Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, May 21
Manhattan, KS
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
30-21, 9-14
6
vs
8
TCU
36-15, 17-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
TCU
0
4
0
0
1
3
0
0
0
8
10
1
K-State
0
0
0
0
2
1
3
0
0
6
11
1
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Photo by: Scott D. Weaver / K-State Athletics
Wildcats’ Rally Not Enough as No. 5 TCU Evens Series
May 21, 2021 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State rallied with four unanswered runs over the latter innings Friday night, but the fifth-ranked TCU Horned Frogs fended off the Wildcats' comeback bid and evened the weekend series with an 8-6 victory at Tointon Family Stadium.
K-State (30-21, 9-14 Big 12) posted a three-run seventh that trimmed its deficit to just two after the Wildcats earlier trailed by six. In the seventh, Dylan Phillips roped an RBI double before a two-out RBI triple from Cameron Thompson to cap the string of four straight runs.
TCU (36-15, 17-6 Big 12) got a three-run home run from Porter Brown in the sixth, opening an 8-2 lead. Brown had a team-high three hits and three runs batted in in helping the Frogs claim at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title.
"I thought it was a pretty scrappy game right from the jump, hard-fought battle," assistant coach Austin Wates said after the game. "They got a couple of big hits early and then one really big hit later in the game. That ended up being the difference really between a win and a loss.
"When we got the opportunity, we didn't get that big hit to put them away or get ahead of them."
K-State got the tying runs on base in the eighth, after Terrence Spurlin and Kamron Willman led off the frame with back-to-back singles. TCU closer Haylen Green entered the game with one out and two on and thwarted the Wildcat threat, retiring the next two hitters.
Green worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his Big 12-leading 11th save of the season.
In relief, Carson Seymour retired 11 of 12 hitters he faced to allow his offense a chance to chip away at the six-run deficit. Seymour finished with three strikeouts without allowing a hit over 3 2/3 innings.
"That's one really big positive we can take away from today," Wates said of Seymour. "Especially going into the Big 12 Tournament where we've got to make a run there and we need the arms. It was really good to see him at his best and that's the best I've seen him in a while."
The Frogs picked up three hits on their way to scoring four runs in the second inning off K-State starter Connor McCullough. Gray Rodgers' RBI single and Tommy Sacco's RBI double highlighted the frame.
Trailing 5-0 in the fifth, the Wildcats got a two-run single from Cole Johnson to make it a three-run game. Caleb Littlejim and Willman, who both reached via a walk, scored on Johnson's two-out knock.
Spurlin paced K-State with three hits, going 3-for-4, while Phillips and Thompson each turned in a pair of base hits. Thompson had two of the Cats' three extra-base hits, as seven of the team's 11 hits came from Nos. 5-8 in the lineup.
"The bottom of our order is doing a really good job," added Wates, who filled in during the absence of head coach Pete Hughes during his suspension. "I said it earlier today to our guys, that teams always pick a couple guys in the lineup that they really want to be careful with and these guys have done a really good job neutralizing the top part of our order. But the bottom part, to their credit, has kind of picked up a little bit of that slack."
McCullough took the loss after he allowed four earned runs on five hits over four frames. He struck out two without a walk.
Garrett Wright lifted TCU starter Austin Krob in the fifth, earning the win after 2 1/3 innings with three earned on four hits. Krob gave up two earned runs on five hits to go with six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
Four Frog pitchers combined for a dozen stirkeouts and five walks.
The Cats went 3-for-16 (.188) with runners in scoring position and stranded eight on base, including three in the game's first two innings.
The series rubber game is slated for Saturday at 4 p.m. K-State will recognize its senior class in a pregame ceremony, beginning at approximately 3:40 p.m. The game will be broadcast 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 streaming at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
K-State (30-21, 9-14 Big 12) posted a three-run seventh that trimmed its deficit to just two after the Wildcats earlier trailed by six. In the seventh, Dylan Phillips roped an RBI double before a two-out RBI triple from Cameron Thompson to cap the string of four straight runs.
TCU (36-15, 17-6 Big 12) got a three-run home run from Porter Brown in the sixth, opening an 8-2 lead. Brown had a team-high three hits and three runs batted in in helping the Frogs claim at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title.
"I thought it was a pretty scrappy game right from the jump, hard-fought battle," assistant coach Austin Wates said after the game. "They got a couple of big hits early and then one really big hit later in the game. That ended up being the difference really between a win and a loss.
"When we got the opportunity, we didn't get that big hit to put them away or get ahead of them."
K-State got the tying runs on base in the eighth, after Terrence Spurlin and Kamron Willman led off the frame with back-to-back singles. TCU closer Haylen Green entered the game with one out and two on and thwarted the Wildcat threat, retiring the next two hitters.
