SE: Shade’s Homer, Wicks’ Gem & How K-State Baseball Just Keeps Winning
May 03, 2021 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
1 - It all came down to a football player from the birthplace of basketball.
Before Sunday's series finale against Texas Southern, every single member of K-State Baseball had a hit in 2021. Except one guy.
2 - Chad Shade will end his K-State career with these numbers:
Five games, five at-bats, and a hit that K-State head coach Pete Hughes called one of the top 10 moments of his three decades in college baseball.
"Chad Shade in what's going to be his last college game, getting his first start and to hit a home run in his last collegiate at bat," Hughes said. "A great message to our program and our kids moving forward. Our program always pays off hard work, loyalty and team-first guys."
3 - Shade spent four years playing football and baseball at Springfield College in Massachusetts. That's where James Naismith hung up those peach baskets in 1891 and invented basketball.
It's also a DIII school. When Springfield College canceled fall sports in 2020, Shade arrived in Manhattan for a graduate transfer season with the Wildcats.
Shade hasn't played a lot this spring. But his three-run blast on Sunday, in a 16-1 seven-inning win over Texas Southern, brought every player on the K-State roster to the steps of the dugout.
4 - Shade is now part of a Big 12-leading 69 home runs from the Wildcats in 2021.
The 1997 squad is the only K-State team to hit more, with a program-record 75 homers. There are nine games left in the regular season and that historic mark certainly appears in danger.
5 - "There's a lot of confidence out there," Hughes said. "That carried over from Tuesday night when we beat some guys from Missouri that had good stuff. There's nothing like getting hits and hitting home runs and hitting three-run home runs that get your offense going."
Chris Ceballos was as consistent as anybody in the K-State lineup this week. The senior clubbed homers in all four games against Missouri and Texas Southern, continuing his second-half resurgence.
6 - Ceballos is a big reason the Wildcats went 10-2 on this 12-game homestand, a stretch of games that were always going to be some of the most important of the season for K-State.
"We're taking advantage of being at home, at our home yard," Ceballos said. "The amount of wins we've been able to get here on this home stint has been awesome and it's really leading us down the road in Big 12 play."
The 'Cats won every series they played during this homestand, including three-game sets against Oklahoma and West Virginia. Outside of conference play, K-State went 6-0.
7 - Getting back to dingers for a moment, the Wildcats hit 22 home runs during those 12 games at Tointon Family Stadium.
The opponents and the venue are going to change, as the Wildcats play their next six games on the road against Baylor and Kansas. The attitude is not.
"It gives us comfort knowing that we're just a few swings out of each game no matter if we are losing, winning, whatever it is," Dylan Phillips said. "We have the guys that can do that."
8 - Even after a weekend when a DIII transfer got his first K-State hit in his last college at-bat, Jordan Wicks still delivered one of the most impressive performances of the whole series:
Five innings pitched, eight strikeouts and one earned run in a 15-6 win over the Tigers.
"He was awesome. All business. He commanded all four pitches today. No walks, eight strikeouts and three hits. That's as dominant as it gets," Hughes said. "I was happy he could have an outing where we could control his pitch count and kind of give him a weekend to rest and recharge and stay sharp. He did all of those things today."
9 - Wicks made his first Saturday start in a three-game series against Texas Southern, something that Hughes said will continue through the final three conference matchups of the season.
"That's what we'll do moving forward," Hughes said. "I want to have a fresh bullpen on Friday night and a fresh bullpen on Sunday. Jordan has been the most consistent starter for us. So if you get a lengthy, consistent start on Saturday it's not as taxing on the bullpen and you can give those guys a day's rest in between Friday and Sunday."
If you don't include this Saturday, when Wicks made a planned exit after just 56 pitches and a 10-1 lead, the ace of the K-State staff has thrown less than six innings just once in 2021.
10 - His next three starts might be the most important of the year.
Entering this weekend, D1Baseball.com projected five Big 12 teams into the NCAA Tournament. The 27-16 (6-9) Wildcats are half a game behind Oklahoma for a top-five spot in the conference.
With nine games left to play, K-State is right there.
"We're playing good baseball," Hughes said. "Getting the bats hot, and that's the key here in May. If you can get the bats hot, play fundamental baseball and stay healthy, you'll have a chance to make a run. We're in a good position."
1 - It all came down to a football player from the birthplace of basketball.
Before Sunday's series finale against Texas Southern, every single member of K-State Baseball had a hit in 2021. Except one guy.
2 - Chad Shade will end his K-State career with these numbers:
Five games, five at-bats, and a hit that K-State head coach Pete Hughes called one of the top 10 moments of his three decades in college baseball.
