Nick Goodwin delivered a two-run double to break the scoreless tie. Goodwin's first collegiate hit brought home Kamron Willman and Caleb Littlejim and the Cats led 2-0.
"I didn't think any moment would be too big for him," Hughes said of Goodwin. "He had two strikes and that was a big, big hit. It was the first hit and got us to relax a little bit and it helped Wicks settle in with a two-run lead."
Goodwin, who hit in the No. 2 spot in the lineup as the designated hitter, reached base four times in his Wildcat debut after drawing three walks.
Littlejim extended K-State's lead to three runs when he roped a two-out double down the left field line. Littlejim finished with a team-high two hits, going 2 for 3.
Oregon State (0-1) got a two-run homer from Ryan Ober in the eighth to cut the K-State (1-0) lead to a single run, 3-2. Tyler Eckberg struck out two in the ninth inning, including the final out, to earn his ninth career save.
"Any time that you can beat a program like that, it gives you a lot of confidence in your dugout," Hughes added. "Hopefully we can build on that and play well this weekend. I like the way we played today."
Ober's two-out home run broke a stretch of 22 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings thrown by the K-State bullpen.
Abel, a national freshman of the year in 2018 and playing in his first game since 2019, took the loss after striking out seven over 4 2/3 innings with one hit allowed. Six Beaver pitchers combined to issue seven walks.
K-State snapped a five-game losing streak to OSU while claiming its first Opening Day win since the 2016 season.
K-State continues the Sanderson Ford College Classic Saturday against Gonzaga at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on FloBaseball (paid) with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Fans can also catch live, free audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored three runs on three hits and committed no errors and left 11 on base.
- Oregon State scored two runs on six hits with two errors and stranded five baserunners.
- Wicks matched his career high with 10 strikeouts.
- Wicks has gone seven innings in four of his last five starts, going back to 2020.
- Littlejim registered two of K-State's three hits.
- Goodwin picked up his first collegiate hit in his Wildcat debut, going 1 for 2 with three walks and two RBI.
- Eckberg collected his ninth career save, striking out a pair in the ninth.
- K-State drew seven walks.
- Two of the Cats' three hits came with two outs.
- The Wildcats went 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position while OSU was 2 for 5.
- Oregon State leads the all-time series 8-5.
- K-State snapped a five-game losing streak to the Beavers going back to 2013.
- The Cats won their first season opener since 2016.
- Cameron Thompson made his 185th consecutive start for the Wildcats.
- Zach Kokoska's 16-game on-base streak and Dylan Phillips' 11-game hitting streak both came to an end.
- The Wildcat bullpen's scoreless stretch ended at 22 2/3 innings.
1-0 pic.twitter.com/UT2KSisexp
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) February 19, 2021
Swing and a miss... K-State Wins.
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) February 20, 2021
Game Highlights vs Oregon State ⤵️#KStateBSB x EMAW pic.twitter.com/z25wqLAzHN
Throwing 🔥!@wicks_jordan throws 10 K's for @KStateBSB in a 3-2 victory over Oregon State. pic.twitter.com/OkfBbbxnnf
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) February 19, 2021
Wicks tosses a gem to start the 'Cats 2021 campaign #KStateBSB x @wicks_jordan
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) February 19, 2021
🎥 @FloBaseball pic.twitter.com/TEUDoOZy3h
Nick Goodwin connects on his first career hit to put #KStateBSB up 2-0 over Oregon State.
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) February 19, 2021
Watch on @FloBaseball
🎥 https://t.co/kNVvhcVhWR pic.twitter.com/fJKNcKalY6
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wicks, Jordan (1-0)
L: Abel, Kevin (0-1)
S: Eckberg, Tyler (1)
Batting:
2B: Goodwin, Nick 1 ; Littlejim, Caleb 1
RBI: Goodwin, Nick 2 ; Littlejim, Caleb 1
SH: Littlejim, Caleb 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Phillips, Dylan 1 ; Willman, Kamron 1 ; Littlejim, Caleb 1
SB: Goodwin, Nick 2
HBP: Phillips, Dylan 1 ; Willman, Kamron 1
Batting:
3B: Jones, Preston 1
HR: Ober, Ryan 1
RBI: Ober, Ryan 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Preston 1 ; Ober, Ryan 1
PO: Claunch, Troy 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballRHP/OF
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
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