Kansas State University Athletics
Sunday, March 13
Manhattan, Kan.
1 p.m.
Kansas State University
6-7
5
vs
3
Central Connecticut State
3-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Central Connecticut
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
3
8
0
K-State
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
X
5
11
0
K-State Finishes Sweep of CCSU, Runs Win Streak to Four
Mar 13, 2022 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State pushed its winning streak to four games after taking both games of a Sunday doubleheader with Central Connecticut State, earning a 5-3 win in the day's opening game before a 5-2 win in the finale at Tointon Family Stadium.
"It's a great day any time you can win twice," said head coach Pete Hughes. "Those are precious days, and I tell our guys that because those wins will stay with you. We work really hard to get wins and to get two in a day is awesome. It's challenging, too, it's difficult to play 18 innings and to maintain focus, urgency and energy levels.
"We had some great efforts – Dominic Johnson and Cole Johnson were really swinging the bat well. Connor McCullough was not feeling well and gave us six good innings (in game one) when he did not feel his best. Christian Ruebeck stuck with it and got paid back today, he was awesome. German Fajardo was awesome today. These are kids that are super talented but haven't got the results they deserve with their work ethic. So it was good to see that today."
In the day's first win, K-State (7-7) got a career-high four hits from Cole Johnson, including a double and a home run. Justin Mitchell also homered and doubled in the first contest, driving in two.
Dominic Johnson registered a pair of two-hit games, going 2-for-3 in game one before a 2-for-5 effort in the nightcap. Johnson homered twice in the series and drove in two in the finale.
McCullough, getting the start in game one, scattered six hits over his six innings while allowing three earned runs. The right-hander struck out three and walked two in earning his second win of the season (2-1).
Blake Corsentino took over for McCullough and tossed three shutout frames, giving up two hits while racking up four strikeouts for his first career save.
Starting the second contest, Ruebeck struck out seven in just four innings, with one run allowed on three hits. He worked around a leadoff double in the first, striking out the side, before escaping a bases-loaded, nobody out situation in the third. Ruebeck induced a 1-2-3 double play before a strikeout closed the door on the CCSU threat.
Landry Jurecka would pick up where Ruebeck left off, logging three innings with just one hit against him. Jurecka, a freshman, was credited with his first collegiate victory.
Fajardo finished the job Sunday, striking out four over his two innings to pick up his first save as a Wildcat.
Kaelen Culpepper drove in a run in each game, as he was 2-for-3 in game one and 1-for-4 in the second game. Culpepper's RBI double in the opener proved to be the game-winner, breaking a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning.
Nick Goodwin and Dylan Phillips each collected an RBI in game two. Both came in the fifth inning and pushed a one-run lead (2-1) to a three-run advantage at 4-1.
Central Connecticut State starter Jake Neuman allowed three earned on six hits over four innings with a strikeout.
Anthony Mozzicato, starting game two, also went four innings with one earned run on four hits and two strikeouts.
Noah Martinez homered in the second game for the Blue Devils. Jay DeVito and Jack Nolan were each 2-for-4 in game one.
K-State is on a season-long four-game winning streak and has won seven of its last nine to climb back to .500.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED (GAME 1)
Dan Covino ripped an RBI double in the top of the first to give Central Connecticut an early one-run lead. K-State responded with runs in the first and second frames to take a 2-1 lead. Dominic Johnson singled, stole second and later scored on a wild pitch for the game-tying run.
Cole Johnson's solo homer put the Cats up a run before CCSU retook the lead in the fourth after the first three Blue Devils reached in the frame. An RBI groundout from Nolan gave CCSU a 3-2 lead.
K-State again responded in the home half of the inning, tying the game after back-to-back ground-rule doubles from Josh Nicoloff and Mitchell.
Culpepper's two-out double in the sixth proved to be the game-winning run while Mitchell added a solo homer in the eighth.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 1)
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED (GAME 2)
Ruebeck worked out of trouble in the first after giving up a leadoff double to Hunter Pasqualini, who stood on third with nobody out after a wild pitch. Ruebeck struck out the next three CCSU hitters he faced to get out of the frame unscathed.
