Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, May 13
Manhattan, Kan.
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
vs
Baylor
Wildcats Set for Final Home Series with Baylor
May 12, 2022 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State finishes its season-long seven-game homestand, as the season's final home series gets underway Friday at 6 p.m. against the Baylor Bears at Tointon Family Stadium.
The middle game of the series is set for a 4 p.m. start on Saturday while the finale will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Sunday's contest will also mark Senior Day, as K-State will recognize its senior class with a pregame ceremony.
The Cats are fresh off their series victory in the 2022 Dillons Sunflower Showdown, with K-State claiming the final two games of the series against in-state rival Kansas. The Wildcat offense blasted nine home runs over three games in earning its first series victory over the Jayhawks since 2018.
K-State currently sits in seventh place in the Big 12 standings, one game ahead of eighth-place Baylor. A season ago, the two sides split four games, with the Wildcats ousting the Bears from the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship in Oklahoma City, 9-4.
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 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 and the K-State Sports Radio Network (Saturday) with live streaming audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
GAME #48
K-STATE (25-22, 6-12 BIG 12) vs. BAYLOR (23-22, 5-13 BIG 12)
Friday, May 13 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Blake Adams (5-4, 4.41 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Jackson (3-4, 8.93 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Craig Wilson
Radio: News Radio KMAN // Matt Walters, Justin Tadtman
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats | Tickets
GAME #49
K-STATE (25-22, 6-12 BIG 12) vs. BAYLOR (23-22, 5-13 BIG 12)
Saturday, May 14 // 4 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP German Fajardo (4-1, 2.18 ERA) vs. LHP Kobe Andrade (3-3, 5.15 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Craig Wilson
Radio: K-State Sports Radio Network // Matt Walters, Justin Tadtman
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats | Tickets
GAME #50
K-STATE (25-22, 6-12 BIG 12) vs. BAYLOR (23-22, 5-13 BIG 12)
Sunday, May 15 // 1 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: TBA vs. RHP Blake Helton (0-1, 5.06 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Craig Wilson
Radio: News Radio KMAN // Matt Walters, Justin Tadtman
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats | Tickets
A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State wraps up its season-long seven-game homestand against Baylor, as the three-game series starts Friday at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Wildcats went 3-1 last week against a pair of in-state rivals, defeating Wichita State 3-1 in a midweek matchup before taking two of three games from Kansas to win their first Dillons Sunflower Showdown since 2018 ... The Cats' offense blasted nine home runs - three in each contest - and rebounded from a series-opening 5-3 setback in claiming the final two games of the series ... Kaelen Culpepper, Jeff Heinrich and Dominic Johnson each homered twice in the series ... Nick Goodwin hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning of Sunday's rubber game, helping the Wildcats score five unanswered runs to overcome a 3-1 deficit ... K-State homered in the first inning of all three games ... Blake Adams and Griffin Hassall each turned in quality starts over the weekend, while German Fajardo collected an eight-out save without allowing a hit Saturday ... Earlier in the week, Fajardo took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against Wichita State while striking out a career-high 10 hitters ... Fajardo claimed both Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and Co-Newcomer of the Week after totaling 8 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 12 and yielding just one base hit ... With the series win, the Wildcats now sit in seventh place in the Big 12 standings, owning a one-game edge over eighth-place Baylor while being two games clear of Kansas in ninth.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
Baylor (23-22, 5-13 Big 12) was idle last weekend and last played May 3, picking up an 8-2 win over Tarleton at Baylor Ballpark ... The Bears salvaged the series finale against Texas Tech, 11-7, after dropping the two games of the series ... BU has won three of its last five games after being swept by Texas April 21-23 ... The Bears' offense is paced by Kyle Nevin who owns a team-best .306 batting average while also leading the team in doubles (15), home runs (8), RBI (44) and slugging (.541) ... Jack Pineda is second with his .300 average with 14 doubles, four homers and 31 RBI ... BU ranks seventh in the conference in team batting average at .267 while its 29 home runs are the fewest in the Big 12 ... Tyler Thomas' 2.45 ERA is good for best on his team and second in the league ... Thomas is 4-4 in nine starts with 51 strikeouts against nine walks ... Mason Marriott is sixth in the Big 12 ... The Bears' 5.64 team ERA and .274 opponent batting average are good for seventh in the conference.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Baylor holds a 52-30 edge in the all-time series, dating back to 1966, including a 48-24 lead in Big 12 contests ... The Wildcats and Bears split four meetings a season ago, including K-State's 9-4 victory in the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship ... The win ousted BU from the conference tournament after the Bears won two of three games in Waco earlier that season ... K-State is 15-18 at home against Baylor, but was swept in three games in the last series at Tointon Family Stadium in 2018 ... The Cats took two of three games in both 2016 and 2014 and last swept a weekend set in 2010 ... The teams have traded wins over the last six meetings while K-State is 3-7 over the last 10 games in the series ... Fourth-year head coach Pete Hughes is 3-4 against BU.
