Wildcats Come Back to Complete Midweek Sweep of Bears

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State erased a five-run deficit Wednesday night, scoring eight unanswered runs from the fourth inning on to complete a two-game midweek sweep of Northern Colorado at Tointon Family Stadium, 10-7.

K-State (13-11) found itself in a 7-2 hole in the middle of the fourth inning, as starter Christian Ruebeck and reliever Nico Rodriguez combined to issue eight walks over the first four innings. The Wildcats, who ended the night with 11 total walks, went on the score the next eight runs, including three in the fourth and three more in the sixth.

Josh Nicoloff's two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded in the sixth broke the 7-all tie and proved to be the game-winning hit. Nicoloff walked four times in the game and finished with a team-leading three RBI.

"Hey, it's a win," head coach Pete Hughes said after the game. "There's nothing like winning. Our program loves to win. We need to learn how to win. In baseball, you have to learn how to play in bad conditions and you've got to learn how to play from behind. You've got to learn how to pick each other up, teammate wise, and I think we saw all those things tonight. I was proud of our guys, how no one panicked and fought their way back into the game.

"(We got) a hit from Josh Nicoloff that was big. Just not panicking when you're down and just letting your offense play and not trying to score five runs every inning but just chipping away and not straying away from your approach. I thought we did a great job of that."

With three runs already home for Northern Colorado (6-21) in the fourth inning, Landry Wideman entered the game with two outs and the bases loaded. Wideman struck out Cameron Cromer to get out of the inning and keep K-State's deficit at five.

Rodriguez walked five and hit a batter in the fourth, allowing UNC to score three runs without recording a base hit.

Wideman went on to log 3 2/3 innings in relief of Rodriguez, allowing just two hits while striking out four. The junior-college transfer picked up his first win as a Wildcat, throwing 78 pitches in his season-long outing.

"Really proud of Landry Wideman, who hadn't had much success this year," Hughes said of his redshirt sophomore reliever. "When we needed someone to settle things down and let our offense get us back in the game, he was the guy who did that.

"We needed to change the flow of that game; it was headed in the wrong direction. You've just got to get a couple of zeros up on the board so your offense could get chipping away and get you back into it and get some life back into your dugout. And that's what he did. He hadn't thrown that many pitches in a long time and he picked up a lot of teammates today by that outing he had."

Wideman's efforts allowed his offense to begin to chip away at the five-run deficit.

In the bottom of the fourth, Nick Goodwin and Nicoloff each drew walks to lead off the inning before Orlando Salinas roped a triple to the left field corner. Salinas later sprinted home on a wild pitch to match the three-spot put up by the Bears in the top of the frame.

Nicoloff drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth, inching the Cats within a run before his go-ahead single in the sixth.

With two runners on and only one out in the eighth, Dylan Phillips moved from first base to the mound. Phillips then struck out Lincoln Turner and Chase Cromer, who each represented the game-tying run, to wiggle out of the inning unscathed.

Phillips closed the door by striking out the side in order in the ninth to earn his first career save. In his initial appearance of the season, the junior left-hander struck out all five he faced.

"He looked awesome," Hughes added on Phillips' outing. "I was fired up to see that. It was on my priority list of things we needed to do this week, to get him on the mound and pitch him more. We need some reliability out of that bullpen. He's got a lot of experience, he's a veteran, and he's left-handed. He's going to compete."

Cole Johnson paced the Wildcat offense by going 4-for-4 with a double, RBI and three runs scored. It marked Johnson's second four-hit game of the season.

Nicoloff extended his on-base streak to 19 games, drawing four of 10 walks handed out by the UNC pitching staff.

Iain Isdale suffered the loss for the Bears after surrendering four runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks. Isdale struck out one over two innings.

K-State's 11 walks matched a season high, as the teams combined for 21 base on balls.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Northern Colorado took advantage of two walks and a hit batter, scoring three runs in the top of the first off starter Ruebeck. Turner and Chase Cromer tallied back-to-back run-scoring singles with the bases loaded to stake the Bears to the early three-run lead.

In the fourth, K-State issued five walks, including two with the bases loaded, that led to three UNC runs. The Bears left the bases loaded after Wideman entered the game and closed the frame with a strikeout.

The Cats answered Northern Colorado's three runs with three of their own in the home half. Salinas tripled down the left field line to score both Goodwin and Nicoloff. Salinas later ran home on a wild pitch to trim the deficit to two runs, 7-5.

K-State loaded the bases before an out was recorded in the fifth, as Nicoloff drew a bases-loaded walk to bring the Cats with a run. Nicoloff's RBI base on balls would be the only run the Cats would score, however, as a fielder's choice putout at home and a strikeout left the bases full.

In an inning that was extended by a Bear error, K-State capitalized with three unearned runs to capture its first lead in the sixth. Nicoloff delivered a two-run, two-out single to break a 7-7 tie and the Cats would finish with eight consecutive runs from the fourth to the seventh.

Phillips, who moved from first base to the mound, inherited two runners with one out in the top of the eighth. With the potential tying run at the plate, the left-hander struck out back-to-back hitters to escape the jam and keep K-State's three-run advantage intact.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

K-State scored 10 runs on eight hits, with one error and left 10 on base.
Northern Colorado scored seven runs on five hits, committed two errors and stranded 11 baserunners.
K-State scored eight unanswered runs after trailing 7-2 at the game's halfway mark.
Cole Johnson had a game-high four hits (4-for-4) for his second four-hit game of the season.
Cole Johnson doubled and Salinas tripled, marking the game's only extra-base hits.
Nicoloff walked four times and drove in three runs.
UNC combined to walk 10 hitters while the Wildcats tied their season high with 11 walks.
Wideman earned his first win of the season after tossing 3 2/3 innings of relief.
Wideman allowed just two hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
Phillips struck out all five he faced to earn his first career save.
Turner produced the only multi-hit game for the Bears (2-for-3).
Glenn walked three times, as the top six in the UNC order combined to walk 10 times.
K-State hit .300 with men on base and .273 with two outs.
Northern Colorado hit .100 with two outs and .167 with runners in scoring position.

NOTES

K-State leads the all-time series 20-1 and have won seven straight in the series.
All 21 games between the teams have been played in Manhattan.
Nicoloff's on-base stretch reached 19 games.
The Wildcats have won nine of their first 10 home games for the second straight season.

UP NEXT
K-State is set for its Big 12 home opener, welcoming sixth-ranked Oklahoma State for a three-game set starting Friday at 6 p.m. The series can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Radio coverage can be heard on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free, live audio is also available at K-StateSports.com/Watch.

Next Event

Team Stats

Cole Johnson

Dylan Phillips

Brady Day

Josh Nicoloff

Players Mentioned

Nick Goodwin

Cole Johnson

Josh Nicoloff

Dylan Phillips

Nico Rodriguez

Christian Ruebeck

Landry Wideman

Players Mentioned

Nick Goodwin

Cole Johnson

Josh Nicoloff

Dylan Phillips

Nico Rodriguez

Christian Ruebeck

Landry Wideman

Kansas State University Athletics