With the game still scoreless in the top of the third, Ruebeck escaped a nobody out, bases-loaded jam by inducing a 1-2-3 double play before an inning-ending strikeout.
Dominic Johnson's two-run homer in the third broke the 0-0 tie. CCSU cut the Cats' lead in half in the fourth, only to see K-State plate two in the fifth on RBIs from Phillips and Goodwin.
Culpepper added an insurance run with his second RBI of the day in the eighth, coming after Martinez's solo homer in the sixth.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 2)
NOTES
UP NEXT
K-State will make a Tuesday trip to Omaha to take on the Omaha Mavericks at 6 p.m. at Tal Anderson Field. The game will be streamed at OMavs.com with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio will be available at K-StateSports.com/Watch.
"It's a great day any time you can win twice," said head coach Pete Hughes. "Those are precious days, and I tell our guys that because those wins will stay with you. We work really hard to get wins and to get two in a day is awesome. It's challenging, too, it's difficult to play 18 innings and to maintain focus, urgency and energy levels.
"We had some great efforts – Dominic Johnson and Cole Johnson were really swinging the bat well. Connor McCullough was not feeling well and gave us six good innings (in game one) when he did not feel his best. Christian Ruebeck stuck with it and got paid back today, he was awesome. German Fajardo was awesome today. These are kids that are super talented but haven't got the results they deserve with their work ethic. So it was good to see that today."
In the day's first win, K-State (7-7) got a career-high four hits from Cole Johnson, including a double and a home run. Justin Mitchell also homered and doubled in the first contest, driving in two.
Dominic Johnson registered a pair of two-hit games, going 2-for-3 in game one before a 2-for-5 effort in the nightcap. Johnson homered twice in the series and drove in two in the finale.
McCullough, getting the start in game one, scattered six hits over his six innings while allowing three earned runs. The right-hander struck out three and walked two in earning his second win of the season (2-1).
Blake Corsentino took over for McCullough and tossed three shutout frames, giving up two hits while racking up four strikeouts for his first career save.
Starting the second contest, Ruebeck struck out seven in just four innings, with one run allowed on three hits. He worked around a leadoff double in the first, striking out the side, before escaping a bases-loaded, nobody out situation in the third. Ruebeck induced a 1-2-3 double play before a strikeout closed the door on the CCSU threat.
Landry Jurecka would pick up where Ruebeck left off, logging three innings with just one hit against him. Jurecka, a freshman, was credited with his first collegiate victory.
Fajardo finished the job Sunday, striking out four over his two innings to pick up his first save as a Wildcat.
Kaelen Culpepper drove in a run in each game, as he was 2-for-3 in game one and 1-for-4 in the second game. Culpepper's RBI double in the opener proved to be the game-winner, breaking a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning.
Nick Goodwin and Dylan Phillips each collected an RBI in game two. Both came in the fifth inning and pushed a one-run lead (2-1) to a three-run advantage at 4-1.
Central Connecticut State starter Jake Neuman allowed three earned on six hits over four innings with a strikeout.
Anthony Mozzicato, starting game two, also went four innings with one earned run on four hits and two strikeouts.
Noah Martinez homered in the second game for the Blue Devils. Jay DeVito and Jack Nolan were each 2-for-4 in game one.
K-State is on a season-long four-game winning streak and has won seven of its last nine to climb back to .500.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED (GAME 1)
Dan Covino ripped an RBI double in the top of the first to give Central Connecticut an early one-run lead. K-State responded with runs in the first and second frames to take a 2-1 lead. Dominic Johnson singled, stole second and later scored on a wild pitch for the game-tying run.
Cole Johnson's solo homer put the Cats up a run before CCSU retook the lead in the fourth after the first three Blue Devils reached in the frame. An RBI groundout from Nolan gave CCSU a 3-2 lead.
K-State again responded in the home half of the inning, tying the game after back-to-back ground-rule doubles from Josh Nicoloff and Mitchell.
Culpepper's two-out double in the sixth proved to be the game-winning run while Mitchell added a solo homer in the eighth.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 1)
- K-State scored five runs on 11 hits, committed no errors and left 10 on base.
- Central Connecticut State scored three runs on eight hits without an error and stranded eight baserunners.