BOMBS ARE BACK
K-State ranks second in the Big 12 and 21st nationally with 74 home runs this season, with 59 coming over its last 31 games ... K-State has homered in 10 of the last 12 games with multiple homers in nine of those outings ... The Wildcat offense managed just one homer over the season's first five games and turned in seven over their first 10 games ... Twenty-three times the Cats have hit multiple home runs, including 15 of their last 23 contests ... K-State has 27 home runs over its last 12 games and 46 over its last 23 games ... In total, 14 different players have hit at least one home run this season ... A season ago, K-State launched a single-season program record 89 bombs while its 74 home runs this season are already third-most in any season in program history.
HOME COOKIN'
K-State has won 19 of 25 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 .304 and slugging .578 with 56 home runs ... K-State averages 7.1 runs a game on 10.2 hits at Tointon Family Stadium ... Conversely, the Cats are hitting .263 and slugging .412 in games away from home, averaging 5.5 runs per game and 9.0 hits a game ... The Wildcat bullpen boasts a 4.25 ERA at home, striking out 119 compared to 56 walks ... In road and neutral contest, K-State relievers have a combined ERA of 8.77 with 107 strikeouts and 81 walks ... K-State has homered in 21 of 25 home games while 56 of its 74 home runs have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Cats have outscored teams 177-117 in 25 home games with a +45 run differential (71-26) from the seventh inning on ... Additionally, K-State has outscored its opponents 37-5 in the seventh and eighth innings over its last 11 home games ... Dominic Johnson leads the Wildcats in hitting at .371 at home while Jeff Heinrich is next at .367 ... Heinrich and Dylan Phillips each have a team-high nine homers at home.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE ANIMAL STYLE
Jeff Heinrich and Dominic Johnson joined the 10-homer club over the weekend, as they both now sit at 10 home runs to go with Dylan Phillips' team-leading 12 bombs ... A season ago, five Wildcats recorded 10 or more homers, led by 16 from Phillips ... Phillips is just the second Wildcat to register three seasons with 10 or more home runs, joining Pat Maloney who did it in three straight seasons from 2001-03 ... Johnson is one of three players in the Big 12 to reach double digits in both home runs and stolen bases (11) ... Phillips needs just two more stolen bases to join the 10 homers-10 steals club... Additionally, Phillips and Oklahoma State's Nolan McLean are the only players in the conference to have 10+ home runs along with recording multiple saves on the mound.
A NOT SO SOFT G
K-State's German Fajardo was tabbed as the Big 12's Pitcher and Co-Newcomer of the Week after picking up the win against Wichita State last Tuesday and collecting a save Saturday against KU ... In his start against the Shockers, Fajardo carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, finishing with one hit allowed over his six innings while striking out a career-high 10 batters ... He followed that performance up with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief while not allowing a hit with a pair of strikeouts ... His week total stood at 8 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, with just one hit allowed with opponents hitting .038 against him ... Dating back to an outing at Nebraska on April 26, he has not allowed an earned run over his last 11 innings, racking up 14 strikeouts in that stretch ... The Arizona transfer has not given up an earned run in nine of his 13 outings this season while owning a team-best 2.18 ERA and will make his first weekend start of the season Saturday.
