Kansas State University Athletics
Thursday, April 1
Manhattan, KS
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
vs
Texas Tech
K-State Battles No. 3 Red Raiders Beginning Thursday
Mar 31, 2021 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State is primed for its home-opening Big 12 series, as No. 3 Texas Tech visits Tointon Family Stadium for a three-game series starting Thursday at 6 p.m.
The second game of the series is set for Friday at 6 p.m., with the finale slated for a 4 p.m. first pitch Saturday. K-State (13-10, 1-2 Big 12) lost all three games in its first conference series at No. 13 Oklahoma State last weekend.
Texas Tech (19-4, 2-1 Big 12) enters the weekend on a five-game winning streak while having won 19 of its last 20 games overall. The Red Raiders' Dru Baker and Jace Jung rank second and third, respectively, in the Big 12 in hitting.
The Cats will send ace left-hander Jordan Wicks, who ranks second in the Big 12 with 51 strikeouts, to the mound Thursday night. Carson Seymour takes the hill on Friday while Connor McCullough will get the call Saturday.
All three games will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Thursday' and Saturday's games will be carried on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with the contest on Friday broadcast on the K-State Sports Network. Free, streaming audio is available at K-StateSports.com/watch.
Single-game tickets for the series are now available through the K-State Ticket Office at K-StateSports.com/tickets or by calling (800) 221-CATS.
All fans in attendance will be required to wear a face covering and maintain social distance from other pods of fans. Due to health and safety guidelines, players will not be available for autographs before or after each game.
GAME #24
K-STATE (13-10, 1-2 BIG 12) vs. #3 TEXAS TECH (19-4, 2-1 BIG 12)
Thursday, April 1 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: LHP Jordan Wicks (4-1, 2.65 ERA) vs. RHP Brandon Birdsell (3-1, 3.25 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Mike Clark
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350KMAN.com
Buy Tickets | Live Stats
GAME #25
K-STATE (13-10, 1-2 BIG 12) vs. #3 TEXAS TECH (19-4, 2-1 BIG 12)
Thursday, April 1 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Carson Seymour (1-2, 4.50 ERA) vs. LHP Patrick Monteverde (5-0, 0.75 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Mike Clark
Radio: K-State Radio Network // Matt Walters, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350KMAN.com
Buy Tickets | Live Stats
GAME #26
K-STATE (13-10, 1-2 BIG 12) vs. #3 TEXAS TECH (19-4, 2-1 BIG 12)
Thursday, April 1 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Connor McCullough (1-1, 3.23 ERA) vs. LHP Mason Montgomery (1-0, 4.00 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Mike Clark
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350KMAN.com
Buy Tickets | Live Stats
A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State enters its first home Big 12 series after opening its conference slate at No. 13 Oklahoma State last weekend ... The Wildcats dropped all three games at OSU and were outscored 26-9 as the Cowboys have taken the last 11 meetings in the series ... Chris Ceballos and Zach Kokoska paced the Cats' offense, each registering three hits, a home run and two RBI over the weekend ... Nick Goodwin and Cameron Uselton both added a pair of hits ... Kokoska extended his on-base streak to 19 games, a career-long stretch ... His team-leading ninth home run also leads the Big 12 ... Jordan Wicks struck out nine over six innings in his Friday night start and Carson Seymour turned in a quality start in his outing on Saturday (6 IP, 2 ER) ... In the series, K-State went 3-for-28 (.107) with runners in scoring position and 4-for-32 (.125) with two outs ... The Cats' four-game losing streak is their longest of the season.
SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech (19-4, 2-1 Big 12), who is ranked as high as No. 3 in the national polls, has won its last five games and 19 of its last 20 games overall ... The Red Raiders enter their second Big 12 series after taking two of three games against Oklahoma State two weeks ago ... Last weekend, TTU swept South Florida in a three-game set ... Dru Baker (.442) and Jace Jung (.438) rank second and third, respectively, in hitting in the conference ... Jung's eight homers are tied for second-most in the conference and his 31 RBI are tops in the Big 12 ... As a team, Texas Tech leads the league with 35 home runs ... On the mound, Patrick Monteverde owns the second-lowest ERA in the Big 12 at 0.75 ... Monteverde ranks in the league's top 10 in wins, strikeouts and opponent batting average.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Texas Tech leads the all-time series 45-28-1 (38-26-1 Big 12), dating back to 1993 ... K-State is 17-16 at home against TTU and the Wildcats last won a home series in 2013 (3-0) ... Tech has won nine of the last 10 games in the series and 16 of the last 17 overall ... 2013 was the last time the Cats won any series against the Red Raiders.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
No. 3 Texas Tech will mark the second straight ranked team the Wildcats will face after its series against No. 13 Oklahoma State ... K-State last defeated a ranked team on May 11, 2019, an 8-6 victory over No. 20 West Virginia ... The last time the Cats defeated top-five team was back on Feb. 23, 2017 when they took down No. 4 South Carolina on the road, 6-5 ... The Wildcats last won a series over a top-25 team in 2019, taking two of three games against both No. 19 TCU and No. 14 Texas ... Pete Hughes is 7-12 against ranked opponents as the head coach at K-State.
BIG BAT CATS
After going without a home run in the season's opening weekend (four games), the Wildcats have erupted for 32 home runs over the last 19 games ... Junior Zach Kokoska leads the way with nine homers while sophomore Dylan Phillips and senior Cameron Thompson each have five ... Kokoska hit his Big 12-leading ninth homer Sunday at Oklahoma State ... As a team, K-State has launched multiple home runs in eight of 23 games this season, including a season-high six against South Dakota State on March 9 ... The six homers were one shy of tying the program's single-game record and are the most in a game since the 2006 season ... 12 different Cats have homered this season, with five going deep more than once ... K-State's 32 home runs are tied for 11th in the country and rank second in the Big 12.
WHAMMER HAMMER
Dylan Phillips saw his career-best 32-game on-base come to an end Saturday at Oklahoma State ... Phillips has recorded a base hit in 29 of his last 34 games, including 12 multi-hit efforts ... With 25 runs batted in this season, Phillips has driven in 37 runs over his last 31 games while recording an RBI in 20 of his last 31 contests ... The two-way star saw a streak of 10 consecutive games with an RBI snapped March 14 at Rice ... Phillips saw his 10-game hitting streak end March 23, as he was 18-for-37 (.486) with five homers and 16 RBI in that stretch ... His season average of .341 is good for 10th in the Big 12 while his RBI total is tied for second ... He ranks in the league's top seven in all three slash categories.
WICKY WICKY YEAH
K-State lefty Jordan Wicks racked up the preseason honors, including being named the 2021 Big 12 Co-Preseason Pitcher of the Year ... Wicks was tabbed a preseason all-American by D1Baseball, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA ... The Conway, Ark., product is K-State's first preseason all-America nod since 2014 and the first Big 12 preseason of-the-year award winner ... Wicks was also one of 55 named to USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award Watch List, which recognizes the nation's premier amateur player ... Following his 10-strikeout, seven scoreless innings against Oregon State on Opening Day, Wicks was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and National Pitcher of the Week by the NCBWA ... Wicks ranks second in the Big 12 with his 51 strikeouts and has reached double-digit strikeouts in three of six starts ... Four of his six starts this season have been quality efforts ... Dating back to last season, Wicks has allowed 12 earned runs over 63 1/3 innings (1.71 ERA) with 77 strikeouts.
GOODWIN? MORE LIKE REALLY GOODWIN
K-State true freshman Nick Goodwin has done it all for the Wildcats through the season's first five weeks, ranking in the top three on the team in hits (26), doubles (6), home runs (4), extra-base hits (10) and RBI (14) and leads the team with seven stolen bases ... The Overland Park product strung together three straight multi-hit games against Western Michigan and put together an eight-game hitting streak from March 5-13 ... Goodwin has reached base in 20 of 23 games this season and has a hit in 18 contests.
