Wildcats Take Down No. 6 Oklahoma State, 7-2

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State hit three home runs and scored its first five runs with two outs Sunday, backing Connor McCullough's quality start and claiming a 7-2 victory over No. 6 Oklahoma State in front of a sellout crowd at Tointon Family Stadium.

With the game tied at 2 at the seventh-inning stretch, Cole Johnson roped his second go-ahead, two-out RBI double of the game. A batter later, Nick Goodwin lifted an opposite-field two-run homer to hand the Wildcats a three-run lead.

"Great character win, a bounce back win," head coach Pete Hughes said after the game. "It's always hard coming back if you lose the first two games in a series. It's just playing with urgency and being resilient and our guys did a great job of that today. All those wins count the same – Friday, Saturday or Sunday – at the end of the year (in the) standings. So, that was critical for us to play well today and I'm glad we did because the crowds were great."

The momentum carried over into the eighth, as Orlando Salinas and Justin Mitchell began the inning by hitting back-to-back home runs and growing the lead to five runs. It marked the third homers of the year for both Salinas, an Oklahoma State transfer, and Mitchell.

Johnson's first go-ahead double came in the fifth, scoring Dylan Phillips and giving K-State a 2-1 lead. Kaelen Culpepper sparked the two-out RBI string in the second inning, as his double brought in Mitchell.

"Two-out hits are huge," added Hughes. "Cole was clutch, he has been swinging the bat really good for the last two weeks and to do it with two outs – those are back breakers, those are deflating in the other dugout. It gives you a ton of momentum in your dugout."

Timely hitting helped back the Wildcats' pitching duo of McCullough and Blake Adams – both Arkansas natives.

McCullough did not surrender a base hit until one out in the fourth inning, as he scattered five hits and struck out six over his six innings. The Maumelle, Arkansas, product allowed two earned runs, one coming on a bases-loaded walk in the fifth and the second via a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

"Connor McCullough is the ultimate team player," Hughes said of his starting pitcher. "I went back and forth with pitching him on Saturday or Sunday. I actually had him warming up on Friday to close Friday's game and in whatever role he said, 'I'll do whatever you want me to do, I'll pitch whenever you want me to pitch.' Just a real unselfish team-guy and he was the storyline for me, that's a quality outing. Six innings against a good offense, he was able to mix and match (pitches) and throw his curveball (for strikes). I think was the difference-maker for him and his outing today was his curveball for strikes."

Adams went the rest of the way for McCullough, retiring nine of the 10 hitters he faced with three strikeouts. Adams, who has made six Friday-night starts, pitched in relief Friday and walked four while recording just one out.

"Great bounce back for that kid," added Hughes on Adams. "That was how it was drawn up on Friday night and it didn't go his way. The game's cruel sometimes. He stuck with it mentally, (I) put him back in basically the same situation and thought he was dominant, actually, for three innings. So good for him for staying with it in the right frame of mind."

A native of Springdale, Arkansas, Adams improved to 3-2 on the season after giving up just a single in the eighth inning and not issuing a walk.

Goodwin and Johnson led the Wildcat offense, each finishing 2-for-3 with two RBI. Johnson doubled twice and Goodwin belted his second homer of the year.

The Oklahoma State bullpen combined to surrender six runs on five hits, walking four and striking out two over four frames.

Ryan Ure suffered the loss after recording one out, as he gave up the go-ahead double from Johnson in the seventh.

Bayden Root did not register an out and gave up two earned on two hits while K-State's back-to-back homers came off of Kale Davis.

OSU starter Bryce Osmond lasted four innings, walking three and allowing one run on three hits. Five Oklahoma State pitchers combined to walk seven and strike out four.

David Mendham accounted for three of the Cowboys' six hits, going 3-for-4.

As a team, OSU was held hitless with two outs (0-for-7) while the Cats hit .333.

The victory snapped a 13-game losing streak to Oklahoma State, dating back to 2017, as this was the first home win for K-State in the series since 2010.

It marked the Cats' first victory over a ranked opponent this season (1-6) and is the ninth top-10 win under Hughes in four seasons.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Culpepper's two-out double put the Cats in front by a run in the second. It was the first of five two-out RBI for K-State.

Oklahoma State drew even in the fifth, as Ehrhard drew a bases-loaded walk from McCullough. A batter later and the bases still loaded and Thompson up to bat, McCullough induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play to keep the score tied.

In the bottom of the frame, Cole Johnson ripped an RBI double down the left field line with two outs to score Phillips. A half inning later, Brown again tied the score when he lifted a sacrifice fly that allowed Mendham.

Johnson collected his second two-out RBI double in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Phillips who scored the go-ahead run. A batter later, Goodwin launched an opposite-field home run for a three-run inning.

Salinas and Mitchell teamed up for back-to-back home runs to start the eighth inning to extend the Wildcats' stretch to five unanswered runs.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

K-State scored seven runs on eight hits with one error and left seven on base.
Oklahoma State scored two runs on six hits, committed no errors and stranded seven baserunners.
K-State hit three home runs, one each from Goodwin, Mitchell and Salinas.
Salinas and Mitchell went back-to-back to start the eighth inning.
The Wildcats' first five runs came with two outs, as Cole Johnson roped two, two-out RBI doubles in the game.
Cole Johnson and Goodwin each went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
McCullough turned in his fourth quality start of the season with two earned over six innings.
McCullough struck out six and scattered five hits.
Adams tossed three scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one baserunner with three strikeouts.
Mendham had three of Oklahoma State's six hits, finishing 3-for-4 with his team's only extra-base hit.
Osmond allowed one run and walked three over four innings in his start.
The OSU bullpen combined to allow six runs on five hits over four innings.
Five Cowboy pitchers issued seven walks with four strikeouts.
Oklahoma State was held hitless with two outs (0-for-7) while the Cats hit. 333 with five two-out RBI.
K-State hit .308 with runners on base to OSU's .154.

NOTES

K-State earned its first ranked victory of the year (1-6) and is now 1-3 against the top 10.
Hughes now has nine top-10 wins in his fourth season at K-State and 14 top-25 victories.
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 176-59 (52-19 Big 12).
K-State's win snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Cowboys, marking its first win since 2017.
K-State is 39-70 at home against OSU and broke a 14-game home skid in the series.
Sunday's game marked the second straight sellout crowd at Tointon Family Stadium (2,344).

UP NEXT
K-State wraps up its six-game homestand against Creighton Tuesday at 6 p.m. The game can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Radio coverage can be heard on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free, live audio available at K-StateSports.com/Watch.

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Team Stats

Cole Johnson

Nick Goodwin

Dominic Johnson

Orlando Salinas, Jr.

Players Mentioned

Blake Adams

Kaelen Culpepper

Nick Goodwin

Cole Johnson

Connor McCullough

Justin Mitchell

Dylan Phillips

Players Mentioned

Blake Adams

Kaelen Culpepper

Nick Goodwin

Cole Johnson

Connor McCullough

Justin Mitchell

Dylan Phillips

Kansas State University Athletics