First career start ✅
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) May 2, 2021
First career hit ✅
First career home run ✅
What a moment for @chadshade#KStateBSB x EMAW pic.twitter.com/xDlUdvHSZA
"Chad Shade in what's going to be his last college game, getting his first start and to hit a home run in his last collegiate at bat," Hughes said. "A great message to our program and our kids moving forward. Our program always pays off hard work, loyalty and team-first guys."
3 - Shade spent four years playing football and baseball at Springfield College in Massachusetts. That's where James Naismith hung up those peach baskets in 1891 and invented basketball.
It's also a DIII school. When Springfield College canceled fall sports in 2020, Shade arrived in Manhattan for a graduate transfer season with the Wildcats.
Shade hasn't played a lot this spring. But his three-run blast on Sunday, in a 16-1 seven-inning win over Texas Southern, brought every player on the K-State roster to the steps of the dugout.
4 - Shade is now part of a Big 12-leading 69 home runs from the Wildcats in 2021.
The 1997 squad is the only K-State team to hit more, with a program-record 75 homers. There are nine games left in the regular season and that historic mark certainly appears in danger.
5 - "There's a lot of confidence out there," Hughes said. "That carried over from Tuesday night when we beat some guys from Missouri that had good stuff. There's nothing like getting hits and hitting home runs and hitting three-run home runs that get your offense going."
Chris Ceballos was as consistent as anybody in the K-State lineup this week. The senior clubbed homers in all four games against Missouri and Texas Southern, continuing his second-half resurgence.
6 - Ceballos is a big reason the Wildcats went 10-2 on this 12-game homestand, a stretch of games that were always going to be some of the most important of the season for K-State.
.@ChrisCeballos20 is cookin' 👨🏻🍳
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) May 2, 2021
He's now homered in 4️⃣ straight games, and has 1️⃣5️⃣ RBI this week #KStateBSB x @NCAACWS pic.twitter.com/UyzqKTBlqK
"We're taking advantage of being at home, at our home yard," Ceballos said. "The amount of wins we've been able to get here on this home stint has been awesome and it's really leading us down the road in Big 12 play."
The 'Cats won every series they played during this homestand, including three-game sets against Oklahoma and West Virginia. Outside of conference play, K-State went 6-0.
7 - Getting back to dingers for a moment, the Wildcats hit 22 home runs during those 12 games at Tointon Family Stadium.
The opponents and the venue are going to change, as the Wildcats play their next six games on the road against Baylor and Kansas. The attitude is not.
"It gives us comfort knowing that we're just a few swings out of each game no matter if we are losing, winning, whatever it is," Dylan Phillips said. "We have the guys that can do that."
8 - Even after a weekend when a DIII transfer got his first K-State hit in his last college at-bat, Jordan Wicks still delivered one of the most impressive performances of the whole series:
Five innings pitched, eight strikeouts and one earned run in a 15-6 win over the Tigers.
Rollin' right along, 'Cats up 9-1
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) May 1, 2021
📊 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 8 K - 56 pitches #KStateBSB x @wicks_jordan pic.twitter.com/A3Gruy7aE7
"He was awesome. All business. He commanded all four pitches today. No walks, eight strikeouts and three hits. That's as dominant as it gets," Hughes said. "I was happy he could have an outing where we could control his pitch count and kind of give him a weekend to rest and recharge and stay sharp. He did all of those things today."
9 - Wicks made his first Saturday start in a three-game series against Texas Southern, something that Hughes said will continue through the final three conference matchups of the season.
"That's what we'll do moving forward," Hughes said. "I want to have a fresh bullpen on Friday night and a fresh bullpen on Sunday. Jordan has been the most consistent starter for us. So if you get a lengthy, consistent start on Saturday it's not as taxing on the bullpen and you can give those guys a day's rest in between Friday and Sunday."
If you don't include this Saturday, when Wicks made a planned exit after just 56 pitches and a 10-1 lead, the ace of the K-State staff has thrown less than six innings just once in 2021.
10 - His next three starts might be the most important of the year.
Entering this weekend, D1Baseball.com projected five Big 12 teams into the NCAA Tournament. The 27-16 (6-9) Wildcats are half a game behind Oklahoma for a top-five spot in the conference.
With nine games left to play, K-State is right there.
"We're playing good baseball," Hughes said. "Getting the bats hot, and that's the key here in May. If you can get the bats hot, play fundamental baseball and stay healthy, you'll have a chance to make a run. We're in a good position."
Players Mentioned
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