Kansas State University Athletics
Cats Host UC Irvine in Final Non-Con Series
Apr 21, 2022 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State hosts its final non-conference weekend series of the season, as the Wildcats will take on UC Irvine in a three-game series starting Friday at 6 p.m. from Tointon Family Stadium.
The second game of the series is set for a 4 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and will mark the Diversity and Inclusion game. Sunday's series finale will begin at 11 a.m. and will be the annual Bark in the Park, as fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to the stadium.
The Wildcats have won four of their last five games – all coming in a six-day span – after a series win over No. 7 Texas and a pair of midweek victories over Wichita State and Omaha. Blake Adams was named the Big 12's Co-Pitcher and Co-Newcomer of the Week after earning the win last Friday against the Longhorns.
The Cats and Anteaters will meet for just the third time, as the teams split a two-game midweek series in 2008. UCI was ranked as high as No. 20 entering the 2022 season after reaching the final of the Stanford Regional a season ago.
Fans are advised to park in the west parking lot of Bill Snyder Stadium with ongoing construction on the new Morgan Family Arena. Please enter 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.
All three games of the series will be carried 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 live streaming audio at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
GAME #37
K-STATE (19-17, 3-9 BIG 12) vs. UC IRVINE (21-13, 9-6 BIG WEST)
Friday, April 22 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Blake Adams (4-4, 3.73 ERA) vs. LHP Nick Pinto (1-3, 3.33 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Mike Clark
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Promotion: #2 Dog Friday
Live Stats | Tickets
GAME #38
K-STATE (19-17, 3-9 BIG 12) vs. UC IRVINE (21-13, 9-6 BIG WEST)
Saturday, April 23 // 4 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: TBA vs. RHP Michael Frias (4-1, 5.24 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // John Kurtz, Mike Clark
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Promotion: Diversity & Inclusion Game
Live Stats | Tickets
GAME #39
K-STATE (19-17, 3-9 BIG 12) vs. UC IRVINE (21-13, 9-6 BIG WEST)
Sunday, April 24 // 11 a.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Griffin Hassall (4-4, 4.79 ERA) vs. RHP Cameron Wheeler (2-3, 5.19 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // John Kurtz, Mike Clark
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Promotion: Bark in the Park
Live Stats | Tickets
A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State hosts UC Irvine in its final non-conference weekend series of the season, as the three-game series against the Anteaters kicks off Friday at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Wildcats have won four of their last five games - all in a six-day span - after winning two of three games against No. 7 Texas last weekend and winning a pair of midweek games at Wichita State (12-1) and Omaha (11-3) ... K-State clinched its first Big 12 series by taking the first two contest against the Longhorns, winning 8-5 last Thursday before an 8-1 win Friday ... The series win was the fifth over a ranked team under fourth-year head coach Pete Hughes and the third against a top-10 opponent ... Right-hander Blake Adams, who scattered three hits over seven innings in the series-clinching win Friday, was tabbed as the Big 12 Co-Pitcher and Co-Newcomer of the Week ... Texas entered the weekend as the Big 12's top offense, but Adams helped limit UT to a season-low hit total ... He allowed just one hit over his first six innings ... K-State rounded out a busy week with a 12-1 win at in-state rival Wichita State, as the Cats scored all 12 runs in the game's first four innings ... Josh Nicoloff drove in three while Brady Day tied his career high with three hits ... German Fajardo kept the Shockers scoreless over five innings, as he scattered two hits and struck out four in the win ... Tuesday night, the Wildcats trailed Omaha 3-1 at the seventh-inning stretch ... In the home half of the seventh, Jeff Heinrich launched a go-ahead grand slam and Raphael Pelletier followed on the next pitch with a solo homer, as the Cats plated sixth in the inning ... A four-run eighth helped cap the comeback win, 11-3 ... Cole Johnson recorded a team-high three hits to go with three runs batted in ... Heinrich's grand slam marked the first by K-State this season ... Over the last five games, the Wildcat bullpen has a 1.86 ERA while going 2-1 with two saves.
