Kansas State University Athletics
Wednesday, March 9
Manhattan, Kan.
4 p.m.
Kansas State University
vs
Nebraska
Wildcats Welcome Huskers for Home Opener
Mar 08, 2022 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State welcomes longtime rival Nebraska to Tointon Family Stadium for its home opener Wednesday, with first pitch slated for 4 p.m.
The game will kick off a stretch of nine home games over the team's next 10 contests after starting the season with 10 games away from home. K-State (3-7) wrapped up its California road trip with a series win at Loyola Marymount last weekend.
The Wildcats will send right-hander Griffin Hassall to the hill Wednesday, Hassall, a junior, will be making his 11th career start and first since his freshman campaign of 2019. Hassall has a team-leading four relief appearances this season.
The Cats and Cornhuskers will meet for the first time since 2019 and will mark the 289th time the programs have met all time. The only opponent K-State has faced more often is in-state rival Kansas (358).
With construction ongoing on the new Morgan Family Arena, parking for baseball games at Tointon Family Stadium will be impacted during the 2022 season.
Fans are advised to park in the west parking lot of Bill Snyder Stadium and do so by entering through Gate 3 via College Avenue across from Ascension Via Christi Hospital. Gate 1 and Gate 2 will be closed for the duration of the 2022 baseball season.
When proceeding to the stadium on foot, fans are advised to exit the west parking lot along the pedestrian path between Gate 1 and Gate 2 and then proceed to the stadium via the sidewalk along College Avenue.
Tickets are now on sale for the entire 2022 season and start at just $5 when purchased in advance at K-StateSports.com/Tickets, by calling 800-221-CATS or visiting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office.
Wednesday's game will be carried on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with radio coverage available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Live streaming audio is also available at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
GAME #11
K-STATE (3-7) vs. NEBRASKA (4-7)
Wednesday, March 9 // 4 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Griffin Hassall vs. LHP Emmett Olson (0-1, 1.64 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // James Westling, Craig Wilson
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters, Drew Biery
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats | Tickets
A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State opens its home schedule with a Wednesday afternoon tilt with longtime rival Nebraska ... The game kicks off a stretch of nine home contests over the next 10 games ... The Wildcats finished a seven-game road trip through California with a 3-4 record, taking two of three games at Loyola Marymount to conclude the two-week excursion ... in the Cats' first series win of the year, K-State earned an 11-0 win Friday in the opener before a 10-5 win Saturday clinched the series ... Going for the sweep, LMU responded with a 14-7 victory after K-State jumped out to a 3-0 lead ... Cole Johnson and Dominic Johnson led K-State's offense with seven hits each, while Dominic Johnson had a team-high five RBI ... The Cats totaled 16 doubles and three home runs over three games, getting three doubles each from Cole Johnson and Nick Goodwin ... Josh Nicoloff, Dylan Phillips and Orlando Salinas, Jr. each homered for the Wildcats, as the team has homered in four of their last five games ... K-State's offense averaged 9.3 runs a game and 14.7 hits per game in the series after averaging 3.7 runs a game and 7.9 hits a game entering the series ... Blake Adams logged six scoreless innings Friday night, turning in his second straight quality start .. Adams struck out seven and scattered five hits ... Connor McCullough earned his first victory of the season after yielding three hit over 5 2/3 innings and equaling his season high of seven strikeouts ... Griffin Hassall will get the start Wednesday, making his team-leading fifth appearance this season ... This will be his 11th career start and first since his freshman season of 2019 (made 10 weekend starts).
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
Nebraska enters the fourth week of the season with a 4-7 record after taking three of four games against UT Arlington and Northwestern State last weekend in Arlington, Texas ... The Cornhuskers entered the weekend on a four-game skid after being swept in three games by No. 17 TCU ... The Huskers are led offensively by Colby Gomes with his .379 average to go with three doubles, a homer and four RBI ... Griffin Everitt has a team-leading seven RBI while hitting .310 ... As a team, NU owns a .270 average with four home runs and 39 RBI ... On the mound, Nebraska boasts a .427 ERA with 83 strikeouts and 41 walks ... Sophomore lefty Emmett Olson will take the mound for his first career start on Wednesday ... Olson has made four relief appearances this season, going 0-1 while turning in a 1.647 ERA (2 ER, 11 IP) with 10 strikeouts against one walk.
