SE: K-State Baseball Stays Alive in Big 12 Championship
May 28, 2021 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
1 - Carson Seymour had a question for his pitching coach early on Thursday morning, as K-State Baseball prepared for its second game of the 2021 Big 12 Championship.
He wanted to know how Buck Taylor planned to deploy his bullpen in a win-or-go-home game against Baylor, after the Wildcats dropped their first game of the tournament in Oklahoma City.
"All hands on deck," Taylor told him. "Everyone get ready to go."
2 - Seymour thought it might be that kind of day, but it did nothing to diminish the moment when he entered the game in the fourth inning with K-State trailing 1-0.
The Bears struck for two runs against Seymour and then they grabbed two more hits - the rest of the game. The redshirt sophomore kept the Wildcats afloat with their season on the line.
"What Carson did today was really cool," assistant coach Austin Wates said. "For a guy that's battled a little bit throughout the season and to come up in a big spot. Really all we were asking him to do was keep the game close and he did more than that. He gave us a chance to win.
3 - K-State, the seven-seed in the Big 12 Championship, beat six-seed Baylor 9-4 on Thursday morning to keep its season alive in Oklahoma City.
After dropping a heartbreaker against No. 2 TCU on Wednesday, the Wildcats won their first game in the conference tournament since 2015.
They did it by following the blueprint that's kept this team going all year - ride a strong performance on the mound until the 'Cats start hitting like it's a video game.
4 - The big inning is how K-State took down TCU last weekend, with a seven-run ninth inning and a three-run walk-off home run from Chris Ceballos as the exclamation point.
On Thursday, Caleb Littlejim provided the punctuation.
5 - After a pair of homers from Zach Kokoska and Nick Goodwin made it a 3-2 game, Dylan Caplinger started off the seventh-inning festivities with a double down the line.
That brought up the heart of the order for a few high leverage at-bats. They didn't disappoint.
Dylan Phillips singled home the go-ahead run as K-State stretched its run to 6-3 with two outs in the seventh inning. It was the lead they needed, but not an insurmountable one.
6 - That's when Littlejim delivered the knockout punch, with a three-run shot to left field that put the 'Cats up 9-3 and, in the seventh inning, put the game effectively out of reach.
"We have a very, very dangerous offense top to bottom. All it takes is a couple bloops, a couple guys on base and, all of a sudden, the home run becomes a factor very quickly. That's the thing about the home run, it never sleeps and when we have that going for us, we can be really, really tough," Wates said. "What a special, special spot for that kid, Caleb Littlejim, to come through for us there."
7 - K-State added to its Big 12-leading home run total on Thursday morning, but if that seventh inning proves anything, it's that the Wildcats can also string together the hits necessary to mount a comeback.
Ten hitters came to the plate in the seven-run frame, as the 'Cats finished erasing a 3-0 deficit and handed Seymour some insurance runs.
As if he needed it. The sophomore sat down 16 of the final 18 hitters he faced against Baylor.
8 - "I just try to go out there and compete," Seymour said. "I actually try and journal every day and tell myself that I've still got this. Call it my confidence journal. Just write down five things I'm good at and it helps keep my head on my shoulders."
Seymour began the season as the Saturday starter in the Wildcats' weekend rotation, before moving to a bullpen role late in the season.
He said he's found some comfort in approaching each game without the expectation that he needs to throw six innings. All Seymour is worried about in the bullpen is throwing hard.
9 - "First inning, second inning, it doesn't matter," Seymour said. "I'm just going to go out there and chuck it."
Of course, the "reliever" label was all but arbitrary on Wednesday. Seymour matched his longest appearance of the season, which includes his 10 starts for the Wildcats in 2021.
10 - K-State is still four wins away from a Big 12 Championship, but the seventh-seeded Wildcats have already outlasted No. 9 Kansas, No. 6 Baylor and No. 5 Oklahoma.
Six teams remain alive in Oklahoma City as the weekend arrives. K-State will face the loser of No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 2 TCU on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
"What a special performance from our guys, to play from three behind early and into the middle of that game," Wates said. " Those guys were fighting like crazy every single at-bat."
1 - Carson Seymour had a question for his pitching coach early on Thursday morning, as K-State Baseball prepared for its second game of the 2021 Big 12 Championship.
