Kansas State University Athletics
Tuesday, April 6
Manhattan, KS
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
vs
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
K-State Looks to Stay Hot vs. Golden Lions
Apr 05, 2021 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Fresh off a weekend series victory over third-ranked Texas Tech, K-State wraps up a five-game homestand with a two-game midweek series beginning Tuesday with the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions at Tointon Family Stadium.
Both games of the series are set for 6 p.m. starts, as the Wildcats (15-11, 2-4 Big 12) will send senior righty Kasey Ford to the mound Tuesday. Junior Zak Herbers will get the start in the finale on Wednesday night.
The Cats snapped a five-game skid by claiming the last two games against the Red Raiders, claiming its first series win over TTU since 2013 and the first series victory over a top-five foe since 2015.
K-State has taken all three contests against UAPB (2-17, 2-8 SWAC), sweeping a home three-game set in 2016. The Golden Lions have dropped their last nine games overall.
The non-conference series will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, streaming audio will be 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 #27
K-STATE (15-11, 2-4 BIG 12) vs. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF (2-17, 2-8 SWAC)
Tuesday, April 6 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Kasey Ford (1-0, 1.05 ERA) vs. TBA
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 #28
K-STATE (15-11, 2-4 BIG 12) vs. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF (2-17, 2-8 SWAC)
Wednesday, April 7 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Zak Herbers (1-1, 3.38 ERA) vs. TBA
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
A LOOK AT K-STATE
Following its home series victory over No. 3 Texas Tech, K-State hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff for a two-game midweek series starting Tuesday at Tointon Family Stadium ... In taking the final two games of the series against the Red Raiders, the Wildcats snapped a season-long five game losing skid and rebounded from a 17-1 drubbing in the opener Thursday night ... The Cats put up 17 runs on 23 hits after scoring just one with two base hits Thursday ... K-State tallied eight home runs in the series and claimed its first series win over TTU since 2013 and first top-five series victory since 2015 ... Chris Ceballos and Dylan Phillips each homered twice, as six different Cats registered a home run in the series ... K-State led throughout each of the last two games of the set, getting six strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings from Carson Seymour and seven strikeouts in seven frames from Connor McCullough ... Tyler Eckberg entered the game with the bases loaded in the sixth inning Friday and went on to record a 10-out save, striking out six and allowing just one base hit ... It marked Eckberg's team-leading fourth save of the season ... Zach Kokoska belted his 10th home run of the season in the series and extended his on-base streak to 22 game (career high).
SCOUTING ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-17, 2-8 SWAC) travels to Manhattan after being swept in three games at home by Grambling ... Overall, UAPB has lost its last nine contests, last winning on March 13 against Texas Southern ... Nick Kruetzer leads the Golden Lions with his five home runs and 17 runs batted in ... The UAPB pitching staff owns an 11.13 earned run average with 161 walks and 104 strikeouts... Tony Horn, Jr. has a team-best 20 strikeouts over 26 innings.
INSIDE THE SERIES
K-State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff have hooked up just once, a three-game series at Tointon Family Stadium in 2016 ... The Wildcats claimed all three games of the series, scoring double digits each game during the sweep ... K-State outscored the Golden Lions 46-25 in the series.
BIG BAT CATS
After going without a home run in the season's opening weekend (four games), the Wildcats have erupted for 40 home runs over the last 22 games ... Junior Zach Kokoska leads the way with 10 homers while sophomore Dylan Phillips has seven and senior Cameron Thompson has six ... Kokoska, who ranks second in the Big 12, hit his 10th homer Thursday against TTU ... As a team, K-State has launched multiple home runs in 10 of 26 games this season, including four in the rubber game against the Red Raiders ... The Cats' six homers against South Dakota State on March 10 were one shy of tying the program's single-game record and are the most in a game since the 2006 season ... 13 different Cats have homered this season, with five going deep more than once ... The 13 different players with a homer are the team's most since the 1998 season and are tied for the most in the country this season ... K-State's 40 home runs are tied for eighth 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 March 27 at Oklahoma State ... Phillips has recorded a base hit in 31 of his last 37 games, including 13 multi-hit efforts ... With 30 runs batted in this season, Phillips has driven in 41 runs over his last 34 games while recording an RBI in 22 of those games ... 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 .347 is good for seventh in the Big 12 while his RBI total is tied for second ... He ranks in the league's top 10 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 leads the Big 12 with his 60 strikeouts and has reached double-digit strikeouts in three of seven starts ... Four of his seven starts this season have been quality efforts ... Dating back to last season, Wicks has allowed 17 earned runs over 68 1/3 innings (2.24 ERA) with 86 strikeouts.
