Kansas State University Athletics
Monday, April 18
Wichita, Kan.
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
at
Wichita State
K-State Meets Rivals Wichita State, Omaha
Apr 17, 2022 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – After taking two of three games against seventh-ranked Texas over the weekend, K-State kicks off a five-game week with a trip to Eck Stadium to face Wichita State Monday at 6 p.m., before a home contest with Omaha Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium.
The Wildcats and Shockers meet up in the first of two tilts this season, while K-State and the Mavericks will finish a home-and-home midweek set. The Cats claimed an 8-4 victory over UNO back on March 15 at Tal Anderson Field.
Over the weekend, K-State earned its first conference series victory after claiming two games against the Longhorns. The Cats launched four homers Thursday, helping erase a four-run deficit, before leading from start to finish in game two of the series, winning 8-1.
The series win marked the fifth ranked series win under head coach Pete Hughes – and the third against a team ranked in the top 10. The Cats finished the first half of its league slate with a 3-9 record.
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.
Both midweek games can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Monday's game will be carried on the K-State Sports Radio Network and on SiriusXM Big 12 Radio channel 375. Live streaming audio is available free at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
GAME #35
K-STATE (17-17, 3-9 BIG 12) at WICHITA STATE (25-10, 5-4 AMERICAN)
Monday, April 18 // 6 p.m. // Eck Stadium (2,334) // Wichita, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP German Fajardo (1-1, 3.21 ERA) vs. RHP Robert Cranz (0-1, 6.75 ERA)
Watch: ESPN+ // ESPN app
Radio: K-State Sports Radio Network/SiriusXM Ch. 375 // Matt Walters, Evan Marshall
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats
GAME #36
K-STATE (17-17, 3-9 BIG 12) vs. OMAHA (16-17, 7-5 SUMMIT)
Tuesday, April 19 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: TBA vs. TBA
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Mike Clark
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM)
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats | Tickets
A LOOK AT K-STATE
After a home series win over No. 7 Texas, K-State preps for a two midweek games, as the Wildcats head to Eck Stadium to take on Wichita State before hosting Omaha at Tointon Family Stadium on Tuesday evening ... The Cats claimed the first two games of their three-game series against the Longhorns, overcoming a four-run deficit to take the opener 8-5 to go with an 8-1 win Friday in the middle game of the series ... Eyeing its first-ever sweep of Texas or over a top-10 opponent, the Longhorns managed to grind out a 4-2 win in the finale Saturday ... Dylan Phillips launched two home runs Thursday night while Nick Goodwin connected on a go-ahead three-run shot in the seventh, breaking a 5-5 tie ... The Wildcats, who trailed 5-1 in the series opener, scored seven unanswered runs and finished with four homers in the game ... Connor McCullough, who started Saturday's contest, came on in relief to record his first career save, retiring all four hitters he faced on 14 pitches ... K-State never trailed in game two, as Blake Adams allowed just one hit over the game's first six innings, finishing with three hits allowed over seven innings and one run against him ... Dominic Johnson launched a two-run homer in the seventh after UT climbed within two runs ... Blake Corsentino took over for Adams and retired all six he saw over two innings, helping the Cats clinch their first conference win of the season ... Additionally, K-State earned his third series win over Texas in the last four series between the sides ... Head coach Pete Hughes collected the fifth series win over a ranked opponent and third against a top-10 foe while at K-State ... K-State improved its home record to 13-4 and closed the first half of its league slate with a 3-9 mark ... The Wildcat bullpen turned in a 1.86 ERA in the weekend series with Texas, allowing two earned runs over 9 2/3 innings while striking out eight.
SCOUTING WICHITA STATE
Wichita State (13-22, 2-7 American) enters Monday's tilt on a four-game losing skid after being swept over three games at home against Cincinnati ... Overall, the Shockers have dropped nine of their last 10 games and have not scored more than five runs in that stretch ... WSU's offense is led by Chuck Ingram and his .291 average, 10 home runs and 29 runs batted in ... As a team, Wichita State has a .242 batting average with 36 home runs ... Sawyre Thornhill and Brock Rodden each have a team-best eight doubles ... The Shockers own a 5.40 team ERA while opponents collectively hit .268 against them ... Robert Cranz will get the start Monday against the Wildcats ... Cranz is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four appearances (two starts), striking out five and walking one.