IT'S NOT HOW YOU START
Wildcat starting pitchers this season have posted a 2.98 earned run average, allowing 40 earned runs over 120 2/3 innings with 127 strikeouts against 46 walks ... The K-State bullpen owns an ERA of 4.30 (39 ER, 81.2 IP) with 86 strikeouts against 44 walks ... Over the last 13 games, Wildcat relievers have registered a 2.25 ERA (12 ER, 48 IP) with 65 strikeouts and 24 walks ... In the season's first 10 games, the bullpen yielded a 7.22 ERA (27 ER, 33.2 IP) with 21 strikeouts and 20 walks ... The Cats totaled 31 strikeouts over two games vs. SDSU, punching out 15 in the opener before a season-high 16 in the second game ... In the month of March, K-State starters are 5-5 with a 3.20 earned run average (29 ER, 81.2 IP) ... The pen has a March ERA of 2.93 (19 ER, 58.1 IP), with Jaxson Passino leading the way with 13 strikeouts in eight innings ... Kasey Ford has allowed one earned run over 11 2/3 innings in three outings while Tyler Eckberg made six appearances with one earned run in seven innings during March.
BOSS HOGS
The Cats' three pitchers from the state of Arkansas - Kasey Ford, Connor McCullough and Jordan Wicks - have allowed 25 earned runs over 93 2/3 innings (2.40 ERA) while going 6-2 with 101 strikeouts ... Ford's .202 batting average against him is ninth-best in the Big 12 while Wicks ranks second with 51 strikeouts ... Five of McCullough's first 10 starts have produced quality efforts while Wicks has allowed 12 earned runs in his last 63 1/3 innings ... Ford's six scoreless innings vs. NIU marked his longest start since the 2018 season ... The trio combined to pitch six quality outings in 11 starts in 2020 ... They were 6-2 with a 1.57 ERA (11 ER, 63.2 IP) with 69 strikeouts.
BY TH3 NUM8ERS
K-State has a run differential of +18 and is 9-4 when scoring the game's first run ... On the season, the Wildcats are 3-for-24 with the bases loaded (.125) and have held opponents to .188 (6-for-32) ... During its four-game skid, K-State is 3-for-38 (.079) with runners in scoring position and 5-for-42 (.119) with two outs with just one two-out RBI ... K-State is 3-for-13 (.231) with the bases full in games won and 0-for-11 in losses with the bags loaded ... Overall, the Cats are hitting .227 with runners in scoring position and .222 with two outs ... In victories, the Wildcats are hitting .280 with runners in scoring position and .288 with two gone ... In losses, K-State hits .147 with runners in scoring position and .130 with two outs ... K-State has tallied 30 two-out RBI in 13 wins and just six RBI with two outs in 10 losses ... With two outs, opponents are hitting just .146 against Wicks ... Phillips leads the team with a .440 average with runners in scoring position.
The second game of the series is set for Friday at 6 p.m., with the finale slated for a 4 p.m. first pitch Saturday. K-State (13-10, 1-2 Big 12) lost all three games in its first conference series at No. 13 Oklahoma State last weekend.
Texas Tech (19-4, 2-1 Big 12) enters the weekend on a five-game winning streak while having won 19 of its last 20 games overall. The Red Raiders' Dru Baker and Jace Jung rank second and third, respectively, in the Big 12 in hitting.
The Cats will send ace left-hander Jordan Wicks, who ranks second in the Big 12 with 51 strikeouts, to the mound Thursday night. Carson Seymour takes the hill on Friday while Connor McCullough will get the call Saturday.
All three games will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Thursday' and Saturday's games will be carried on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with the contest on Friday broadcast on the K-State Sports Network. Free, streaming audio is available at K-StateSports.com/watch.
Single-game tickets for the series are now available through the K-State Ticket Office at K-StateSports.com/tickets or by calling (800) 221-CATS.
All fans in attendance will be required to wear a face covering and maintain social distance from other pods of fans. Due to health and safety guidelines, players will not be available for autographs before or after each game.