GOODWIN? MORE LIKE REALLY GOODWIN
K-State true freshman Nick Goodwin has done it all for the Wildcats through the season's first seven weeks, ranking in the top three on the team in hits (31), doubles (8), extra-base hits (13) and RBI (16) and leads the team with eight 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 23 of 26 games this season and has a hit in 20 contests.
FROM THE PEN
Wildcat starting pitchers this season have posted a 3.32 earned run average, allowing 51 earned runs over 138 1/3 innings with 149 strikeouts against 56 walks ... The K-State bullpen owns an ERA of 4.35 (44 ER, 91.0 IP) with 97 strikeouts against 52 walks ... Over the last 16 games, Wildcat relievers have registered a 2.67 ERA (17 ER, 57.1 IP) with 76 strikeouts and 32 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 went 5-5 with a 3.20 earned run average (29 ER, 81.2 IP) ... The pen owned 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.
ECKKKKSELLENT
Wildcat closer Tyler Eckberg collected his fourth save of the year Saturday against third-ranked Texas Tech ... The Edina, Minnesota, product entered the game in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and produced a strikeout to preserve the Cats' 6-2 lead ...
Eckberg went on to complete a 10-out save ... Eckberg now has 12 saves in his career, which is tied for fourth in program history ... Over his last nine games (14 innings), he has allowed just one earned run while striking out 16.
BY TH3 NUM8ERS
K-State has a run differential of +13 and is 11-4 when scoring the game's first run ... On the season, the Wildcats are 3-for-26 with the bases loaded (.115) and have held opponents to .194 (7-for-36) with the bases loaded ... K-State is 3-for-15 (.200) with the bases full in games won and 0-for-11 in losses with the bags loaded ... Overall, the Cats are hitting .226 with runners in scoring position and .217 with two outs ... In victories, the Wildcats are hitting .278 with runners in scoring position and .282 with two gone ... In losses, K-State hits .141 with runners in scoring position and .126 with two outs ... K-State has tallied 33 two-out RBI in 15 wins and just six RBI with two outs in 11 losses ... Phillips leads the team with a .448 average with runners in scoring position.
Both games of the series are set for 6 p.m. starts, as the Wildcats (15-11, 2-4 Big 12) will send senior righty Kasey Ford to the mound Tuesday. Junior Zak Herbers will get the start in the finale on Wednesday night.
The Cats snapped a five-game skid by claiming the last two games against the Red Raiders, claiming its first series win over TTU since 2013 and the first series victory over a top-five foe since 2015.
K-State has taken all three contests against UAPB (2-17, 2-8 SWAC), sweeping a home three-game set in 2016. The Golden Lions have dropped their last nine games overall.
The non-conference series will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, streaming audio will be 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 #27
K-STATE (15-11, 2-4 BIG 12) vs. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF (2-17, 2-8 SWAC)
Tuesday, April 6 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Kasey Ford (1-0, 1.05 ERA) vs. TBA
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 #28
K-STATE (15-11, 2-4 BIG 12) vs. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF (2-17, 2-8 SWAC)
Wednesday, April 7 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,344) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Zak Herbers (1-1, 3.38 ERA) vs. TBA
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
A LOOK AT K-STATE
Following its home series victory over No. 3 Texas Tech, K-State hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff for a two-game midweek series starting Tuesday at Tointon Family Stadium ... In taking the final two games of the series against the Red Raiders, the Wildcats snapped a season-long five game losing skid and rebounded from a 17-1 drubbing in the opener Thursday night ... The Cats put up 17 runs on 23 hits after scoring just one with two base hits Thursday ... K-State tallied eight home runs in the series and claimed its first series win over TTU since 2013 and first top-five series victory since 2015 ... Chris Ceballos and Dylan Phillips each homered twice, as six different Cats registered a home run in the series ... K-State led throughout each of the last two games of the set, getting six strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings from Carson Seymour and seven strikeouts in seven frames from Connor McCullough ... Tyler Eckberg entered the game with the bases loaded in the sixth inning Friday and went on to record a 10-out save, striking out six and allowing just one base hit ... It marked Eckberg's team-leading fourth save of the season ... Zach Kokoska belted his 10th home run of the season in the series and extended his on-base streak to 22 game (career high).