INSIDE THE SERIES
K-State and Nebraska will meet for the first time since 2019 after COVID-19 impacted the team's schedules the last two seasons ... Wednesday's matchup will mark the 289th time the teams have faced each other - the second-most number of games K-State has played against a single opponent in program history (Kansas, 358) ... The Cornhuskers own a 173-115 lead, dating back to 1898 ... The Wildcats have won two of the last three contests in the series, but the Huskers are 7-3 over the last 10 games ... The Cats picked up a 5-0 win in Lincoln on April 16, 2019 in the last matchup ... K-State is 71-79 at home all-time against NU while head coach Pete Hughes has split two meetings in his time at K-State ... The Wildcats have lost their last five home games against Nebraska and last won at home against their former Big 12 rival in 2014, a 12-6 triumph on March 26.
TWO-HIT MITCH
K-State senior catcher Justin Mitchell has hit safely in seven of nine games in which he has played this season, including a five-game hitting streak from Feb. 19-March 1 ... Mitchell has produced five two-hit games this season, with four coming over his last five outings ... Mitchell has gone 7-for-20 over his last five games in California with four doubles, a home run and three RBI ... Mitchell now leads the team in average (.375) and on-base percentage (.459) and ranks second in slugging (.594) ... Mitchell, voted one of four team captains before the season, has scored seven runs over his last eight games ... In four seasons at Oklahoma, Mitchell posted a slash line of .261/.352/.348 with 15 doubles and two home runs.
MR. FEBRUARY
K-State starting pitcher Connor McCullough has owned the month of February in now his third season at K-State ... In seven February starts, McCullough has turned in five quality starts and owns 3-1 record, with a sparkling ERA of 1.28 (6 ER, 42.1 IP) ... The redshirt sophomore right-hander has totaled 50 strikeouts against 10 walks in February and boasts a 0.89 WHIP ... Additionally, he has not allowed more than two earned runs and gone at least five innings in each start in the month ... In his first start of 2022, McCullough held Michigan scoreless over five innings with five strikeouts, not giving up a base hit until the fourth inning ... On February 26 at CSU Bakersfield, he yielded two earned runs over six innings with seven strikeouts ... In his last start, he tied his season high with seven strikeouts and earned the victory after going 5 2/3 innings and three hits allowed ... The Maumelle, Arkansas, product is the Wildcats' only returning weekend starter ... McCullough, who was a freshman all-America pick in 2020 by Collegiate Baseball, tied for the team lead in starts (15) and ranked second in innings pitched (77.1) and strikeouts (69) last season ... He accounts for 15 of K-State's 18 returning starts, 77 1/3 of 104 retained innings and 69 of 95 strikeouts.
FROM THE 'PEN
After posting an ERA of 14.85 in the season's opening weekend, the K-State bullpen has a combined ERA of 3.98 over its last seven games (14 ER, 31.2 IP) ... Over three games at Loyola Marymount, relievers allowed 11 earned runs over 11 1/3 innings (8.74 ERA) with 16 strikeouts and six walks ... Against the Lions, five Wildcat relievers did not surrender an earned run, totaling six innings ... K-State's starting rotation turned in a 4.91 ERA (8 ER, 14.2 IP) with 15 strikeouts at LMU ... On the season, Wildcat starters have an earned run average of 4.64 with 51 strikeouts and 19 walks ... Relievers have 60 strikeouts against 27 walks in 45 innings (7.20 ERA).
BOSS HOGS
K-State features a pair of Arkansas transfers and natives in its weekend rotation in Blake Adams and Connor McCullough ... In six total starts, the duo has a combined ERA of 2.73 (11 ER, 36.1 IP) and 48 strikeouts with just nine walks ... Adams and McCullough each logged quality starts at CSU Bakersfield, as Adams went a career-long 7 2/3 and set a career high with 12 strikeouts ... McCullough went six innings with two earned on five hits as the duo has totaled three quality starts (only three on team) ... Additionally, freshman reliever Landry Jurecka, from Greenwood, Arkansas, did not allow a hit over 1 1/3 innings in his collegiate debut at CSUB with a strikeout.
LIL HELP, PLEASE
In the season's first seven games, K-State's starting pitchers received a total of six runs of support - a span of 28 total innings ... McCullough had gotten a total of two support runs in his first two starts (total of 11 innings) ... Over three games at Loyola Marymount, the Wildcat offense gave its starting pitchers a total of 19 runs of support, including eight each to Adams and McCullough, in earning the first series win of the ... The Cats have scored a total of 18 runs in innings 1-4 while combining for 36 from the sixth inning on.
