Cats Dig the Long Ball
Apr 08, 2022 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
There are few things in American sports as romantic as the home run. Michael Jordan once captivated us with his high-flying dunks, and that was iconic, and Tiger Woods won green jackets, and that was epic, and Tom Brady is, well, still Tom Brady, and that's about all you need to say about that.
At Kansas State, over the past two seasons, we're witnessing something that we haven't seen in Manhattan in the last decade. The Wildcats are making home runs cool again. And they're hitting them all the time. And they're sending balls out of the park at an alarming rate. The love is thick. K-State fans dance in their seats to high-energy music over and over again to celebrate each home run. At night, the stadium lights also flicker on and off in celebration.
K-State ranks 39th out of 293 Division I baseball teams in averaging 1.43 home runs per game, trailing only Texas (19th at 1.61) and Texas Tech (29th at 1.50) in the Big 12. Last season, K-State ranked 11th nationally in averaging 1.56 home runs per game. Not only is it the first time in the past decade that K-State is in the top 40 in home runs per game in consecutive seasons, but it's the only time in the past decade that the Wildcats are averaging more than one home run per game in back-to-back seasons.
"We're very deep," K-State head coach Pete Hughes says. "I've been saying it for a while, I'll put our offense, our lineup and bench against anybody's offense in the league. We moved a little closer to the truth this past weekend. We've got some weapons."
A look at K-State's average home runs per game over the past decade (national rank in parentheses):
2022 — 1.43 (39)
2021 — 1.56 (11)
2020 — 0.76 (83)
2019 — 0.93 (75)
2018 — 0.50 (214)
2017 — 0.93 (70)
2016 — 0.53 (166)
2015 — 0.14 (293)
2014 — 0.27 (197)
2013 — 0.45 (95)
This past weekend, K-State had three home runs against No. 6 Oklahoma State on Friday, two home runs on Saturday and three more home runs on Sunday, doing so against one of the best pitching corps in the nation. K-State's eight home runs against Oklahoma State tied for the most home runs in a Big 12 series in the Hughes era.
We've seen K-State hit 12 home runs in the last four games. We've seen the Wildcats hit multiple home runs in eight of the last 12 games. We've seen 13 different batters combine for 25 home runs over the past 12 games.
And we've also seen the crowning of a home run king.
Dylan Phillips belted career home run No. 38 in the first inning against Oklahoma State on Saturday to become the all-time home run leader in K-State history, topping a record that had stood for 25 years. He hit his 39th home run later in the same game.
Against Creighton on Tuesday night, "Fly Like an Eagle" by the Steve Miller Band played as Phillips approached the plate. He coolly sent a shot over the videoboard at Tointon Family Stadium — ("That might've been the farthest one I've ever seen Whammer hit," Hughes says). The ball kept going and going. They say it traveled 422 feet, but it felt much longer. The ball landed somewhere on the other side of the Brandeberry Indoor Practice Facility. It was Phillips' fifth home run in the last six games. It's been incredible to witness.
"I seem to be a little more patient and hitting more mistakes than getting myself out like I did at the start of the year," says Phillips, who has hit nine home runs this season after tying the single season record with 16 home runs last year. "I've been hitting my stride lately and guys are hitting their stride, too. It's a good sign for us as a team."
K-State hit four home runs in all against Creighton, as Dominic Johnson, Nick Goodwin and Orlando Salinas, Jr. also sent balls out of the park. This season, Josh Nicoloff has five homers; Salinas has four; and Justin Mitchell, Jeff Heinrich, Cole Johnson, Dominic Johnson and Goodwin each have three apiece.
"When one guy hits a home run, the other guys feed off that," Goodwin says. "When we get pitches to hit, we don't miss them. We do a pretty good job hitting home runs. Everyone has their own approach at the plate. Whether you're hitting a curveball or fastball, we're all looking for a pitch we can drive. When you get that pitch and don't miss it, it feels really good."
K-State will look to keep its hot-hitting home run trend going when the Wildcats, 15-13 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12, open a three-game series at No. 4 Texas Tech, 24-8 and 4-2, starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Lubbock, Texas.
The matchup will pit two of the top three Big 12 team leaders in home runs.
"There might be some high-scoring games," Phillips says. "That's just something that as a team we need to understand is that if we get down early, a home run is a big play for us.
"Really, no lead will be safe."
Next Thursday, the Wildcats return home to face Texas.