INSIDE THE SERIES
In a rivalry that dates back to 1906, Wichita State holds a 56-42 edge in the all-time series ... The teams met just once a season ago, as WSU claimed a 5-1 win at Eck Stadium on March 23 ... The Shockers have won three of the last four meetings ... In Wichita, K-State is 16-36, last winning in 2018 (7-3) ... The sides have split the last 10 in the series ... Hughes is 1-3 against Wichita State as K-State's head coach ... The Cats are 4-6 in the last 10 played in Wichita ... The Shockers will make a return trip to Tointon Family Stadium on Tuesday, May 3.
SCOUTING OMAHA
Omaha (16-17, 7-5 Summit League) is coming off a home series loss to North Dakota State, as the Bison claimed two of three games at Tal Anderson Field ... The Mavericks won the middle game of the series, 10-2, but were shut out in the opener (1-0) and Saturday's finale (2-0) ... UNO entered the weekend on a three-game winning streak, taking two of three from Northern Colorado in addition to a midweek victory at Kansas, 11-10 ... Matt Boeve is the Mavs' leader in hitting (.375), doubles (15), home runs (7) and RBI (26) ... Jack Lombardi is next, hitting .308 with eight doubles, and 11 RBI ... UNO's offense is hitting .245 on the year with 21 home runs ... On the mound, Omaha boasts a 3.83 team ERA, striking out 277 against 123 walks with opponents hitting .256 against them.
INSIDE THE SERIES
K-State and Omaha will meet for the second time this season, as the teams complete a home-and-home midweek series ... On March 15, the Wildcats prevailed with an 8-4 win at Tal Anderson Field in Omaha ... Griffin Hassall struck out six over 5 2/3 innings in the start while Cole Johnson and Josh Nicoloff each homered in the contest ... With that victory, the Cats improved to 15-2 all-time against the Mavericks while winning the last six in the series ... K-State owns an 11-1 mark at home against UNO ... Hughes is 3-0 against Omaha in his four seasons at K-State.
KING WHAMMER
Against Oklahoma State on April 2, Dylan Phillips belted two home runs to become K-State's all-time home run leader ... Phillips tied Scott Poepard's record of 37 in the April 1 contest before breaking it in the first inning Saturday ... Poepard's record had stood since 1997 (25 years), as Phillips now has 42 career homers after belting two bombs Thursday against No. 7 Texas ... Phillips now owns eight career multi-homer games and three this season ... His record-breaking performance earned him Big 12 Player of the Week honors on April 4, the first weekly award of his career ... Phillips has hit seven home runs over his last 12 games ... His 42 career homers rank eighth among active players in Division I and tops in the Big 12 ... The Omaha product tied the program's single-season home run record last season with 16 bombs, ranking second in the Big 12 ... His 16 homers were the most by a Wildcat since Poepard and Heath Schesser both did it during the 1997 season ... Phillips was K-State's lone representative on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team while also earning Preseason Third Team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball.
NO HELP FROM THE SCHEDULE-MAKERS
For the second straight year, K-State began its Big 12 slate with the toughest opening stretch in conference history (past or present Big 12 members) ... All four of K-State's foes in the first half of the league schedule were ranked in the top 20, including each of the last three being in the top 10 in Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech ... In 2021, K-State faced three consecutive top-13 teams in No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Texas, and No. 3 Texas Tech ... Additionally, two of K-State's first three league series will be away from home, as the Cats opened their Big 12 schedule away from home for the fifth straight year (since 2016) and the ninth time in the last 10 seasons overall.
BOMBS ARE BACK
K-State ranks third in the Big 12 with 47 home runs this season, with 32 coming over its last 18 games ... The Wildcat offense managed just one homer over the season's first five games and turned in seven over their first 10 games ... Fourteen times the Cats have hit multiple home runs, including six of their last 10 contests ... K-State has 19 homers over its last 10 games ... In total, 13 different players have hit at least one home runs this season and 12 players have homered over the team's last 18 games ... A season ago, K-State launched a single-season program record 89 bombs and recorded 44 homers over the first 28 games a season ago.