The game will kick off a stretch of nine home games over the team's next 10 contests after starting the season with 10 games away from home. K-State (3-7) wrapped up its California road trip with a series win at Loyola Marymount last weekend.
The Wildcats will send right-hander Griffin Hassall to the hill Wednesday, Hassall, a junior, will be making his 11th career start and first since his freshman campaign of 2019. Hassall has a team-leading four relief appearances this season.
The Cats and Cornhuskers will meet for the first time since 2019 and will mark the 289th time the programs have met all time. The only opponent K-State has faced more often is in-state rival Kansas (358).
With construction ongoing on the new Morgan Family Arena, parking for baseball games at Tointon Family Stadium will be impacted during the 2022 season.
Fans are advised to park in the west parking lot of Bill Snyder Stadium and do so by entering through Gate 3 via College Avenue across from Ascension Via Christi Hospital. Gate 1 and Gate 2 will be closed for the duration of the 2022 baseball season.
When proceeding to the stadium on foot, fans are advised to exit the west parking lot along the pedestrian path between Gate 1 and Gate 2 and then proceed to the stadium via the sidewalk along College Avenue.
Tickets are now on sale for the entire 2022 season and start at just $5 when purchased in advance at K-StateSports.com/Tickets, by calling 800-221-CATS or visiting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office.
Wednesday's game will be carried on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with radio coverage available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Live streaming audio is also available at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
GAME #11
K-STATE (3-7) vs. NEBRASKA (4-7)
Wednesday, March 9 // 4 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Griffin Hassall vs. LHP Emmett Olson (0-1, 1.64 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // James Westling, Craig Wilson
Radio: KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters, Drew Biery
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats | Tickets
A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State opens its home schedule with a Wednesday afternoon tilt with longtime rival Nebraska ... The game kicks off a stretch of nine home contests over the next 10 games ... The Wildcats finished a seven-game road trip through California with a 3-4 record, taking two of three games at Loyola Marymount to conclude the two-week excursion ... in the Cats' first series win of the year, K-State earned an 11-0 win Friday in the opener before a 10-5 win Saturday clinched the series ... Going for the sweep, LMU responded with a 14-7 victory after K-State jumped out to a 3-0 lead ... Cole Johnson and Dominic Johnson led K-State's offense with seven hits each, while Dominic Johnson had a team-high five RBI ... The Cats totaled 16 doubles and three home runs over three games, getting three doubles each from Cole Johnson and Nick Goodwin ... Josh Nicoloff, Dylan Phillips and Orlando Salinas, Jr. each homered for the Wildcats, as the team has homered in four of their last five games ... K-State's offense averaged 9.3 runs a game and 14.7 hits per game in the series after averaging 3.7 runs a game and 7.9 hits a game entering the series ... Blake Adams logged six scoreless innings Friday night, turning in his second straight quality start .. Adams struck out seven and scattered five hits ... Connor McCullough earned his first victory of the season after yielding three hit over 5 2/3 innings and equaling his season high of seven strikeouts ... Griffin Hassall will get the start Wednesday, making his team-leading fifth appearance this season ... This will be his 11th career start and first since his freshman season of 2019 (made 10 weekend starts).
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
Nebraska enters the fourth week of the season with a 4-7 record after taking three of four games against UT Arlington and Northwestern State last weekend in Arlington, Texas ... The Cornhuskers entered the weekend on a four-game skid after being swept in three games by No. 17 TCU ... The Huskers are led offensively by Colby Gomes with his .379 average to go with three doubles, a homer and four RBI ... Griffin Everitt has a team-leading seven RBI while hitting .310 ... As a team, NU owns a .270 average with four home runs and 39 RBI ... On the mound, Nebraska boasts a .427 ERA with 83 strikeouts and 41 walks ... Sophomore lefty Emmett Olson will take the mound for his first career start on Wednesday ... Olson has made four relief appearances this season, going 0-1 while turning in a 1.647 ERA (2 ER, 11 IP) with 10 strikeouts against one walk.
