Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, April 29
Norman, Okla.
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
at
Oklahoma
K-State Embarks on Second Half of Big 12 Slate at Oklahoma
Apr 28, 2022 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State is set to begin the second half of its Big 12 schedule Friday, as the Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners open a three-game series at 6:30 p.m. from L. Dale Mitchell Park.
The second game of the series is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch while the finale on Sunday will also begin at 2 p.m.
K-State is coming off six straight non-conference games, going 4-2 with a series victory over preseason top-25 UC Irvine last weekend. The Wildcats suffered an 8-6 setback Tuesday night at Nebraska, as the rivals completed a series split of their home-and-home midweek set.
The Cats completed the first half of their league schedule with a 3-9 record, as they began conference play against four straight top-20 teams to mark the toughest four-week opening stretch in Big 12 history. Oklahoma, who is receiving votes in multiple polls, will be the first unranked conference foe K-State will face.
K-State claimed two of three games against the Sooners a season ago. The sides split a doubleheader, including a 10-inning walk-off victory in the opener, before the Wildcats earned an 8-3 win in the series' rubber game at Tointon Family Stadium.
GAME #41
K-STATE (21-19, 3-9 BIG 12) at OKLAHOMA (25-14, 7-5 BIG 12)
Friday, April 29 // 6:30 p.m. // L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180) // Norman, Okla.
Projected Starters: RHP Connor McCullough (3-2, 4.55 ERA) vs. LHP Jake Bennett (3-2, 3.68 ERA)
Watch: SoonerSports.TV
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Brian Smoller, Christopher Brown
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats
GAME #42
K-STATE (21-19, 3-9 BIG 12) at OKLAHOMA (25-14, 7-5 BIG 12)
Saturday, April 30 // 2 p.m. // L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180) // Norman, Okla..
Projected Starters: RHP Griffin Hassall (4-4, 4.37 ERA) vs. RHP David Sandlin (3-2, 4.99 ERA)
Watch: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Brian Smoller, Christopher Brown
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats
GAME #43
K-STATE (21-19, 3-9 BIG 12) at OKLAHOMA (25-14, 7-5 BIG 12)
Sunday, May 1 // 2 p.m. // L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180) // Norman, Okla.
Projected Starters: RHP Blake Adams (4-4, 4.02 ERA) vs. RHP Cade Horton (2-1, 4.66 ERA)
Watch: SoonerSports.TV
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Brian Smoller, Christopher Brown
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats
A LOOK AT K-STATE
After six straight non-conference games, K-State is set to open the second half of its Big 12 schedule with a three-game series at Oklahoma on Friday ... The Wildcats went 4-2 against non-conference opponents over the last two week, including a series victory over preseason No. 20 UC Irvine last weekend ... The Cats are coming off an 8-6 setback at Nebraska Tuesday, as the former conference rivals split the home-and-home midweek series ... Last weekend, the Cats played their final non-conference weekend series, as they claimed two of three games against UC Irvine at home ... The Wildcats used an 11-run seventh inning Friday night in the opener, an inning that included two three-run home runs from Dominic Johnson, to overcome a 5-2 deficit and go on to pull out a 13-8 win ... K-State bounced back after a 16-7 setback in game two to take the series' rubber game by a score of 5-3 ... Nick Goodwin hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning, as all five of K-State's runs came via the long ball ... Brady Day, who hit his first career home run, and Cole Johnson each added homers in the finale ... In total, the Wildcat offense registered 10 home runs in the three-game series - hit by seven different players ... Griffin Hassall carded his first quality start of the season on Sunday, going a season-best six innings while allowing one earned run on four hits ... Blake Corsentino closed out the series-deciding contest, logging three innings and scattering three hits with three strikeouts and one run allowed ... German Fajardo earned the win Friday after tossing three relief innings of Blake Adams ... Fajardo struck out three and yielded just two hits ... The Wildcat offense hit .550 with runners in scoring position and .361 with two outs in the series - with 13 two-out RBI ... K-State outscored UC Irvine 14-4 from the seventh inning on in the three games ... The Wildcats have won four of their last six games and six of their last nine.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma (25-14, 7-5 Big 12), who is receiving votes in multiple polls, sits in a fifth-place tie in the Big 12 standings after sweeping Kansas in Lawrence last weekend ... Oklahoma is 15-6 at home this season ... A 5-1 loss at Oral Roberts Tuesday snapped the Sooners' five-game winning streak ... OU outscored KU by 34 runs over their three-game set (46-12), including a 24-4 final score in the series finale ... The Sooners are paced offensively by Blake Robertson, who is hitting .386 with a .519 on-base percentage ... Robertson's 17 doubles lead the Big 12 while his average is fourth-highest and his on-base percentage ranks second ... Jimmy Crooks is sixth in the league with a .445 on-base percentage ... The Sooners' .291 team average is third in the Big 12 ... On the mound, Jake Bennett and David Sandlin have made 10 weekend starts ... Bennett is 3-2 with a 3.68 ERA and ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 64 strikeouts while Sandlin is 3-2 and owns a 4.99 earned run average ... Trevin Michael has made 15 appearances, boasting a 2.16 ERA over 33 1/3 innings with a team-high six saves.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Oklahoma leads the all-time series 202-82-1 (50-22 Big 12), going back to 1913 ... A season ago, K-State took two of three games at Tointon Family Stadium, as the teams split a doubleheader before the Wildcats claimed the rubber match 8-3 ... The sides have alternated wins over the last six meetings ... K-State is 26-100-1 all-time in Norman, last winning a series on the road in 1971 ... The Sooners have won the last five in the series in Norman while the Cats are 2-8 over the last 10 on the road ... K-State has won just three out of 43 series played in Norman, dropping each of the last 23 series ... Head coach Pete Hughes is 3-3 against the Sooners in his time at K-State, with all six played at home.