THE DOMINATOR
Dominic Johnson, who hit leadoff in all but one contest this season, leads the team in average, on-base percentage, doubles, extra-base hits, stolen bases and runs scored ... The Oklahoma State transfer is 13th nationally with 15 doubles and 24th in doubles per game (0.47) ... He is fifth in the Big 12 in hitting at .379 ... Johnson has registered multiple hits in 14 of his last 25 games and is the team leader with 18 multi-hit games, which is second-most in the conference ... His 16-game hitting streak came to an end in the series finale at TCU, and has been held hitless just five times this season ... Johnson also leads the team in hitting with runners in scoring position at .560 (14-for-25).
HOME COOKIN'
K-State has won 13 of 17 home games this season, including winning its first seven home tilts - the team's longest winning streak to begin its home slate since 2014 ... The Wildcats began their home slate 9-1 for the second straight season ... At home, the Wildcat offense is hitting .305 and slugging .574 with 35 home runs ... K-State averages 7.3 runs a game on 10.3 hits at Tointon Family Stadium ... Conversely, the Cats are hitting .269 and slugging .410 in games away from home, averaging 4.9 runs per game and 9.3 hits a game ... The Wildcat bullpen boasts a 4.04 ERA at home, striking out 84 compared to 40 walks ... In road and neutral contest, K-State relievers have a combined ERA of 8.78 with 81 strikeouts and 58 walks ... K-State has homered in 14 of 17 home games while 35 of its 47 home runs have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... Dominic Johnson leads the Wildcats in hitting at .412 at home while Dylan Phillips is next at .375.
NUMBER NUGGETS
K-State has a +5 run differential through 34 games this season after outscoring Texas by eight runs last weekend ... The Wildcats have outscored opponents 30-15 in the second inning alone and 39-31 from the eighth inning on ... The Cats are 15-7 when hitting a home run and 10-4 when hitting multiple homers ... K-State has won eight of nine games in which it has not committed an error while going 4-11 when committing multiple errors ... When holding opponents to five or fewer runs, the Wildcats are 14-4 ... Conversely, K-State has a record of 2-12 when scoring five or fewer runs in a game and is 15-5 when scoring at least six runs ... The Cats are winless (0-4) in one-run games and 4-9 in games decided by two runs or less ... Fifteen of K-State's 47 home runs have been game-tying or go-ahead home runs ... Home runs account for 75 of the 191 runs batted in on the season (39 percent) ... K-State is hitting .303 on the season with runners in scoring position and .271 with two outs, driving in 62 with two away.
The Wildcats and Shockers meet up in the first of two tilts this season, while K-State and the Mavericks will finish a home-and-home midweek set. The Cats claimed an 8-4 victory over UNO back on March 15 at Tal Anderson Field.
Over the weekend, K-State earned its first conference series victory after claiming two games against the Longhorns. The Cats launched four homers Thursday, helping erase a four-run deficit, before leading from start to finish in game two of the series, winning 8-1.
The series win marked the fifth ranked series win under head coach Pete Hughes – and the third against a team ranked in the top 10. The Cats finished the first half of its league slate with a 3-9 record.
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.
Both midweek games can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Monday's game will be carried on the K-State Sports Radio Network and on SiriusXM Big 12 Radio channel 375. Live streaming audio is available free at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
GAME #35
K-STATE (17-17, 3-9 BIG 12) at WICHITA STATE (25-10, 5-4 AMERICAN)
Monday, April 18 // 6 p.m. // Eck Stadium (2,334) // Wichita, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP German Fajardo (1-1, 3.21 ERA) vs. RHP Robert Cranz (0-1, 6.75 ERA)
Watch: ESPN+ // ESPN app
Radio: K-State Sports Radio Network/SiriusXM Ch. 375 // Matt Walters, Evan Marshall
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats
GAME #36
K-STATE (17-17, 3-9 BIG 12) vs. OMAHA (16-17, 7-5 SUMMIT)
Tuesday, April 19 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: TBA vs. TBA
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Mike Clark
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM)
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats | Tickets
A LOOK AT K-STATE
After a home series win over No. 7 Texas, K-State preps for a two midweek games, as the Wildcats head to Eck Stadium to take on Wichita State before hosting Omaha at Tointon Family Stadium on Tuesday evening ... The Cats claimed the first two games of their three-game series against the Longhorns, overcoming a four-run deficit to take the opener 8-5 to go with an 8-1 win Friday in the middle game of the series ... Eyeing its first-ever sweep of Texas or over a top-10 opponent, the Longhorns managed to grind out a 4-2 win in the finale Saturday ... Dylan Phillips launched two home runs Thursday night while Nick Goodwin connected on a go-ahead three-run shot in the seventh, breaking a 5-5 tie ... The Wildcats, who trailed 5-1 in the series opener, scored seven unanswered runs and finished with four homers in the game ... Connor McCullough, who started Saturday's contest, came on in relief to record his first career save, retiring all four hitters he faced on 14 pitches ... K-State never trailed in game two, as Blake Adams allowed just one hit over the game's first six innings, finishing with three hits allowed over seven innings and one run against him ... Dominic Johnson launched a two-run homer in the seventh after UT climbed within two runs ... Blake Corsentino took over for Adams and retired all six he saw over two innings, helping the Cats clinch their first conference win of the season ... Additionally, K-State earned his third series win over Texas in the last four series between the sides ... Head coach Pete Hughes collected the fifth series win over a ranked opponent and third against a top-10 foe while at K-State ... K-State improved its home record to 13-4 and closed the first half of its league slate with a 3-9 mark ... The Wildcat bullpen turned in a 1.86 ERA in the weekend series with Texas, allowing two earned runs over 9 2/3 innings while striking out eight.