Texas, of course, leads the Big 12 in home runs.
There are few things in American sports as romantic as the home run. Michael Jordan once captivated us with his high-flying dunks, and that was iconic, and Tiger Woods won green jackets, and that was epic, and Tom Brady is, well, still Tom Brady, and that's about all you need to say about that.
At Kansas State, over the past two seasons, we're witnessing something that we haven't seen in Manhattan in the last decade. The Wildcats are making home runs cool again. And they're hitting them all the time. And they're sending balls out of the park at an alarming rate. The love is thick. K-State fans dance in their seats to high-energy music over and over again to celebrate each home run. At night, the stadium lights also flicker on and off in celebration.
K-State ranks 39th out of 293 Division I baseball teams in averaging 1.43 home runs per game, trailing only Texas (19th at 1.61) and Texas Tech (29th at 1.50) in the Big 12. Last season, K-State ranked 11th nationally in averaging 1.56 home runs per game. Not only is it the first time in the past decade that K-State is in the top 40 in home runs per game in consecutive seasons, but it's the only time in the past decade that the Wildcats are averaging more than one home run per game in back-to-back seasons.
"We're very deep," K-State head coach Pete Hughes says. "I've been saying it for a while, I'll put our offense, our lineup and bench against anybody's offense in the league. We moved a little closer to the truth this past weekend. We've got some weapons."
A look at K-State's average home runs per game over the past decade (national rank in parentheses):
2022 — 1.43 (39)
2021 — 1.56 (11)
2020 — 0.76 (83)
2019 — 0.93 (75)
2018 — 0.50 (214)
2017 — 0.93 (70)
2016 — 0.53 (166)
2015 — 0.14 (293)
2014 — 0.27 (197)
2013 — 0.45 (95)
This past weekend, K-State had three home runs against No. 6 Oklahoma State on Friday, two home runs on Saturday and three more home runs on Sunday, doing so against one of the best pitching corps in the nation. K-State's eight home runs against Oklahoma State tied for the most home runs in a Big 12 series in the Hughes era.
We've seen K-State hit 12 home runs in the last four games. We've seen the Wildcats hit multiple home runs in eight of the last 12 games. We've seen 13 different batters combine for 25 home runs over the past 12 games.
And we've also seen the crowning of a home run king.
Dylan Phillips belted career home run No. 38 in the first inning against Oklahoma State on Saturday to become the all-time home run leader in K-State history, topping a record that had stood for 25 years. He hit his 39th home run later in the same game.
Against Creighton on Tuesday night, "Fly Like an Eagle" by the Steve Miller Band played as Phillips approached the plate. He coolly sent a shot over the videoboard at Tointon Family Stadium — ("That might've been the farthest one I've ever seen Whammer hit," Hughes says). The ball kept going and going. They say it traveled 422 feet, but it felt much longer. The ball landed somewhere on the other side of the Brandeberry Indoor Practice Facility. It was Phillips' fifth home run in the last six games. It's been incredible to witness.
"I seem to be a little more patient and hitting more mistakes than getting myself out like I did at the start of the year," says Phillips, who has hit nine home runs this season after tying the single season record with 16 home runs last year. "I've been hitting my stride lately and guys are hitting their stride, too. It's a good sign for us as a team."
K-State hit four home runs in all against Creighton, as Dominic Johnson, Nick Goodwin and Orlando Salinas, Jr. also sent balls out of the park. This season, Josh Nicoloff has five homers; Salinas has four; and Justin Mitchell, Jeff Heinrich, Cole Johnson, Dominic Johnson and Goodwin each have three apiece.
"When one guy hits a home run, the other guys feed off that," Goodwin says. "When we get pitches to hit, we don't miss them. We do a pretty good job hitting home runs. Everyone has their own approach at the plate. Whether you're hitting a curveball or fastball, we're all looking for a pitch we can drive. When you get that pitch and don't miss it, it feels really good."
K-State will look to keep its hot-hitting home run trend going when the Wildcats, 15-13 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12, open a three-game series at No. 4 Texas Tech, 24-8 and 4-2, starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Lubbock, Texas.
The matchup will pit two of the top three Big 12 team leaders in home runs.
"There might be some high-scoring games," Phillips says. "That's just something that as a team we need to understand is that if we get down early, a home run is a big play for us.
"Really, no lead will be safe."
Next Thursday, the Wildcats return home to face Texas.
Texas, of course, leads the Big 12 in home runs.
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