INSIDE THE SERIES
K-State and Nebraska will meet for the first time since 2019 after COVID-19 impacted the team's schedules the last two seasons ... Wednesday's matchup will mark the 289th time the teams have faced each other - the second-most number of games K-State has played against a single opponent in program history (Kansas, 358) ... The Cornhuskers own a 173-115 lead, dating back to 1898 ... The Wildcats have won two of the last three contests in the series, but the Huskers are 7-3 over the last 10 games ... The Cats picked up a 5-0 win in Lincoln on April 16, 2019 in the last matchup ... K-State is 71-79 at home all-time against NU while head coach Pete Hughes has split two meetings in his time at K-State ... The Wildcats have lost their last five home games against Nebraska and last won at home against their former Big 12 rival in 2014, a 12-6 triumph on March 26.
TWO-HIT MITCH
K-State senior catcher Justin Mitchell has hit safely in seven of nine games in which he has played this season, including a five-game hitting streak from Feb. 19-March 1 ... Mitchell has produced five two-hit games this season, with four coming over his last five outings ... Mitchell has gone 7-for-20 over his last five games in California with four doubles, a home run and three RBI ... Mitchell now leads the team in average (.375) and on-base percentage (.459) and ranks second in slugging (.594) ... Mitchell, voted one of four team captains before the season, has scored seven runs over his last eight games ... In four seasons at Oklahoma, Mitchell posted a slash line of .261/.352/.348 with 15 doubles and two home runs.
MR. FEBRUARY
K-State starting pitcher Connor McCullough has owned the month of February in now his third season at K-State ... In seven February starts, McCullough has turned in five quality starts and owns 3-1 record, with a sparkling ERA of 1.28 (6 ER, 42.1 IP) ... The redshirt sophomore right-hander has totaled 50 strikeouts against 10 walks in February and boasts a 0.89 WHIP ... Additionally, he has not allowed more than two earned runs and gone at least five innings in each start in the month ... In his first start of 2022, McCullough held Michigan scoreless over five innings with five strikeouts, not giving up a base hit until the fourth inning ... On February 26 at CSU Bakersfield, he yielded two earned runs over six innings with seven strikeouts ... In his last start, he tied his season high with seven strikeouts and earned the victory after going 5 2/3 innings and three hits allowed ... The Maumelle, Arkansas, product is the Wildcats' only returning weekend starter ... McCullough, who was a freshman all-America pick in 2020 by Collegiate Baseball, tied for the team lead in starts (15) and ranked second in innings pitched (77.1) and strikeouts (69) last season ... He accounts for 15 of K-State's 18 returning starts, 77 1/3 of 104 retained innings and 69 of 95 strikeouts.
FROM THE 'PEN
After posting an ERA of 14.85 in the season's opening weekend, the K-State bullpen has a combined ERA of 3.98 over its last seven games (14 ER, 31.2 IP) ... Over three games at Loyola Marymount, relievers allowed 11 earned runs over 11 1/3 innings (8.74 ERA) with 16 strikeouts and six walks ... Against the Lions, five Wildcat relievers did not surrender an earned run, totaling six innings ... K-State's starting rotation turned in a 4.91 ERA (8 ER, 14.2 IP) with 15 strikeouts at LMU ... On the season, Wildcat starters have an earned run average of 4.64 with 51 strikeouts and 19 walks ... Relievers have 60 strikeouts against 27 walks in 45 innings (7.20 ERA).
BOSS HOGS
K-State features a pair of Arkansas transfers and natives in its weekend rotation in Blake Adams and Connor McCullough ... In six total starts, the duo has a combined ERA of 2.73 (11 ER, 36.1 IP) and 48 strikeouts with just nine walks ... Adams and McCullough each logged quality starts at CSU Bakersfield, as Adams went a career-long 7 2/3 and set a career high with 12 strikeouts ... McCullough went six innings with two earned on five hits as the duo has totaled three quality starts (only three on team) ... Additionally, freshman reliever Landry Jurecka, from Greenwood, Arkansas, did not allow a hit over 1 1/3 innings in his collegiate debut at CSUB with a strikeout.
LIL HELP, PLEASE
In the season's first seven games, K-State's starting pitchers received a total of six runs of support - a span of 28 total innings ... McCullough had gotten a total of two support runs in his first two starts (total of 11 innings) ... Over three games at Loyola Marymount, the Wildcat offense gave its starting pitchers a total of 19 runs of support, including eight each to Adams and McCullough, in earning the first series win of the ... The Cats have scored a total of 18 runs in innings 1-4 while combining for 36 from the sixth inning on.
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