Friday, February 17
Nacogdoches, TX
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
1-0
7
at
6
Stephen F. Austin
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors 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 |
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.
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"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."
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"Proud that we produced runs with two outs and made plays under pressure. Never apologize for winning! Go Cats!"
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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. Â 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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"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."
Â
"Proud that we produced runs with two outs and made plays under pressure. Never apologize for winning! Go Cats!"
Â
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. Â 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Players Mentioned
LHP
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RHP
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INF
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INF
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OF
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OF
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OF
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INF
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INF/OF
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RHP
/ BaseballTeam 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
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
Wednesday, September 30
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Wednesday, May 20