SCOUTING ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-17, 2-8 SWAC) travels to Manhattan after being swept in three games at home by Grambling ... Overall, UAPB has lost its last nine contests, last winning on March 13 against Texas Southern ... Nick Kruetzer leads the Golden Lions with his five home runs and 17 runs batted in ... The UAPB pitching staff owns an 11.13 earned run average with 161 walks and 104 strikeouts... Tony Horn, Jr. has a team-best 20 strikeouts over 26 innings.
INSIDE THE SERIES
K-State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff have hooked up just once, a three-game series at Tointon Family Stadium in 2016 ... The Wildcats claimed all three games of the series, scoring double digits each game during the sweep ... K-State outscored the Golden Lions 46-25 in the series.
BIG BAT CATS
After going without a home run in the season's opening weekend (four games), the Wildcats have erupted for 40 home runs over the last 22 games ... Junior Zach Kokoska leads the way with 10 homers while sophomore Dylan Phillips has seven and senior Cameron Thompson has six ... Kokoska, who ranks second in the Big 12, hit his 10th homer Thursday against TTU ... As a team, K-State has launched multiple home runs in 10 of 26 games this season, including four in the rubber game against the Red Raiders ... The Cats' six homers against South Dakota State on March 10 were one shy of tying the program's single-game record and are the most in a game since the 2006 season ... 13 different Cats have homered this season, with five going deep more than once ... The 13 different players with a homer are the team's most since the 1998 season and are tied for the most in the country this season ... K-State's 40 home runs are tied for eighth 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 March 27 at Oklahoma State ... Phillips has recorded a base hit in 31 of his last 37 games, including 13 multi-hit efforts ... With 30 runs batted in this season, Phillips has driven in 41 runs over his last 34 games while recording an RBI in 22 of those games ... 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 .347 is good for seventh in the Big 12 while his RBI total is tied for second ... He ranks in the league's top 10 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 leads the Big 12 with his 60 strikeouts and has reached double-digit strikeouts in three of seven starts ... Four of his seven starts this season have been quality efforts ... Dating back to last season, Wicks has allowed 17 earned runs over 68 1/3 innings (2.24 ERA) with 86 strikeouts.
GOODWIN? MORE LIKE REALLY GOODWIN
K-State true freshman Nick Goodwin has done it all for the Wildcats through the season's first seven weeks, ranking in the top three on the team in hits (31), doubles (8), extra-base hits (13) and RBI (16) and leads the team with eight 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 23 of 26 games this season and has a hit in 20 contests.
FROM THE PEN
Wildcat starting pitchers this season have posted a 3.32 earned run average, allowing 51 earned runs over 138 1/3 innings with 149 strikeouts against 56 walks ... The K-State bullpen owns an ERA of 4.35 (44 ER, 91.0 IP) with 97 strikeouts against 52 walks ... Over the last 16 games, Wildcat relievers have registered a 2.67 ERA (17 ER, 57.1 IP) with 76 strikeouts and 32 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 went 5-5 with a 3.20 earned run average (29 ER, 81.2 IP) ... The pen owned 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.
ECKKKKSELLENT
Wildcat closer Tyler Eckberg collected his fourth save of the year Saturday against third-ranked Texas Tech ... The Edina, Minnesota, product entered the game in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and produced a strikeout to preserve the Cats' 6-2 lead ...
Eckberg went on to complete a 10-out save ... Eckberg now has 12 saves in his career, which is tied for fourth in program history ... Over his last nine games (14 innings), he has allowed just one earned run while striking out 16.
BY TH3 NUM8ERS
K-State has a run differential of +13 and is 11-4 when scoring the game's first run ... On the season, the Wildcats are 3-for-26 with the bases loaded (.115) and have held opponents to .194 (7-for-36) with the bases loaded ... K-State is 3-for-15 (.200) with the bases full in games won and 0-for-11 in losses with the bags loaded ... Overall, the Cats are hitting .226 with runners in scoring position and .217 with two outs ... In victories, the Wildcats are hitting .278 with runners in scoring position and .282 with two gone ... In losses, K-State hits .141 with runners in scoring position and .126 with two outs ... K-State has tallied 33 two-out RBI in 15 wins and just six RBI with two outs in 11 losses ... Phillips leads the team with a .448 average with runners in scoring position.
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