He wanted to know how Buck Taylor planned to deploy his bullpen in a win-or-go-home game against Baylor, after the Wildcats dropped their first game of the tournament in Oklahoma City.
"All hands on deck," Taylor told him. "Everyone get ready to go."
2 - Seymour thought it might be that kind of day, but it did nothing to diminish the moment when he entered the game in the fourth inning with K-State trailing 1-0.
The Bears struck for two runs against Seymour and then they grabbed two more hits - the rest of the game. The redshirt sophomore kept the Wildcats afloat with their season on the line.
"What Carson did today was really cool," assistant coach Austin Wates said. "For a guy that's battled a little bit throughout the season and to come up in a big spot. Really all we were asking him to do was keep the game close and he did more than that. He gave us a chance to win.
3 - K-State, the seven-seed in the Big 12 Championship, beat six-seed Baylor 9-4 on Thursday morning to keep its season alive in Oklahoma City.
After dropping a heartbreaker against No. 2 TCU on Wednesday, the Wildcats won their first game in the conference tournament since 2015.
They did it by following the blueprint that's kept this team going all year - ride a strong performance on the mound until the 'Cats start hitting like it's a video game.
Not done yet.#KStateBSB x EMAW pic.twitter.com/mg6gnt6aRw
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) May 27, 2021
4 - The big inning is how K-State took down TCU last weekend, with a seven-run ninth inning and a three-run walk-off home run from Chris Ceballos as the exclamation point.
On Thursday, Caleb Littlejim provided the punctuation.
5 - After a pair of homers from Zach Kokoska and Nick Goodwin made it a 3-2 game, Dylan Caplinger started off the seventh-inning festivities with a double down the line.
That brought up the heart of the order for a few high leverage at-bats. They didn't disappoint.
Dylan Phillips singled home the go-ahead run as K-State stretched its run to 6-3 with two outs in the seventh inning. It was the lead they needed, but not an insurmountable one.
6 - That's when Littlejim delivered the knockout punch, with a three-run shot to left field that put the 'Cats up 9-3 and, in the seventh inning, put the game effectively out of reach.
Certified Crushed.
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) May 27, 2021
Caleb Littlejim's three-run blast caps a SEVEN-run 7th and the Cats have scored nine unanswered runs. #KStateBSB records six hits in the inning against three Baylor pitchers to take a 9-3 lead into the 8th pic.twitter.com/7PsslE3Aq7
"We have a very, very dangerous offense top to bottom. All it takes is a couple bloops, a couple guys on base and, all of a sudden, the home run becomes a factor very quickly. That's the thing about the home run, it never sleeps and when we have that going for us, we can be really, really tough," Wates said. "What a special, special spot for that kid, Caleb Littlejim, to come through for us there."
7 - K-State added to its Big 12-leading home run total on Thursday morning, but if that seventh inning proves anything, it's that the Wildcats can also string together the hits necessary to mount a comeback.
Ten hitters came to the plate in the seven-run frame, as the 'Cats finished erasing a 3-0 deficit and handed Seymour some insurance runs.
As if he needed it. The sophomore sat down 16 of the final 18 hitters he faced against Baylor.
8 - "I just try to go out there and compete," Seymour said. "I actually try and journal every day and tell myself that I've still got this. Call it my confidence journal. Just write down five things I'm good at and it helps keep my head on my shoulders."
Seymour began the season as the Saturday starter in the Wildcats' weekend rotation, before moving to a bullpen role late in the season.
He said he's found some comfort in approaching each game without the expectation that he needs to throw six innings. All Seymour is worried about in the bullpen is throwing hard.
9 - "First inning, second inning, it doesn't matter," Seymour said. "I'm just going to go out there and chuck it."
Of course, the "reliever" label was all but arbitrary on Wednesday. Seymour matched his longest appearance of the season, which includes his 10 starts for the Wildcats in 2021.
10 - K-State is still four wins away from a Big 12 Championship, but the seventh-seeded Wildcats have already outlasted No. 9 Kansas, No. 6 Baylor and No. 5 Oklahoma.
Six teams remain alive in Oklahoma City as the weekend arrives. K-State will face the loser of No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 2 TCU on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
"What a special performance from our guys, to play from three behind early and into the middle of that game," Wates said. " Those guys were fighting like crazy every single at-bat."
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