SCOUTING UC IRVINE
UC Irvine (21-13, 9-6 Big West) comes to Manhattan having dropped its last two contests to Big West rival Cal Poly over the weekend ... The Anteaters, who began the season ranked as high as No. 20. after reaching the final of the Stanford Regional a year ago, had won six of their previous seven contests prior to the series loss to Cal Poly ... Nathan Church is UCI's hitting leader with his .324 average to go with a team-leading 25 runs batted in ... Justin Torres' five homers and .553 slugging percentage leads the Anteaters ... Ben Fitzgerald (.306) rounds out three players hitting north of .300 ... On the mound, UC Irvine has put together a team earned run average of 4.00 while striking out 321 batters against 125 walks ... Nick Pinto has made nine weekend starts and boasts a 3.33 ERA, striking out 55 and walking 21 ... Michael Frias owns a 5.24 ERA with a 4-1 record over nine starts, totaling 50 strikeouts and 20 walks.
INSIDE THE SERIES
K-State and UC Irvine have met just twice prior to this weekend's series, as the sides split a two-game midweek series at Tointon Family Stadium in 2008 ... The Anteaters claimed the series opener, 4-3, before the Wildcats leveled the series with a 9-7 victory in 11 innings in the finale ... UCI will mark the eighth team this season that the Cats have faced that qualified for last season's postseason tournament ... As the No.2 seed, UC Irvine was ousted by host Stanford in the regional final... The Anteaters claimed victories over all three teams in the field, forcing a winner-take-all contest against the Cardinal (11-8) ... K-State is 17-25 all-time against teams from the Big West, including going 1-3 this season against CSU Bakersfield and Cal State Fullerton.
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 49 home runs this season, with 34 coming over its last 20 games ... The Wildcat offense managed just one homer over the season's first five games and turned in seven over their first 10 games ... Fifteen times the Cats have hit multiple home runs, including seven of their last 12 contests ... K-State has 21 homers over its last 12 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 20 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.
HOME COOKIN'
K-State has won 14 of 18 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 .306 and slugging .572 with 37 home runs ... K-State averages 7.5 runs a game on 10.3 hits at Tointon Family Stadium ... Conversely, the Cats are hitting .269 and slugging .408 in games away from home, averaging 5.3 runs per game and 9.4 hits a game ... The Wildcat bullpen boasts a 3.86 ERA at home, striking out 92 compared to 43 walks ... In road and neutral contest, K-State relievers have a combined ERA of 8.41 with 87 strikeouts and 62 walks ... K-State has homered in 15 of 18 home games while 37 of its 49 home runs have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... Dominic Johnson leads the Wildcats in hitting at .400 at home while Cole Johnson is next at .382.
NUMBER NUGGETS
K-State has a +24 run differential through 36 games this season after outscoring Wichita State and Omaha by a combined 19 runs last Monday and Tuesday ... The Wildcats have outscored opponents 35-16 in the second inning alone and 43-32 from the eighth inning on ... The Cats are 16-7 when hitting a home run and 11-4 when hitting multiple homers ... K-State has won eight of nine games in which it has not committed an error while going 5-11 when committing multiple errors ... When holding opponents to five or fewer runs, the Wildcats are 16-4 ... Conversely, K-State has a record of 2-12 when scoring five or fewer runs in a game and is 17-5 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 ... Sixteen of K-State's 49 home runs have been game-tying or go-ahead home runs ... Home runs account for 80 of the 211 runs batted in on the season (38 percent) ... K-State is hitting .292 on the season with runners in scoring position and .265 with two outs, driving in 67 with two away.
FROM THE 'PEN
On the season, the K-State bullpen is 9-9 with seven saves, posting a 6.09 earned run average with 179 strikeouts against 105 walks (1.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio) ... The team's ERA drops to 3.86 while at home, as all seven saves have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... Additionally, Wildcat relievers are 8-2 and have 92 strikeouts with 43 walks (2.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio) at home ... Over the last five games, the Wildcat bullpen has a 1.86 ERA while going 2-1 with two saves ... Six different Cats have earned a save this season, with Dylan Phillips earning his team-leading second save Tuesday against Omaha ... K-State relievers own an ERA of 2.88 in victories, with 98 strikeouts to 40 walks ... In defeats, the Wildcat bullpen has a 10.11 earned run average with 81 strikeouts and 65 walks ... Opponents are hitting .219 against relievers in wins while posting a .311 average in losses ... Ty Ruhl leads the team in relief outings with 14 while Blake Corsentino has logged a team-high 27 2/3 relief innings and 29 strikeouts.