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 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 ... His 42 career homers rank 17th 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 and 25th nationally with 60 home runs this season, with 45 coming over its last 24 games ... K-State has homered in five straight games with multiple homers in four games - the second such streak of the season ... The Wildcat offense managed just one homer over the season's first five games and turned in seven over their first 10 games ... Eighteen times the Cats have hit multiple home runs, including 10 of their last 16 contests ... K-State has 13 home runs over its last five games and 32 over its last 16 games ... In total, 14 different players have hit at least one home runs this season after Brady Day hit his first career long ball Sunday against UC Irvine ... A season ago, K-State launched a single-season program record 89 bombs while its 60 home runs this season are already fourth-most in a season.
HOME COOKIN'
K-State has won 16 of 21 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 .311 and slugging .587 with 47 home runs ... K-State averages 7.6 runs a game on 10.6 hits at Tointon Family Stadium ... Conversely, the Cats are hitting .264 and slugging .400 in games away from home, averaging 5.3 runs per game and 9.1 hits a game ... The Wildcat bullpen boasts a 4.48 ERA at home, striking out 109 compared to 53 walks ... In road and neutral contest, K-State relievers have a combined ERA of 8.34 with 93 strikeouts and 67 walks ... K-State has homered in 18 of 21 home games while 47 of its 60 home runs have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Cats have outscored teams 160-106 in 21 home games with a +47 run differential (68-21) from the seventh inning on ... Additionally, K-State has outscored its opponents 34-2 in the seventh and eighth innings over its last seven home games ... Dominic Johnson leads the Wildcats in hitting at .390 at home while Cole Johnson is next at .367.
NUMBER NUGGETS
K-State has a +20 run differential through 40 games this season ... The Wildcats have outscored opponents 36-19 in the eighth inning alone and 90-63 from the seventh inning on ... K-State scored 11 runs in the seventh inning Friday night - its largest run total in a single inning this season ... The Cats are 18-9 when hitting a home run and 13-5 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 17-4 ... Conversely, K-State has a record of 3-12 when scoring five or fewer runs in a game and is 18-7 when scoring at least six runs ... The Cats are winless (0-4) in one-run games and 5-10 in games decided by two runs or fewer ... Twenty of K-State's 60 home runs have been game-tying or go-ahead home runs ... Home runs account for 99 of the 241 runs batted in on the season (41 percent), including 17 of 25 RBI over three games against UCI ... K-State is hitting .305 on the season with runners in scoring position and .273 with two outs, driving in 80 with two away ... All eight saves the Cats have recorded this season have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Wildcat defense has committed at least one error in seven straight games and in 16 of its last 17 overall ... Just twice this season has K-State put together consecutive games without an error.
FROM THE 'PEN
On the season, the K-State bullpen is 10-10 with eight saves, posting a 6.29 earned run average with 202 strikeouts against 120 walks (1.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio) ... The team's ERA drops to 4.48 while at home, as all eight saves have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... Additionally, Wildcat relievers are 9-2 and have 109 strikeouts with 53 walks (2.1 strikeout-to-walk ratio) at home ... Six different Cats have earned a save this season, with Blake Corsentino and Dylan Phillips being the only two players with multiple saves (2) ... K-State relievers own an ERA of 3.07 in victories, with 106 strikeouts to 44 walks ... In defeats, the Wildcat bullpen has a 9.92 earned run average with 96 strikeouts and 76 walks ... Opponents are hitting .218 against relievers in wins while posting a .312 average in losses ... Ty Ruhl leads the team in relief outings with 15 while Blake Corsentino has logged a team-high 30 2/3 relief innings and 32 strikeouts.