- Cole Johnson led all players with a career-high four hits, including a double and a home run.
- Mitchell lifted his second home run of the season.
- Culpepper, Dominic Johnson and Mitchell each had two-hit days in the opener.
- McCullough earned his second win after going six innings with three earned and three strikeouts.
- Corsentino picked up his first save of the year after three scoreless innings (two hits).
- DeVito and Nolan both finished with two hits for CCSU.
- The Blue Devils were held hitless with two outs (0-for-8) and 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
- K-State went 2-for-9 with two out and 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED (GAME 2)
Ruebeck worked out of trouble in the first after giving up a leadoff double to Hunter Pasqualini, who stood on third with nobody out after a wild pitch. Ruebeck struck out the next three CCSU hitters he faced to get out of the frame unscathed.
With the game still scoreless in the top of the third, Ruebeck escaped a nobody out, bases-loaded jam by inducing a 1-2-3 double play before an inning-ending strikeout.
Dominic Johnson's two-run homer in the third broke the 0-0 tie. CCSU cut the Cats' lead in half in the fourth, only to see K-State plate two in the fifth on RBIs from Phillips and Goodwin.
Culpepper added an insurance run with his second RBI of the day in the eighth, coming after Martinez's solo homer in the sixth.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 2)
- K-State scored five runs on 11 hits, committed one error and left eight on base.
- Central Connecticut State scored two runs on five hits with one error and stranded seven baserunners.
- Blake Adams, Dominic Johnson and Phillips each registered two-hit games.
- Dominic Johnson drove in two and homered for the second time in the series.
- Culpepper, Goodwin and Phillips each drove in a run.
- Adams has logged two hits in each of his two starts at designated hitter this season.
- Ruebeck struck out seven over four innings, allowing three hits and one earned run.
- Jurecka picked his first collegiate victory after three innings of one-hit relief.
- Fajardo earned the save after giving up just one hit in two innings (four strikeouts).
- Martinez homered for CCSU.
- Mozzicato suffered the loss after allowing two runs in four innings.
- The Blue Devils were hitless with runners in scoring position (0-for-7) and with two outs (0-for-9).
- K-State hit .417 with two gone (5-for-12) and .500 (7-for-14) with men on base.
NOTES
- K-State leads the all-time series with Central Connecticut State 4-0.
- This was the first series in Manhattan between the teams.
- The Cats are 19-2 against teams from the Northeast Conference.
- Orlando Salinas' 12-game on base streak came to an end in game two.
- Dominic Johnson is on a team-high nine-game hitting streak while Nicoloff has hit safely in the last eight contests.
- Cole Johnson now has a seven-game hitting streak while Mitchell's sits at six games.
- The Cats start 4-0 at home for the second straight year.
UP NEXT
K-State will make a Tuesday trip to Omaha to take on the Omaha Mavericks at 6 p.m. at Tal Anderson Field. The game will be streamed at OMavs.com with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio will be available at K-StateSports.com/Watch.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McCullough, Connor (2-1)
L: BUCHEK, Tim (0-1)
S: Corsentino, Blake (1)
Batting:
2B: COVINO, Dan 1 ; NOLAN, Jack 1
3B: LODA, Sam 1
RBI: COVINO, Dan 1 ; TORNIERO, Mike 1 ; NOLAN, Jack 1
SH: RIOS, Joe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DEVITO, Jay 1 ; MARTINEZ, Noah 1 ; LODA, Sam 1
Batting:
2B: Nicoloff, Josh 1 ; Mitchell, Justin 1 ; Johnson, Cole 1 ; Culpepper, Kaelen 1
HR: Mitchell, Justin 1 ; Johnson, Cole 1
RBI: Mitchell, Justin 2 ; Johnson, Cole 1 ; Culpepper, Kaelen 1
SH: Culpepper, Kaelen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnson, Dominic 1 ; Nicoloff, Josh 2 ; Mitchell, Justin 1 ; Johnson, Cole 1
SB: Johnson, Dominic 1
HBP: Johnson, Dominic 1 ; Heinrich, Jeff 1 ; Salinas, Jr., Orlando 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
4
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
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