NUMBER NUGGETS
K-State has a +3 run differential through 47 games this season after being outscoring KU 14-10 over three games last weekend ... The Wildcats have outscored opponents 40-27 in the eighth inning alone and 105-77 from the seventh inning on ... K-State scored 11 runs in the seventh inning against UC Irvine - its largest run total in a single inning this season ... The Cats are 21-11 when hitting a home run and 16-7 when hitting multiple homers ... K-State has won 10 of 12 games in which it has not committed an error while going 5-12 when committing multiple errors ... When holding opponents to five or fewer runs, the Wildcats are 20-5 ... Conversely, K-State has a record of 5-14 when scoring five or fewer runs in a game and is 20-8 when scoring at least six runs ... The Cats picked up their first one-run victory of the season at Oklahoma (8-7), improving to 1-4 and snapping a string of five straight one-run losses dating back to last season ... K-State is 7-11 in games decided by two runs or fewer ... Twenty-three of K-State's 74 home runs have been game-tying or go-ahead home runs ... Home runs account for 118 of the 277 runs batted in on the season (43 percent), including 10 of 14 RBI over three games against the Jayhawks ... K-State is hitting .301 on the season with runners in scoring position and .271 with two outs, driving in 96 with two away ... Last season, the Cats managed a .271 average with runners in scoring position while hitting .252 with two outs ... Ten of the team's 11 saves have come at Tointon Family Stadium, with the only road save coming from Dylan Phillips in the series finale at OU ... After committing an error in nine consecutive games (14 errors in that span), the Wildcat defense has been charged with just two errors over its last five contests.
The middle game of the series is set for a 4 p.m. start on Saturday while the finale will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Sunday's contest will also mark Senior Day, as K-State will recognize its senior class with a pregame ceremony.
The Cats are fresh off their series victory in the 2022 Dillons Sunflower Showdown, with K-State claiming the final two games of the series against in-state rival Kansas. The Wildcat offense blasted nine home runs over three games in earning its first series victory over the Jayhawks since 2018.
K-State currently sits in seventh place in the Big 12 standings, one game ahead of eighth-place Baylor. A season ago, the two sides split four games, with the Wildcats ousting the Bears from the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship in Oklahoma City, 9-4.
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 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 and the K-State Sports Radio Network (Saturday) with live streaming audio at K-StateSports.com/watch.
GAME #48
K-STATE (25-22, 6-12 BIG 12) vs. BAYLOR (23-22, 5-13 BIG 12)
Friday, May 13 // 6 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP Blake Adams (5-4, 4.41 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Jackson (3-4, 8.93 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Craig Wilson
Radio: News Radio KMAN // Matt Walters, Justin Tadtman
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats | Tickets
GAME #49
K-STATE (25-22, 6-12 BIG 12) vs. BAYLOR (23-22, 5-13 BIG 12)
Saturday, May 14 // 4 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: RHP German Fajardo (4-1, 2.18 ERA) vs. LHP Kobe Andrade (3-3, 5.15 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Craig Wilson
Radio: K-State Sports Radio Network // Matt Walters, Justin Tadtman
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats | Tickets
GAME #50
K-STATE (25-22, 6-12 BIG 12) vs. BAYLOR (23-22, 5-13 BIG 12)
Sunday, May 15 // 1 p.m. // Tointon Family Stadium (2,334) // Manhattan, Kan.