The second game of the series is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch while the finale on Sunday will also begin at 2 p.m.
K-State is coming off six straight non-conference games, going 4-2 with a series victory over preseason top-25 UC Irvine last weekend. The Wildcats suffered an 8-6 setback Tuesday night at Nebraska, as the rivals completed a series split of their home-and-home midweek set.
The Cats completed the first half of their league schedule with a 3-9 record, as they began conference play against four straight top-20 teams to mark the toughest four-week opening stretch in Big 12 history. Oklahoma, who is receiving votes in multiple polls, will be the first unranked conference foe K-State will face.
K-State claimed two of three games against the Sooners a season ago. The sides split a doubleheader, including a 10-inning walk-off victory in the opener, before the Wildcats earned an 8-3 win in the series' rubber game at Tointon Family Stadium.
GAME #41
K-STATE (21-19, 3-9 BIG 12) at OKLAHOMA (25-14, 7-5 BIG 12)
Friday, April 29 // 6:30 p.m. // L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180) // Norman, Okla.
Projected Starters: RHP Connor McCullough (3-2, 4.55 ERA) vs. LHP Jake Bennett (3-2, 3.68 ERA)
Watch: SoonerSports.TV
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Brian Smoller, Christopher Brown
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats
GAME #42
K-STATE (21-19, 3-9 BIG 12) at OKLAHOMA (25-14, 7-5 BIG 12)
Saturday, April 30 // 2 p.m. // L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180) // Norman, Okla..
Projected Starters: RHP Griffin Hassall (4-4, 4.37 ERA) vs. RHP David Sandlin (3-2, 4.99 ERA)
Watch: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Brian Smoller, Christopher Brown
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats
GAME #43
K-STATE (21-19, 3-9 BIG 12) at OKLAHOMA (25-14, 7-5 BIG 12)
Sunday, May 1 // 2 p.m. // L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180) // Norman, Okla.
Projected Starters: RHP Blake Adams (4-4, 4.02 ERA) vs. RHP Cade Horton (2-1, 4.66 ERA)
Watch: SoonerSports.TV
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Brian Smoller, Christopher Brown
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats
A LOOK AT K-STATE
After six straight non-conference games, K-State is set to open the second half of its Big 12 schedule with a three-game series at Oklahoma on Friday ... The Wildcats went 4-2 against non-conference opponents over the last two week, including a series victory over preseason No. 20 UC Irvine last weekend ... The Cats are coming off an 8-6 setback at Nebraska Tuesday, as the former conference rivals split the home-and-home midweek series ... Last weekend, the Cats played their final non-conference weekend series, as they claimed two of three games against UC Irvine at home ... The Wildcats used an 11-run seventh inning Friday night in the opener, an inning that included two three-run home runs from Dominic Johnson, to overcome a 5-2 deficit and go on to pull out a 13-8 win ... K-State bounced back after a 16-7 setback in game two to take the series' rubber game by a score of 5-3 ... Nick Goodwin hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning, as all five of K-State's runs came via the long ball ... Brady Day, who hit his first career home run, and Cole Johnson each added homers in the finale ... In total, the Wildcat offense registered 10 home runs in the three-game series - hit by seven different players ... Griffin Hassall carded his first quality start of the season on Sunday, going a season-best six innings while allowing one earned run on four hits ... Blake Corsentino closed out the series-deciding contest, logging three innings and scattering three hits with three strikeouts and one run allowed ... German Fajardo earned the win Friday after tossing three relief innings of Blake Adams ... Fajardo struck out three and yielded just two hits ... The Wildcat offense hit .550 with runners in scoring position and .361 with two outs in the series - with 13 two-out RBI ... K-State outscored UC Irvine 14-4 from the seventh inning on in the three games ... The Wildcats have won four of their last six games and six of their last nine.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma (25-14, 7-5 Big 12), who is receiving votes in multiple polls, sits in a fifth-place tie in the Big 12 standings after sweeping Kansas in Lawrence last weekend ... Oklahoma is 15-6 at home this season ... A 5-1 loss at Oral Roberts Tuesday snapped the Sooners' five-game winning streak ... OU outscored KU by 34 runs over their three-game set (46-12), including a 24-4 final score in the series finale ... The Sooners are paced offensively by Blake Robertson, who is hitting .386 with a .519 on-base percentage ... Robertson's 17 doubles lead the Big 12 while his average is fourth-highest and his on-base percentage ranks second ... Jimmy Crooks is sixth in the league with a .445 on-base percentage ... The Sooners' .291 team average is third in the Big 12 ... On the mound, Jake Bennett and David Sandlin have made 10 weekend starts ... Bennett is 3-2 with a 3.68 ERA and ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 64 strikeouts while Sandlin is 3-2 and owns a 4.99 earned run average ... Trevin Michael has made 15 appearances, boasting a 2.16 ERA over 33 1/3 innings with a team-high six saves.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Oklahoma leads the all-time series 202-82-1 (50-22 Big 12), going back to 1913 ... A season ago, K-State took two of three games at Tointon Family Stadium, as the teams split a doubleheader before the Wildcats claimed the rubber match 8-3 ... The sides have alternated wins over the last six meetings ... K-State is 26-100-1 all-time in Norman, last winning a series on the road in 1971 ... The Sooners have won the last five in the series in Norman while the Cats are 2-8 over the last 10 on the road ... K-State has won just three out of 43 series played in Norman, dropping each of the last 23 series ... Head coach Pete Hughes is 3-3 against the Sooners in his time at K-State, with all six played at home.