GAME #24
K-STATE (13-10, 1-2 BIG 12) vs. #3 TEXAS TECH (19-4, 2-1 BIG 12)
Thursday, April 1 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: LHP Jordan Wicks (4-1, 2.65 ERA) vs. RHP Brandon Birdsell (3-1, 3.25 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Mike Clark
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350KMAN.com
Buy Tickets | Live Stats
GAME #25
K-STATE (13-10, 1-2 BIG 12) vs. #3 TEXAS TECH (19-4, 2-1 BIG 12)
Thursday, April 1 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Carson Seymour (1-2, 4.50 ERA) vs. LHP Patrick Monteverde (5-0, 0.75 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Mike Clark
Radio: K-State Radio Network // Matt Walters, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350KMAN.com
Buy Tickets | Live Stats
GAME #26
K-STATE (13-10, 1-2 BIG 12) vs. #3 TEXAS TECH (19-4, 2-1 BIG 12)
Thursday, April 1 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Connor McCullough (1-1, 3.23 ERA) vs. LHP Mason Montgomery (1-0, 4.00 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Mike Clark
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters, John Kurtz
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/watch // 1350KMAN.com
Buy Tickets | Live Stats
A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State enters its first home Big 12 series after opening its conference slate at No. 13 Oklahoma State last weekend ... The Wildcats dropped all three games at OSU and were outscored 26-9 as the Cowboys have taken the last 11 meetings in the series ... Chris Ceballos and Zach Kokoska paced the Cats' offense, each registering three hits, a home run and two RBI over the weekend ... Nick Goodwin and Cameron Uselton both added a pair of hits ... Kokoska extended his on-base streak to 19 games, a career-long stretch ... His team-leading ninth home run also leads the Big 12 ... Jordan Wicks struck out nine over six innings in his Friday night start and Carson Seymour turned in a quality start in his outing on Saturday (6 IP, 2 ER) ... In the series, K-State went 3-for-28 (.107) with runners in scoring position and 4-for-32 (.125) with two outs ... The Cats' four-game losing streak is their longest of the season.
SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech (19-4, 2-1 Big 12), who is ranked as high as No. 3 in the national polls, has won its last five games and 19 of its last 20 games overall ... The Red Raiders enter their second Big 12 series after taking two of three games against Oklahoma State two weeks ago ... Last weekend, TTU swept South Florida in a three-game set ... Dru Baker (.442) and Jace Jung (.438) rank second and third, respectively, in hitting in the conference ... Jung's eight homers are tied for second-most in the conference and his 31 RBI are tops in the Big 12 ... As a team, Texas Tech leads the league with 35 home runs ... On the mound, Patrick Monteverde owns the second-lowest ERA in the Big 12 at 0.75 ... Monteverde ranks in the league's top 10 in wins, strikeouts and opponent batting average.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Texas Tech leads the all-time series 45-28-1 (38-26-1 Big 12), dating back to 1993 ... K-State is 17-16 at home against TTU and the Wildcats last won a home series in 2013 (3-0) ... Tech has won nine of the last 10 games in the series and 16 of the last 17 overall ... 2013 was the last time the Cats won any series against the Red Raiders.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
No. 3 Texas Tech will mark the second straight ranked team the Wildcats will face after its series against No. 13 Oklahoma State ... K-State last defeated a ranked team on May 11, 2019, an 8-6 victory over No. 20 West Virginia ... The last time the Cats defeated top-five team was back on Feb. 23, 2017 when they took down No. 4 South Carolina on the road, 6-5 ... The Wildcats last won a series over a top-25 team in 2019, taking two of three games against both No. 19 TCU and No. 14 Texas ... Pete Hughes is 7-12 against ranked opponents as the head coach at K-State.
BIG BAT CATS
After going without a home run in the season's opening weekend (four games), the Wildcats have erupted for 32 home runs over the last 19 games ... Junior Zach Kokoska leads the way with nine homers while sophomore Dylan Phillips and senior Cameron Thompson each have five ... Kokoska hit his Big 12-leading ninth homer Sunday at Oklahoma State ... As a team, K-State has launched multiple home runs in eight of 23 games this season, including a season-high six against South Dakota State on March 9 ... The six homers were one shy of tying the program's single-game record and are the most in a game since the 2006 season ... 12 different Cats have homered this season, with five going deep more than once ... K-State's 32 home runs are tied for 11th in the country and rank second in the Big 12.
WHAMMER HAMMER
Dylan Phillips saw his career-best 32-game on-base come to an end Saturday at Oklahoma State ... Phillips has recorded a base hit in 29 of his last 34 games, including 12 multi-hit efforts ... With 25 runs batted in this season, Phillips has driven in 37 runs over his last 31 games while recording an RBI in 20 of his last 31 contests ... The two-way star saw a streak of 10 consecutive games with an RBI snapped March 14 at Rice ... Phillips saw his 10-game hitting streak end March 23, as he was 18-for-37 (.486) with five homers and 16 RBI in that stretch ... His season average of .341 is good for 10th in the Big 12 while his RBI total is tied for second ... He ranks in the league's top seven in all three slash categories.