SCOUTING WICHITA STATE
Wichita State (13-22, 2-7 American) enters Monday's tilt on a four-game losing skid after being swept over three games at home against Cincinnati ... Overall, the Shockers have dropped nine of their last 10 games and have not scored more than five runs in that stretch ... WSU's offense is led by Chuck Ingram and his .291 average, 10 home runs and 29 runs batted in ... As a team, Wichita State has a .242 batting average with 36 home runs ... Sawyre Thornhill and Brock Rodden each have a team-best eight doubles ... The Shockers own a 5.40 team ERA while opponents collectively hit .268 against them ... Robert Cranz will get the start Monday against the Wildcats ... Cranz is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four appearances (two starts), striking out five and walking one.
INSIDE THE SERIES
In a rivalry that dates back to 1906, Wichita State holds a 56-42 edge in the all-time series ... The teams met just once a season ago, as WSU claimed a 5-1 win at Eck Stadium on March 23 ... The Shockers have won three of the last four meetings ... In Wichita, K-State is 16-36, last winning in 2018 (7-3) ... The sides have split the last 10 in the series ... Hughes is 1-3 against Wichita State as K-State's head coach ... The Cats are 4-6 in the last 10 played in Wichita ... The Shockers will make a return trip to Tointon Family Stadium on Tuesday, May 3.
SCOUTING OMAHA
Omaha (16-17, 7-5 Summit League) is coming off a home series loss to North Dakota State, as the Bison claimed two of three games at Tal Anderson Field ... The Mavericks won the middle game of the series, 10-2, but were shut out in the opener (1-0) and Saturday's finale (2-0) ... UNO entered the weekend on a three-game winning streak, taking two of three from Northern Colorado in addition to a midweek victory at Kansas, 11-10 ... Matt Boeve is the Mavs' leader in hitting (.375), doubles (15), home runs (7) and RBI (26) ... Jack Lombardi is next, hitting .308 with eight doubles, and 11 RBI ... UNO's offense is hitting .245 on the year with 21 home runs ... On the mound, Omaha boasts a 3.83 team ERA, striking out 277 against 123 walks with opponents hitting .256 against them.
INSIDE THE SERIES
K-State and Omaha will meet for the second time this season, as the teams complete a home-and-home midweek series ... On March 15, the Wildcats prevailed with an 8-4 win at Tal Anderson Field in Omaha ... Griffin Hassall struck out six over 5 2/3 innings in the start while Cole Johnson and Josh Nicoloff each homered in the contest ... With that victory, the Cats improved to 15-2 all-time against the Mavericks while winning the last six in the series ... K-State owns an 11-1 mark at home against UNO ... Hughes is 3-0 against Omaha in his four seasons at K-State.