Projected Starters: TBA vs. RHP Blake Helton (0-1, 5.06 ERA)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // Brian Smoller, Craig Wilson
Radio: News Radio KMAN // Matt Walters, Justin Tadtman
Listen Online: K-StateSports.com/Watch // 1350KMAN.com
Live Stats | Tickets
A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State wraps up its season-long seven-game homestand against Baylor, as the three-game series starts Friday at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Wildcats went 3-1 last week against a pair of in-state rivals, defeating Wichita State 3-1 in a midweek matchup before taking two of three games from Kansas to win their first Dillons Sunflower Showdown since 2018 ... The Cats' offense blasted nine home runs - three in each contest - and rebounded from a series-opening 5-3 setback in claiming the final two games of the series ... Kaelen Culpepper, Jeff Heinrich and Dominic Johnson each homered twice in the series ... Nick Goodwin hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning of Sunday's rubber game, helping the Wildcats score five unanswered runs to overcome a 3-1 deficit ... K-State homered in the first inning of all three games ... Blake Adams and Griffin Hassall each turned in quality starts over the weekend, while German Fajardo collected an eight-out save without allowing a hit Saturday ... Earlier in the week, Fajardo took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against Wichita State while striking out a career-high 10 hitters ... Fajardo claimed both Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and Co-Newcomer of the Week after totaling 8 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 12 and yielding just one base hit ... With the series win, the Wildcats now sit in seventh place in the Big 12 standings, owning a one-game edge over eighth-place Baylor while being two games clear of Kansas in ninth.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
Baylor (23-22, 5-13 Big 12) was idle last weekend and last played May 3, picking up an 8-2 win over Tarleton at Baylor Ballpark ... The Bears salvaged the series finale against Texas Tech, 11-7, after dropping the two games of the series ... BU has won three of its last five games after being swept by Texas April 21-23 ... The Bears' offense is paced by Kyle Nevin who owns a team-best .306 batting average while also leading the team in doubles (15), home runs (8), RBI (44) and slugging (.541) ... Jack Pineda is second with his .300 average with 14 doubles, four homers and 31 RBI ... BU ranks seventh in the conference in team batting average at .267 while its 29 home runs are the fewest in the Big 12 ... Tyler Thomas' 2.45 ERA is good for best on his team and second in the league ... Thomas is 4-4 in nine starts with 51 strikeouts against nine walks ... Mason Marriott is sixth in the Big 12 ... The Bears' 5.64 team ERA and .274 opponent batting average are good for seventh in the conference.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Baylor holds a 52-30 edge in the all-time series, dating back to 1966, including a 48-24 lead in Big 12 contests ... The Wildcats and Bears split four meetings a season ago, including K-State's 9-4 victory in the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship ... The win ousted BU from the conference tournament after the Bears won two of three games in Waco earlier that season ... K-State is 15-18 at home against Baylor, but was swept in three games in the last series at Tointon Family Stadium in 2018 ... The Cats took two of three games in both 2016 and 2014 and last swept a weekend set in 2010 ... The teams have traded wins over the last six meetings while K-State is 3-7 over the last 10 games in the series ... Fourth-year head coach Pete Hughes is 3-4 against BU.
BOMBS ARE BACK
K-State ranks second in the Big 12 and 21st nationally with 74 home runs this season, with 59 coming over its last 31 games ... K-State has homered in 10 of the last 12 games with multiple homers in nine of those outings ... The Wildcat offense managed just one homer over the season's first five games and turned in seven over their first 10 games ... Twenty-three times the Cats have hit multiple home runs, including 15 of their last 23 contests ... K-State has 27 home runs over its last 12 games and 46 over its last 23 games ... In total, 14 different players have hit at least one home run this season ... A season ago, K-State launched a single-season program record 89 bombs while its 74 home runs this season are already third-most in any season in program history.