WICKY WICKY YEAH
K-State lefty Jordan Wicks racked up the preseason honors, including being named the 2021 Big 12 Co-Preseason Pitcher of the Year ... Wicks was tabbed a preseason all-American by D1Baseball, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA ... The Conway, Ark., product is K-State's first preseason all-America nod since 2014 and the first Big 12 preseason of-the-year award winner ... Wicks was also one of 55 named to USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award Watch List, which recognizes the nation's premier amateur player ... Following his 10-strikeout, seven scoreless innings against Oregon State on Opening Day, Wicks was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and National Pitcher of the Week by the NCBWA ... Wicks ranks second in the Big 12 with his 51 strikeouts and has reached double-digit strikeouts in three of six starts ... Four of his six starts this season have been quality efforts ... Dating back to last season, Wicks has allowed 12 earned runs over 63 1/3 innings (1.71 ERA) with 77 strikeouts.
GOODWIN? MORE LIKE REALLY GOODWIN
K-State true freshman Nick Goodwin has done it all for the Wildcats through the season's first five weeks, ranking in the top three on the team in hits (26), doubles (6), home runs (4), extra-base hits (10) and RBI (14) and leads the team with seven stolen bases ... The Overland Park product strung together three straight multi-hit games against Western Michigan and put together an eight-game hitting streak from March 5-13 ... Goodwin has reached base in 20 of 23 games this season and has a hit in 18 contests.
IT'S NOT HOW YOU START
Wildcat starting pitchers this season have posted a 2.98 earned run average, allowing 40 earned runs over 120 2/3 innings with 127 strikeouts against 46 walks ... The K-State bullpen owns an ERA of 4.30 (39 ER, 81.2 IP) with 86 strikeouts against 44 walks ... Over the last 13 games, Wildcat relievers have registered a 2.25 ERA (12 ER, 48 IP) with 65 strikeouts and 24 walks ... In the season's first 10 games, the bullpen yielded a 7.22 ERA (27 ER, 33.2 IP) with 21 strikeouts and 20 walks ... The Cats totaled 31 strikeouts over two games vs. SDSU, punching out 15 in the opener before a season-high 16 in the second game ... In the month of March, K-State starters are 5-5 with a 3.20 earned run average (29 ER, 81.2 IP) ... The pen has a March ERA of 2.93 (19 ER, 58.1 IP), with Jaxson Passino leading the way with 13 strikeouts in eight innings ... Kasey Ford has allowed one earned run over 11 2/3 innings in three outings while Tyler Eckberg made six appearances with one earned run in seven innings during March.
BOSS HOGS
The Cats' three pitchers from the state of Arkansas - Kasey Ford, Connor McCullough and Jordan Wicks - have allowed 25 earned runs over 93 2/3 innings (2.40 ERA) while going 6-2 with 101 strikeouts ... Ford's .202 batting average against him is ninth-best in the Big 12 while Wicks ranks second with 51 strikeouts ... Five of McCullough's first 10 starts have produced quality efforts while Wicks has allowed 12 earned runs in his last 63 1/3 innings ... Ford's six scoreless innings vs. NIU marked his longest start since the 2018 season ... The trio combined to pitch six quality outings in 11 starts in 2020 ... They were 6-2 with a 1.57 ERA (11 ER, 63.2 IP) with 69 strikeouts.
BY TH3 NUM8ERS
K-State has a run differential of +18 and is 9-4 when scoring the game's first run ... On the season, the Wildcats are 3-for-24 with the bases loaded (.125) and have held opponents to .188 (6-for-32) ... During its four-game skid, K-State is 3-for-38 (.079) with runners in scoring position and 5-for-42 (.119) with two outs with just one two-out RBI ... K-State is 3-for-13 (.231) with the bases full in games won and 0-for-11 in losses with the bags loaded ... Overall, the Cats are hitting .227 with runners in scoring position and .222 with two outs ... In victories, the Wildcats are hitting .280 with runners in scoring position and .288 with two gone ... In losses, K-State hits .147 with runners in scoring position and .130 with two outs ... K-State has tallied 30 two-out RBI in 13 wins and just six RBI with two outs in 10 losses ... With two outs, opponents are hitting just .146 against Wicks ... Phillips leads the team with a .440 average with runners in scoring position.
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