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 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 ... His 42 career homers rank 17th 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 and 25th nationally with 60 home runs this season, with 45 coming over its last 24 games ... K-State has homered in five straight games with multiple homers in four games - the second such streak of the season ... The Wildcat offense managed just one homer over the season's first five games and turned in seven over their first 10 games ... Eighteen times the Cats have hit multiple home runs, including 10 of their last 16 contests ... K-State has 13 home runs over its last five games and 32 over its last 16 games ... In total, 14 different players have hit at least one home runs this season after Brady Day hit his first career long ball Sunday against UC Irvine ... A season ago, K-State launched a single-season program record 89 bombs while its 60 home runs this season are already fourth-most in a season.
HOME COOKIN'
K-State has won 16 of 21 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 .311 and slugging .587 with 47 home runs ... K-State averages 7.6 runs a game on 10.6 hits at Tointon Family Stadium ... Conversely, the Cats are hitting .264 and slugging .400 in games away from home, averaging 5.3 runs per game and 9.1 hits a game ... The Wildcat bullpen boasts a 4.48 ERA at home, striking out 109 compared to 53 walks ... In road and neutral contest, K-State relievers have a combined ERA of 8.34 with 93 strikeouts and 67 walks ... K-State has homered in 18 of 21 home games while 47 of its 60 home runs have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Cats have outscored teams 160-106 in 21 home games with a +47 run differential (68-21) from the seventh inning on ... Additionally, K-State has outscored its opponents 34-2 in the seventh and eighth innings over its last seven home games ... Dominic Johnson leads the Wildcats in hitting at .390 at home while Cole Johnson is next at .367.
NUMBER NUGGETS
K-State has a +20 run differential through 40 games this season ... The Wildcats have outscored opponents 36-19 in the eighth inning alone and 90-63 from the seventh inning on ... K-State scored 11 runs in the seventh inning Friday night - its largest run total in a single inning this season ... The Cats are 18-9 when hitting a home run and 13-5 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 17-4 ... Conversely, K-State has a record of 3-12 when scoring five or fewer runs in a game and is 18-7 when scoring at least six runs ... The Cats are winless (0-4) in one-run games and 5-10 in games decided by two runs or fewer ... Twenty of K-State's 60 home runs have been game-tying or go-ahead home runs ... Home runs account for 99 of the 241 runs batted in on the season (41 percent), including 17 of 25 RBI over three games against UCI ... K-State is hitting .305 on the season with runners in scoring position and .273 with two outs, driving in 80 with two away ... All eight saves the Cats have recorded this season have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Wildcat defense has committed at least one error in seven straight games and in 16 of its last 17 overall ... Just twice this season has K-State put together consecutive games without an error.
FROM THE 'PEN
On the season, the K-State bullpen is 10-10 with eight saves, posting a 6.29 earned run average with 202 strikeouts against 120 walks (1.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio) ... The team's ERA drops to 4.48 while at home, as all eight saves have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... Additionally, Wildcat relievers are 9-2 and have 109 strikeouts with 53 walks (2.1 strikeout-to-walk ratio) at home ... Six different Cats have earned a save this season, with Blake Corsentino and Dylan Phillips being the only two players with multiple saves (2) ... K-State relievers own an ERA of 3.07 in victories, with 106 strikeouts to 44 walks ... In defeats, the Wildcat bullpen has a 9.92 earned run average with 96 strikeouts and 76 walks ... Opponents are hitting .218 against relievers in wins while posting a .312 average in losses ... Ty Ruhl leads the team in relief outings with 15 while Blake Corsentino has logged a team-high 30 2/3 relief innings and 32 strikeouts.
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