Adams, Johnson Help Wildcats Even Sunflower Showdown

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Dominic Johnson homered twice to back Blake Adams' quality start, as K-State evened the Dillons Sunflower Showdown with a 5-2 win over Kansas Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,344 at Tointon Family Stadium.

Johnson, who turned in his second multi-homer game of the season, hit two of the Wildcats' three home runs, including a leadoff home run as part of a three-run first inning. K-State (24-22, 5-12 Big 12) batted around in the inning and later built a 4-0 lead on Kaelen Culpepper's solo homer in the fourth.

"Important, critical bounce-back day," said head coach Pete Hughes. "(We) had to set the tone and get the momentum in our dugout and, most importantly in our stadium with our crowd, right out of the gates. Dom Johnson did that immediately, he injected energy into the stadium and into our lineup to set the tone for the rest of the day.

"In saying that, it always begins and ends with a good start on the mound. We certainly got that from Blake and a great bullpen outing from German (Fajardo)."

After a one-out double in the first, Adams settled in and retired nine consecutive KU batters until an infield single by Maui Ahuna in the fourth inning. He struck out the side in order in the third and racked up seven strikeouts from the third through the fifth, as he scattered three hits through his first five innings of work.

Adams carded his sixth quality outing in 10 starts, finishing with two earned runs on five hits over his 6 1/3 frames. The junior right-hander struck out eight while issuing just one walk in earning his fifth win of the year.

German Fajardo preserved the victory with 2 2/3 hitless innings of relief. Fajardo lifted Adams with a run in and a runner on in the seventh and sat down the first seven he saw before a two-out walk in the ninth. The sophomore Arizona transfer picked up his second save of the season.

Johnson hit the second pitch he saw from Kansas starter Cole Larsen, igniting a run of three straight extra-base hits to begin the game. After Johnson's blast, Brady Day and Jeff Heinrich each doubled and K-State had two runs before an out was recorded.

"Honestly, I was like 'wow.' I've never hit a leadoff home run in my life," Johnson said of his leadoff homer. "I was juiced up, I felt really good. Once I was able to hit that it felt like we were able to get going and we scored three in the inning. It was really big for us to get going and get ahead early."

Dylan Phillips tacked on an RBI groundout, as the Wildcats finished with four hits and two walks in bringing all nine to the plate.

"It definitely helps with the mindset, going out there knowing you have the lead," Adams added on the early lead. "You feel like you can really throw some risky pitches in some certain situations, and it helped me today. I missed a few bats in those third and fourth innings."

Kansas (20-28, 4-13 Big 12) manufactured its first run in the sixth inning, turning a Payton Allen leadoff double into a run with groundouts by Ahuna and Nolan Metcalf to trim the Wildcats' lead to 4-1.

Johnson responded with his second solo home run of the day in the bottom of the inning, pushing the lead back to four runs. The homer was the last pitch of Larsen's day, as the Jayhawks handed the ball to Stone Hewlett.

Hewlett held K-State scoreless on two hits over the final 2 1/3 innings.

Jack Hammond homered on the first pitch of the seventh inning, bringing KU with three runs at 5-2. After a walk and a fielder's choice, Adams' outing was over and Fajardo then closed the door on the Jayhawks.

"It was one of our goals at the beginning of the season, was to beat KU," Hughes added. "We want to be the best team in Kansas and be the best team in the region. It's critical for our program, make no mistake about it, it is a rivalry."

Adams and Fajardo combined to hold Kansas without a hit with runners on base (0-for-12) and with runners in scoring position (0-for-6).

Johnson led all players with three hits, ending the day 3-for-5 with two RBI.

Day and Josh Nicoloff both were 2-for-4 while Culpepper's homer was his third of the season.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
K-State batted around in the first inning, sparked by a leadoff home run by Johnson. Day and Heinrich then ripped back-to-back doubles along with an RBI groundout from Phillips. In the frame, the Cats scored three runs on four hits but left the bases loaded.

Culpepper pushed the lead to four runs with his solo shot in the fourth, coming with one out. It was the freshman's third home run of the season.

KU manufactured a run in the sixth, turning a leadoff double by Allen into its first run after groundouts by Ahuna and Metcalf.

Johnson's second home run of the day, a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, pushed the Wildcats' lead back to four runs at 5-1.

Hammond homered on the first pitch from Adams in the seventh inning to cap the day's scoring.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

K-State scored five runs on 10 hits without an error and left eight on base.
KU scored two runs on five hits, committed one error and stranded five baserunners.
K-State hit three solo home runs, two from Dominic Johnson and one from Culpepper.
It was Johnson's second multi-homer outing of the season.
K-State has hit six home runs in the series – all solo shots.
Johnson led all players with three this, going 3-for-5 with two RBI.
Day and Culpepper added two hits apiece.
Six of K-State's 10 hits went for extra bases while the Cats struck out just once.
Adams logged his sixth quality outing in 10 starts, allowing two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings.
Adams struck out eight while issuing just one walk.
Fajardo did not allow a hit over his 2 2/3 innings, earning his second save.
Adams and Fajardo combined for 10 strikeouts and two walks.
Larsen suffered the loss after giving up five earned runs on eight hits (5 1/3 innings).
Larsen threw 40 pitches in the first inning, allowing three runs while K-State batted around.
Hewitt tossed 2 1/3 shutout innings, yielding just two hits.
K-State was 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-14 with men on base.
The Jayhawks were hitless with runners on base (0-for-12) and with runners in scoring position (0-for-6).
KU finished 0-for-8 with two outs while the Cats were 3-for-11.

NOTES

K-State leads the Dillons Sunflower Showdown 182-177-1 (42-31 Big 12), dating back to 1897.
K-State is 104-82-1 at home, as this is the first Dillons Sunflower Showdown at Tointon Family Stadium since 2018.
The Cats are now 18-6 at home and have won nine of the last 12 at Tointon Family Stadium.
The Wildcats have hit multiple home runs 22 times (15-7).
Fifty-three of K-State's 71 home runs have come at home.
The 71 homers are good for third-most in a single season in program history.

UP NEXT
The 2022 Dillons Sunflower Showdown concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium. The game can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio is also available at K-StateSports.com/Watch.

Next Event

Team Stats

Dominic Johnson

Brady Day

Josh Nicoloff

Jeff Heinrich

Players Mentioned

Blake Adams

Kaelen Culpepper

Brady Day

German Fajardo

Jeff Heinrich

Dominic Johnson

Josh Nicoloff

Dylan Phillips

Players Mentioned

Blake Adams

Kaelen Culpepper

Brady Day

German Fajardo

Jeff Heinrich

Dominic Johnson

Josh Nicoloff

Dylan Phillips

Kansas State University Athletics