HOME COOKIN'
K-State has won 19 of 25 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 .304 and slugging .578 with 56 home runs ... K-State averages 7.1 runs a game on 10.2 hits at Tointon Family Stadium ... Conversely, the Cats are hitting .263 and slugging .412 in games away from home, averaging 5.5 runs per game and 9.0 hits a game ... The Wildcat bullpen boasts a 4.25 ERA at home, striking out 119 compared to 56 walks ... In road and neutral contest, K-State relievers have a combined ERA of 8.77 with 107 strikeouts and 81 walks ... K-State has homered in 21 of 25 home games while 56 of its 74 home runs have come at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Cats have outscored teams 177-117 in 25 home games with a +45 run differential (71-26) from the seventh inning on ... Additionally, K-State has outscored its opponents 37-5 in the seventh and eighth innings over its last 11 home games ... Dominic Johnson leads the Wildcats in hitting at .371 at home while Jeff Heinrich is next at .367 ... Heinrich and Dylan Phillips each have a team-high nine homers at home.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE ANIMAL STYLE
Jeff Heinrich and Dominic Johnson joined the 10-homer club over the weekend, as they both now sit at 10 home runs to go with Dylan Phillips' team-leading 12 bombs ... A season ago, five Wildcats recorded 10 or more homers, led by 16 from Phillips ... Phillips is just the second Wildcat to register three seasons with 10 or more home runs, joining Pat Maloney who did it in three straight seasons from 2001-03 ... Johnson is one of three players in the Big 12 to reach double digits in both home runs and stolen bases (11) ... Phillips needs just two more stolen bases to join the 10 homers-10 steals club... Additionally, Phillips and Oklahoma State's Nolan McLean are the only players in the conference to have 10+ home runs along with recording multiple saves on the mound.
A NOT SO SOFT G
K-State's German Fajardo was tabbed as the Big 12's Pitcher and Co-Newcomer of the Week after picking up the win against Wichita State last Tuesday and collecting a save Saturday against KU ... In his start against the Shockers, Fajardo carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, finishing with one hit allowed over his six innings while striking out a career-high 10 batters ... He followed that performance up with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief while not allowing a hit with a pair of strikeouts ... His week total stood at 8 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, with just one hit allowed with opponents hitting .038 against him ... Dating back to an outing at Nebraska on April 26, he has not allowed an earned run over his last 11 innings, racking up 14 strikeouts in that stretch ... The Arizona transfer has not given up an earned run in nine of his 13 outings this season while owning a team-best 2.18 ERA and will make his first weekend start of the season Saturday.
NUMBER NUGGETS
K-State has a +3 run differential through 47 games this season after being outscoring KU 14-10 over three games last weekend ... The Wildcats have outscored opponents 40-27 in the eighth inning alone and 105-77 from the seventh inning on ... K-State scored 11 runs in the seventh inning against UC Irvine - its largest run total in a single inning this season ... The Cats are 21-11 when hitting a home run and 16-7 when hitting multiple homers ... K-State has won 10 of 12 games in which it has not committed an error while going 5-12 when committing multiple errors ... When holding opponents to five or fewer runs, the Wildcats are 20-5 ... Conversely, K-State has a record of 5-14 when scoring five or fewer runs in a game and is 20-8 when scoring at least six runs ... The Cats picked up their first one-run victory of the season at Oklahoma (8-7), improving to 1-4 and snapping a string of five straight one-run losses dating back to last season ... K-State is 7-11 in games decided by two runs or fewer ... Twenty-three of K-State's 74 home runs have been game-tying or go-ahead home runs ... Home runs account for 118 of the 277 runs batted in on the season (43 percent), including 10 of 14 RBI over three games against the Jayhawks ... K-State is hitting .301 on the season with runners in scoring position and .271 with two outs, driving in 96 with two away ... Last season, the Cats managed a .271 average with runners in scoring position while hitting .252 with two outs ... Ten of the team's 11 saves have come at Tointon Family Stadium, with the only road save coming from Dylan Phillips in the series finale at OU ... After committing an error in nine consecutive games (14 errors in that span), the Wildcat defense has been charged with just two errors over its last five contests.
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