The second game of the series is set for a 4 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and will mark the Diversity and Inclusion game. Sunday's series finale will begin at 11 a.m. and will be the annual Bark in the Park, as fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to the stadium.
The Wildcats have won four of their last five games – all coming in a six-day span – after a series win over No. 7 Texas and a pair of midweek victories over Wichita State and Omaha. Blake Adams was named the Big 12's Co-Pitcher and Co-Newcomer of the Week after earning the win last Friday against the Longhorns.
The Cats and Anteaters will meet for just the third time, as the teams split a two-game midweek series in 2008. UCI was ranked as high as No. 20 entering the 2022 season after reaching the final of the Stanford Regional a season ago.
Fans are advised to park in the west parking lot of Bill Snyder Stadium with ongoing construction on the new Morgan Family Arena. Please enter 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.
All three games of the series will be carried 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 live streaming audio at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
GAME #37
K-STATE (19-17, 3-9 BIG 12) vs. UC IRVINE (21-13, 9-6 BIG WEST)
Friday, April 22 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Blake Adams (4-4, 3.73 ERA) vs. LHP Nick Pinto (1-3, 3.33 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Mike Clark
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Promotion: #2 Dog Friday
Live Stats | Tickets
GAME #38
K-STATE (19-17, 3-9 BIG 12) vs. UC IRVINE (21-13, 9-6 BIG WEST)
Saturday, April 23 // 4 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: TBA vs. RHP Michael Frias (4-1, 5.24 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // John Kurtz, Mike Clark
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Promotion: Diversity & Inclusion Game
Live Stats | Tickets
GAME #39
K-STATE (19-17, 3-9 BIG 12) vs. UC IRVINE (21-13, 9-6 BIG WEST)
Sunday, April 24 // 11 a.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Griffin Hassall (4-4, 4.79 ERA) vs. RHP Cameron Wheeler (2-3, 5.19 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // John Kurtz, Mike Clark
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Matt Walters
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Promotion: Bark in the Park
Live Stats | Tickets
A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State hosts UC Irvine in its final non-conference weekend series of the season, as the three-game series against the Anteaters kicks off Friday at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Wildcats have won four of their last five games - all in a six-day span - after winning two of three games against No. 7 Texas last weekend and winning a pair of midweek games at Wichita State (12-1) and Omaha (11-3) ... K-State clinched its first Big 12 series by taking the first two contest against the Longhorns, winning 8-5 last Thursday before an 8-1 win Friday ... The series win was the fifth over a ranked team under fourth-year head coach Pete Hughes and the third against a top-10 opponent ... Right-hander Blake Adams, who scattered three hits over seven innings in the series-clinching win Friday, was tabbed as the Big 12 Co-Pitcher and Co-Newcomer of the Week ... Texas entered the weekend as the Big 12's top offense, but Adams helped limit UT to a season-low hit total ... He allowed just one hit over his first six innings ... K-State rounded out a busy week with a 12-1 win at in-state rival Wichita State, as the Cats scored all 12 runs in the game's first four innings ... Josh Nicoloff drove in three while Brady Day tied his career high with three hits ... German Fajardo kept the Shockers scoreless over five innings, as he scattered two hits and struck out four in the win ... Tuesday night, the Wildcats trailed Omaha 3-1 at the seventh-inning stretch ... In the home half of the seventh, Jeff Heinrich launched a go-ahead grand slam and Raphael Pelletier followed on the next pitch with a solo homer, as the Cats plated sixth in the inning ... A four-run eighth helped cap the comeback win, 11-3 ... Cole Johnson recorded a team-high three hits to go with three runs batted in ... Heinrich's grand slam marked the first by K-State this season ... Over the last five games, the Wildcat bullpen has a 1.86 ERA while going 2-1 with two saves.