Green worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his Big 12-leading 11th save of the season.
In relief, Carson Seymour retired 11 of 12 hitters he faced to allow his offense a chance to chip away at the six-run deficit. Seymour finished with three strikeouts without allowing a hit over 3 2/3 innings.
"That's one really big positive we can take away from today," Wates said of Seymour. "Especially going into the Big 12 Tournament where we've got to make a run there and we need the arms. It was really good to see him at his best and that's the best I've seen him in a while."
The Frogs picked up three hits on their way to scoring four runs in the second inning off K-State starter Connor McCullough. Gray Rodgers' RBI single and Tommy Sacco's RBI double highlighted the frame.
Trailing 5-0 in the fifth, the Wildcats got a two-run single from Cole Johnson to make it a three-run game. Caleb Littlejim and Willman, who both reached via a walk, scored on Johnson's two-out knock.
Spurlin paced K-State with three hits, going 3-for-4, while Phillips and Thompson each turned in a pair of base hits. Thompson had two of the Cats' three extra-base hits, as seven of the team's 11 hits came from Nos. 5-8 in the lineup.
"The bottom of our order is doing a really good job," added Wates, who filled in during the absence of head coach Pete Hughes during his suspension. "I said it earlier today to our guys, that teams always pick a couple guys in the lineup that they really want to be careful with and these guys have done a really good job neutralizing the top part of our order. But the bottom part, to their credit, has kind of picked up a little bit of that slack."
McCullough took the loss after he allowed four earned runs on five hits over four frames. He struck out two without a walk.
Garrett Wright lifted TCU starter Austin Krob in the fifth, earning the win after 2 1/3 innings with three earned on four hits. Krob gave up two earned runs on five hits to go with six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
Four Frog pitchers combined for a dozen stirkeouts and five walks.
The Cats went 3-for-16 (.188) with runners in scoring position and stranded eight on base, including three in the game's first two innings.
The series rubber game is slated for Saturday at 4 p.m. K-State will recognize its senior class in a pregame ceremony, beginning at approximately 3:40 p.m. The game will be broadcast 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 streaming at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored six runs on 11 hits with one error and eight left on base.
- TCU scored eight runs on 10 hits with one error and five left on base.
- K-State had three extra-base hits, two by Thompson.
- Johnson drove in two runs.
- Phillips, Thompson and Willman also drove in runs for K-State.
- Spurlin had a three-hit performance for the Cats.
- Phillips and Thompson each had two-hit efforts.
- The Cats struck out 12 times on the night.
- McCullough (5-4) allowed four runs on five hits with two strikeouts in four innings.
- Seymour worked the final 3 2/3 innings, without allowing a hit or a run with one walk and three strikeouts.
- K-State was 7-for-22 with runners on base, 2-for-9 with two outs and 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
- Thompson made his 235th consecutive start and is second in career starts in K-State history.
- Phillips has a team-high 49 RBI on the season.
- The K-State pitching staff has a combined 481 strikeouts, the most ever in a single season.
- TCU leads the all-time series 21-10 (16-7 Big 12).
- The series is tied at 7-7 in games played in Manhattan.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wright, Garrett (1-1)
L: McCullough, Connor (5-4)
S: Green, Haylen (11)
Batting:
2B: Wood, Gene 1 ; Sacco, Tommy 1
HR: Brown, Porter 1
RBI: Brown, Porter 3 ; Shepherd, Conner 1 ; Rodgers, Gray 1 ; Sacco, Tommy 1 ; Nunez, Elijah 1
SH: Sacco, Tommy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brown, Porter 2 ; Wolfe, Hunter 1 ; Wood, Gene 1 ; Rodgers, Gray 2 ; Sacco, Tommy 2
SB: Rodgers, Gray 1
CS: Brown, Porter 1
HBP: Wood, Gene 1
Batting:
2B: Phillips, Dylan 1 ; Thompson, Cameron 1
3B: Thompson, Cameron 1
RBI: Johnson, Cole 2 ; Phillips, Dylan 1 ; Thompson, Cameron 1 ; Willman, Kamron 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hughes, Dom 1 ; Phillips, Dylan 1 ; Thompson, Cameron 2 ; Willman, Kamron 1 ; Littlejim, Caleb 1
SB: Johnson, Cole 1
CS: Goodwin, Nick 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ Baseball
RHP/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF/LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballK-State BSB | Postgame Press Conference vs Texas
Sunday, June 01
K-State Baseball | Game Highlights vs Houston Christian (Austin Regional)
Sunday, June 01
K-State BSB | Game Highlights vs Houston Christian (Austin Regional)
Saturday, May 31
K-State BSB | Postgame Press Conference vs Houston Christian
Saturday, May 31