Kansas State University Athletics
Sunday, March 28
Stillwater, OK
1 p.m.
Kansas State University
13-10, 0
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Oklahoma State
15-6-1, 0
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Kansas State
0
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Oklahoma State
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No. 13 Oklahoma State Completes Sweep of K-State Sunday
Mar 28, 2021 | Baseball
STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State starter Justin Wrobleski allowed just one hit over his seven innings of work, as the 13th-ranked Cowboys claimed an 8-2 victory over K-State Sunday at O'Brate Stadium.
Zach Kokoska's seventh-inning home run marked the first hit of the game for K-State (13-10, 0-3 Big 12), as OSU (15-6-1, 4-2 Big 12) completed the three-game series sweep.
Wrobleski did walk four Wildcat hitters, including consecutive walks issued to Daniel Carinci and Jordan Maxson to begin the third inning. Dow 3-1, the duo then executed a double steal and stood in scoring position with no outs. Cameron Uselton's groundout scored Carinci to cut into OSU's lead but left with just one run home.
"We just didn't make adjustments against a really good arm," said head coach Pete Hughes. "Wrobleski had really good stuff, so you've got to pick your spots to have productive innings against those type of guys. We didn't capitalize when he lost control of the strike zone. In Big 12 games, there are only going to be one or two spots where you can make up some runs. He gave us an opportunity to do that, but we didn't' take advantage of it."
In earning the victory, Wrobleski struck out nine and allowed two earned runs.
Oklahoma State added three unearned runs in the fourth courtesy of two K-State errors, pushing its lead to 6-1. K-State starter Connor McCullough's day ended in the fourth inning and he finished with six runs allowed (three earned) on four hits.
Carson McCusker roped an RBI double to left field after Justin Campbell reached on an error to lead off the fourth inning. McCusker drove in two runs and went 2-for-4.
OSU tacked on a pair in the fifth via RBI singles from Christian Encarnacion-Strand and McCusker.
Encarnacion-Strand homered to lead off the second, sparking a three-run inning. It was Encarnacion-Strand's second home run of the series. Caeden Trenkle capped the frame with a two-out, two-run double.
Kokoska was responsible for two of the Wildcats' three hits Sunday. His home run was his team- and conference-leading ninth of the year.
Uselton singled to begin the eighth, finishing 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Out of the bullpen, senior Kasey Ford logged 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Ford scattered three hits and struck out four.
Wrobleski, Trevor Martin and Brett Standlee combined for 13 strikeouts in limiting K-State to 0-for-9 with two outs and 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. In the three-game set, the Wildcats went 3-for-28 with runners in scoring position.
K-State returns home to Tointon Family Stadium to host No. 4 Texas Tech for a three-game series starting Thursday. All three games will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with live, free audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Zach Kokoska's seventh-inning home run marked the first hit of the game for K-State (13-10, 0-3 Big 12), as OSU (15-6-1, 4-2 Big 12) completed the three-game series sweep.
Wrobleski did walk four Wildcat hitters, including consecutive walks issued to Daniel Carinci and Jordan Maxson to begin the third inning. Dow 3-1, the duo then executed a double steal and stood in scoring position with no outs. Cameron Uselton's groundout scored Carinci to cut into OSU's lead but left with just one run home.
"We just didn't make adjustments against a really good arm," said head coach Pete Hughes. "Wrobleski had really good stuff, so you've got to pick your spots to have productive innings against those type of guys. We didn't capitalize when he lost control of the strike zone. In Big 12 games, there are only going to be one or two spots where you can make up some runs. He gave us an opportunity to do that, but we didn't' take advantage of it."
In earning the victory, Wrobleski struck out nine and allowed two earned runs.
Oklahoma State added three unearned runs in the fourth courtesy of two K-State errors, pushing its lead to 6-1. K-State starter Connor McCullough's day ended in the fourth inning and he finished with six runs allowed (three earned) on four hits.
Carson McCusker roped an RBI double to left field after Justin Campbell reached on an error to lead off the fourth inning. McCusker drove in two runs and went 2-for-4.
OSU tacked on a pair in the fifth via RBI singles from Christian Encarnacion-Strand and McCusker.
Encarnacion-Strand homered to lead off the second, sparking a three-run inning. It was Encarnacion-Strand's second home run of the series. Caeden Trenkle capped the frame with a two-out, two-run double.
Kokoska was responsible for two of the Wildcats' three hits Sunday. His home run was his team- and conference-leading ninth of the year.
Uselton singled to begin the eighth, finishing 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Out of the bullpen, senior Kasey Ford logged 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Ford scattered three hits and struck out four.
Wrobleski, Trevor Martin and Brett Standlee combined for 13 strikeouts in limiting K-State to 0-for-9 with two outs and 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. In the three-game set, the Wildcats went 3-for-28 with runners in scoring position.
K-State returns home to Tointon Family Stadium to host No. 4 Texas Tech for a three-game series starting Thursday. All three games will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be 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 two runs on three hits with two errors and five left on base.
- Oklahoma State scored eight runs on eight hits with no errors and six left on base.
- Kokoska hit his team-high ninth homer of the year.
- Kokoska's homer in the seventh was K-State's first hit of the day.
- Kokoska had two of K-State's three hits.
- K-State went 0-for-9 with two outs, 0-for-12 with runners on base and 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
- Three OSU pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts on the day.
- McCullough dropped to 1-1 after allowing six runs (three earned) on four hits with three walks and a strikeout in 3 1/3 innings of work.
- Ford worked 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing three hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
- Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 174-58.
- The Cats are 17-101 on the road in the series.
- The Cowboys have won the last 11 meetings in the series.
- Kokoska extended his on-base streak to 19 games.
- Thompson made his 207th consecutive start for the Wildcats (sixth all-time).
- K-State has 32 homers on the year, which is good for second in the Big 12.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wrobleski, Justin (2-2)
L: McCullough, Connor (1-1)
Batting:
HR: Kokoska, Zach 1
RBI: Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Uselton, Cameron 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kokoska, Zach 1 ; Carinci, Daniel 1
SB: Carinci, Daniel 1 ; Maxson, Jordan 1
Batting:
2B: Trenkle, Caeden 1 ; McCusker, Carson 1
HR: Enc.-Strand, Chris. 1
RBI: Trenkle, Caeden 2 ; Morrill, Hueston 1 ; Enc.-Strand, Chris. 1 ; McCusker, Carson 2 ; Mathis, Brock 1
SH: Trenkle, Caeden 1
SF: Morrill, Hueston 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Enc.-Strand, Chris. 2 ; Campbell, Justin 3 ; McCusker, Carson 1 ; Mathis, Brock 2
PO: Morrill, Hueston 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
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