SCOUTING UC IRVINE
UC Irvine (21-13, 9-6 Big West) comes to Manhattan having dropped its last two contests to Big West rival Cal Poly over the weekend ... The Anteaters, who began the season ranked as high as No. 20. after reaching the final of the Stanford Regional a year ago, had won six of their previous seven contests prior to the series loss to Cal Poly ... Nathan Church is UCI's hitting leader with his .324 average to go with a team-leading 25 runs batted in ... Justin Torres' five homers and .553 slugging percentage leads the Anteaters ... Ben Fitzgerald (.306) rounds out three players hitting north of .300 ... On the mound, UC Irvine has put together a team earned run average of 4.00 while striking out 321 batters against 125 walks ... Nick Pinto has made nine weekend starts and boasts a 3.33 ERA, striking out 55 and walking 21 ... Michael Frias owns a 5.24 ERA with a 4-1 record over nine starts, totaling 50 strikeouts and 20 walks.
INSIDE THE SERIES
K-State and UC Irvine have met just twice prior to this weekend's series, as the sides split a two-game midweek series at Tointon Family Stadium in 2008 ... The Anteaters claimed the series opener, 4-3, before the Wildcats leveled the series with a 9-7 victory in 11 innings in the finale ... UCI will mark the eighth team this season that the Cats have faced that qualified for last season's postseason tournament ... As the No.2 seed, UC Irvine was ousted by host Stanford in the regional final... The Anteaters claimed victories over all three teams in the field, forcing a winner-take-all contest against the Cardinal (11-8) ... K-State is 17-25 all-time against teams from the Big West, including going 1-3 this season against CSU Bakersfield and Cal State Fullerton.
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 49 home runs this season, with 34 coming over its last 20 games ... The Wildcat offense managed just one homer over the season's first five games and turned in seven over their first 10 games ... Fifteen times the Cats have hit multiple home runs, including seven of their last 12 contests ... K-State has 21 homers over its last 12 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 20 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.
HOME COOKIN'
K-State has won 14 of 18 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 .306 and slugging .572 with 37 home runs ... K-State averages 7.5 runs a game on 10.3 hits at Tointon Family Stadium ... Conversely, the Cats are hitting .269 and slugging .408 in games away from home, averaging 5.3 runs per game and 9.4 hits a game ... The Wildcat bullpen boasts a 3.86 ERA at home, striking out 92 compared to 43 walks ... In road and neutral contest, K-State relievers have a combined ERA of 8.41 with 87 strikeouts and 62 walks ... K-State has homered in 15 of 18 home games while 37 of its 49 home runs have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... Dominic Johnson leads the Wildcats in hitting at .400 at home while Cole Johnson is next at .382.
NUMBER NUGGETS
K-State has a +24 run differential through 36 games this season after outscoring Wichita State and Omaha by a combined 19 runs last Monday and Tuesday ... The Wildcats have outscored opponents 35-16 in the second inning alone and 43-32 from the eighth inning on ... The Cats are 16-7 when hitting a home run and 11-4 when hitting multiple homers ... K-State has won eight of nine games in which it has not committed an error while going 5-11 when committing multiple errors ... When holding opponents to five or fewer runs, the Wildcats are 16-4 ... Conversely, K-State has a record of 2-12 when scoring five or fewer runs in a game and is 17-5 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 ... Sixteen of K-State's 49 home runs have been game-tying or go-ahead home runs ... Home runs account for 80 of the 211 runs batted in on the season (38 percent) ... K-State is hitting .292 on the season with runners in scoring position and .265 with two outs, driving in 67 with two away.
FROM THE 'PEN
On the season, the K-State bullpen is 9-9 with seven saves, posting a 6.09 earned run average with 179 strikeouts against 105 walks (1.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio) ... The team's ERA drops to 3.86 while at home, as all seven saves have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... Additionally, Wildcat relievers are 8-2 and have 92 strikeouts with 43 walks (2.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio) at home ... Over the last five games, the Wildcat bullpen has a 1.86 ERA while going 2-1 with two saves ... Six different Cats have earned a save this season, with Dylan Phillips earning his team-leading second save Tuesday against Omaha ... K-State relievers own an ERA of 2.88 in victories, with 98 strikeouts to 40 walks ... In defeats, the Wildcat bullpen has a 10.11 earned run average with 81 strikeouts and 65 walks ... Opponents are hitting .219 against relievers in wins while posting a .311 average in losses ... Ty Ruhl leads the team in relief outings with 14 while Blake Corsentino has logged a team-high 27 2/3 relief innings and 29 strikeouts.
Players Mentioned
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