KING WHAMMER
Against Oklahoma State on April 2, Dylan Phillips belted two home runs to become K-State's all-time home run leader ... Phillips tied Scott Poepard's record of 37 in the April 1 contest before breaking it in the first inning Saturday ... Poepard's record had stood since 1997 (25 years), as Phillips now has 42 career homers after belting two bombs Thursday against No. 7 Texas ... Phillips now owns eight career multi-homer games and three this season ... His record-breaking performance earned him Big 12 Player of the Week honors on April 4, the first weekly award of his career ... Phillips has hit seven home runs over his last 12 games ... His 42 career homers rank eighth among active players in Division I and tops in the Big 12 ... The Omaha product tied the program's single-season home run record last season with 16 bombs, ranking second in the Big 12 ... His 16 homers were the most by a Wildcat since Poepard and Heath Schesser both did it during the 1997 season ... Phillips was K-State's lone representative on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team while also earning Preseason Third Team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball.
NO HELP FROM THE SCHEDULE-MAKERS
For the second straight year, K-State began its Big 12 slate with the toughest opening stretch in conference history (past or present Big 12 members) ... All four of K-State's foes in the first half of the league schedule were ranked in the top 20, including each of the last three being in the top 10 in Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech ... In 2021, K-State faced three consecutive top-13 teams in No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Texas, and No. 3 Texas Tech ... Additionally, two of K-State's first three league series will be away from home, as the Cats opened their Big 12 schedule away from home for the fifth straight year (since 2016) and the ninth time in the last 10 seasons overall.
BOMBS ARE BACK
K-State ranks third in the Big 12 with 47 home runs this season, with 32 coming over its last 18 games ... The Wildcat offense managed just one homer over the season's first five games and turned in seven over their first 10 games ... Fourteen times the Cats have hit multiple home runs, including six of their last 10 contests ... K-State has 19 homers over its last 10 games ... In total, 13 different players have hit at least one home runs this season and 12 players have homered over the team's last 18 games ... A season ago, K-State launched a single-season program record 89 bombs and recorded 44 homers over the first 28 games a season ago.
THE DOMINATOR
Dominic Johnson, who hit leadoff in all but one contest this season, leads the team in average, on-base percentage, doubles, extra-base hits, stolen bases and runs scored ... The Oklahoma State transfer is 13th nationally with 15 doubles and 24th in doubles per game (0.47) ... He is fifth in the Big 12 in hitting at .379 ... Johnson has registered multiple hits in 14 of his last 25 games and is the team leader with 18 multi-hit games, which is second-most in the conference ... His 16-game hitting streak came to an end in the series finale at TCU, and has been held hitless just five times this season ... Johnson also leads the team in hitting with runners in scoring position at .560 (14-for-25).
HOME COOKIN'
K-State has won 13 of 17 home games this season, including winning its first seven home tilts - the team's longest winning streak to begin its home slate since 2014 ... The Wildcats began their home slate 9-1 for the second straight season ... At home, the Wildcat offense is hitting .305 and slugging .574 with 35 home runs ... K-State averages 7.3 runs a game on 10.3 hits at Tointon Family Stadium ... Conversely, the Cats are hitting .269 and slugging .410 in games away from home, averaging 4.9 runs per game and 9.3 hits a game ... The Wildcat bullpen boasts a 4.04 ERA at home, striking out 84 compared to 40 walks ... In road and neutral contest, K-State relievers have a combined ERA of 8.78 with 81 strikeouts and 58 walks ... K-State has homered in 14 of 17 home games while 35 of its 47 home runs have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... Dominic Johnson leads the Wildcats in hitting at .412 at home while Dylan Phillips is next at .375.
NUMBER NUGGETS
K-State has a +5 run differential through 34 games this season after outscoring Texas by eight runs last weekend ... The Wildcats have outscored opponents 30-15 in the second inning alone and 39-31 from the eighth inning on ... The Cats are 15-7 when hitting a home run and 10-4 when hitting multiple homers ... K-State has won eight of nine games in which it has not committed an error while going 4-11 when committing multiple errors ... When holding opponents to five or fewer runs, the Wildcats are 14-4 ... Conversely, K-State has a record of 2-12 when scoring five or fewer runs in a game and is 15-5 when scoring at least six runs ... The Cats are winless (0-4) in one-run games and 4-9 in games decided by two runs or less ... Fifteen of K-State's 47 home runs have been game-tying or go-ahead home runs ... Home runs account for 75 of the 191 runs batted in on the season (39 percent) ... K-State is hitting .303 on the season with runners in scoring position and .271 with two outs, driving in 62 with two away.
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