Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, February 17
Nacogdoches, TX
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
1-0
7
at
6
Stephen F. Austin
0-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Kansas St.
2
0
2
1
0
0
0
2
0
7
6
1
Stephen F. Austin
2
0
3
0
0
0
0
1
0
6
11
4
Team Effort Propels Wildcats to Season Opening Victory
Feb 17, 2023 | Baseball
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Kansas State (1-0) led off the season in the win column with the help of a complete team effort as the Wildcats took the season opener, 7-6, against Stephen F. Austin (0-1) at Jaycees Field.
"Excited to start our season with a win" said head coach Pete Hughes. "Great job from Ty Ruhl. His veteran presence allowed us to settle in the game offensively."
"Proud that we produced runs with two outs and made plays under pressure. Never apologize for winning! Go Cats!"
HOW IT HAPPENED
K-State jumped out to an early lead when Brendon Jones crossed the plate on a passed ball before the Wildcats capitalized on two SFA errors to place runners in scoring position. Senior Cole Johnson smoked a ball down the left field line to score Nick Goodwin from third to lead 2-0. SFA immediately evened the score with an RBI groundout to third before Tom Biggs drove a single up the middle to make it 2-all going into the second.
Three straight singles for K-State put the Wildcats back on top in the third as Dom Hughes hit into shallow left field followed by a ball into right by Goodwin that placed runners at second and third. Kaelen Culpepper added to the Cats hit total with his own RBI single to make it a 3-2 ball game before a sac fly from Johnson plated the fourth run.
The Jacks leveled the score in the third before Cody Fleischer's pop up to short gave SFA their first lead of the game, 5-4.
After drawing two straight walks, a double steal advanced Kyan Lodice and Jones 90-feet to bring Hughes back to the plate. The junior from Boston, Mass., put one deep into center for Lodice to touch home.
The Wildcats defense locked in after shutting down the Jacks in the sixth inning with the help of a 6-3 double play before Ty Ruhl forced a pop up to first to keep the score tied at 5-all.
With two outs, K-State took control of the game in the eighth after Raphael Pelletier singled and Cash Rugely was hit by a pitch to put pressure on SFA. Lodice, a native of Omaha, Neb., roped a 2-run double out of the first baseman's range to give the Wildcats the go-ahead 7-5 lead.
SFA brought the score within one heading into the final inning to threaten the Cats lead. The Jacks added pressure in the second half of the ninth with a double into left field to place runners on second and third but another double play and pop up to third captured the first victory of the season.
INSIDE THE BOX
The Cats will return to Jaycees Field tomorrow afternoon for game two against the Jacks starting at 2 p.m. CT. Saturday's game will not be live streamed on ESPN+. Fans can follow all the action via live stats or listen on kstatesports.com/watch.
"Excited to start our season with a win" said head coach Pete Hughes. "Great job from Ty Ruhl. His veteran presence allowed us to settle in the game offensively."
"Proud that we produced runs with two outs and made plays under pressure. Never apologize for winning! Go Cats!"
HOW IT HAPPENED
K-State jumped out to an early lead when Brendon Jones crossed the plate on a passed ball before the Wildcats capitalized on two SFA errors to place runners in scoring position. Senior Cole Johnson smoked a ball down the left field line to score Nick Goodwin from third to lead 2-0. SFA immediately evened the score with an RBI groundout to third before Tom Biggs drove a single up the middle to make it 2-all going into the second.
Three straight singles for K-State put the Wildcats back on top in the third as Dom Hughes hit into shallow left field followed by a ball into right by Goodwin that placed runners at second and third. Kaelen Culpepper added to the Cats hit total with his own RBI single to make it a 3-2 ball game before a sac fly from Johnson plated the fourth run.
The Jacks leveled the score in the third before Cody Fleischer's pop up to short gave SFA their first lead of the game, 5-4.
After drawing two straight walks, a double steal advanced Kyan Lodice and Jones 90-feet to bring Hughes back to the plate. The junior from Boston, Mass., put one deep into center for Lodice to touch home.
The Wildcats defense locked in after shutting down the Jacks in the sixth inning with the help of a 6-3 double play before Ty Ruhl forced a pop up to first to keep the score tied at 5-all.
With two outs, K-State took control of the game in the eighth after Raphael Pelletier singled and Cash Rugely was hit by a pitch to put pressure on SFA. Lodice, a native of Omaha, Neb., roped a 2-run double out of the first baseman's range to give the Wildcats the go-ahead 7-5 lead.
SFA brought the score within one heading into the final inning to threaten the Cats lead. The Jacks added pressure in the second half of the ninth with a double into left field to place runners on second and third but another double play and pop up to third captured the first victory of the season.
INSIDE THE BOX
- The Cats bullpen allowed six earned runs on 11 hits with eight strikeouts three walks on 143 total pitches
- K-State scored seven runs (five earned) on six hits with one error and left nine on base
- Ty Ruhl (1-0) was awarded the victory allowing just one run through five complete innings with four strikeouts while Blake Corsentino was credited the save
- Owen Boerema earned the opening day start throwing three complete innings with five runs (five earned), three walks and four strikeouts
- Nick Goodwin went 2-for-5 to lead the Cats offense along with a pair of runs
- Five different Cats registered hits in the victory with Kyan Lodie and Cole Johnson each grabbing a pair of RBI
- K-State went 3-for-16 with runs in scoring
- The Cats are 5-5 over their last 10 openers and move to 15-9 going back to 2000, move to 2-3 under Hughes
- Friday's game marked just the fourth meeting between K-State and Stephen F. Austin, first since 2016
- K-State extended its win streak out to 3-1 over SFA including 2-0 in Nacogdoches
- Pete Hughes grabbed his 751st victory and 99th at K-State
- 14 players made their season debuts on Friday, three made their debut in a K-State uniform with Roberto Pena, Kyan Lodice and Owen Boremea
The Cats will return to Jaycees Field tomorrow afternoon for game two against the Jacks starting at 2 p.m. CT. Saturday's game will not be live streamed on ESPN+. Fans can follow all the action via live stats or listen on kstatesports.com/watch.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ruhl, Ty (1-0)
L: S. Jaco (0-1)
S: Corsentino, Blake (1)
Batting:
2B: Goodwin, Nick 1 ; Lodice, Kyan 1
RBI: Hughes, Dom 1 ; Culpepper, Kaelen 1 ; Johnson, Cole 2 ; Lodice, Kyan 2
SF: Hughes, Dom 1 ; Johnson, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Brendan 1 ; Hughes, Dom 1 ; Goodwin, Nick 2 ; Pelletier, Raphael 1 ; Rugely, Cash 1 ; Lodice, Kyan 1
SB: Jones, Brendan 2 ; Culpepper, Kaelen 1 ; Lodice, Kyan 2
HBP: Culpepper, Kaelen 1 ; Rugely, Cash 1
PO: Goodwin, Nick 1
Batting:
2B: A. Rodgers 1 ; P. Parker 1
RBI: C. Martin 1 ; T. Biggs 3 ; C. Fleischer 1 ; H. Prescher 1
SF: C. Fleischer 1
Base Running:
RUNS: C. Loranger 2 ; P. Parker 2 ; C. Martin 2
HBP: A. Gomez 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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INF/OF
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