K-State Meets Lamar for Midweek Road Action

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State (4-0) continues the preseason journey in Texas on Wednesday, Feb. 22, when the Wildcats take on Lamar (3-0) inside Vincent-Beck Stadium. Game time is slated for 6 p.m. CT in Beaumont.

The Wildcats led off the season with the program's first four-game road sweep season opener with victories over Stephen F. Austin, compiling a +22 run differential with the help of a Big 12 leading 10 homeruns.

German Fajardo will start on the mound for the second time this season and eighth overall in his career. The Nogales, Ariz., product threw four complete innings in the opening weekend allowing just two earned runs.

Wednesday's game will be lived streamed on ESPN+ while fans can listen in on kstatesports.com/watch or follow live stats provided by the Lamar athletic communications department.

Tickets for the series at SFA are now available and can be purchased at sfajacks.evenue.net.

GAME #5
K-STATE (4-0, 0-0 BIG 12) AT LAMAR (3-0, 0-0 SOUTHLAND)
Friday, Feb. 17 // 6 p.m. CT // Vincent-Beck Stadium (3,500) // Beaumont, Texas
Projected Starters: German Fajardo (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) v. Jeremy Rivera (0-0, 0-0 Southland)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch // Mitch Fortner
Live Stats | Tickets

A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State heads to Beaumont, Texas to take on Lamar in a preseason single-game contest on Wednesday night at Vincent-Beck Stadium … K-State is in its 123rd season of baseball and fifth under head coach Pete Hughes … The Wildcats are off to one of the hottest starts in school history after sweeping Stephen F. Austin in a four-game series … The sweep marked the first four-game road series sweep during the opening weekend … The 4-0 season start is the best program start in the Pete Hughes era … K-State is one of two remaining undefeated teams in the Big 12 alongside nationally ranked No. 24 Texas Tech … Cole Johnson became the first player to record a multi-home run game in the Big 12 driving in a weekend-high four RBI … Junior shortstop Nick Goodwin is off to a four-game hit streak while five Wildcats have reached base in all four games … Four freshman made their collegiate debuts on the mound, including three true freshman with Cole Wisenbaker, Mason Buss and Andrew Evans … Brendan Jones and Kaelen Culepper each set a new career high with three hits …

SCOUTING LAMAR
Lamar opened the 2023 season 3-0 with a home series sweep over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies … LU will face Texas A&M tonight at 5 p.m. in College Station … Lamar was selected to finish third overall in the Southland Preseason Poll behind Southeastern Louisiana and McNeese while senior infielder Josh Blankenship was named Preseason Second Team All-Southland Conference … LU added 29 newcomers to the 2023 roster in the off-season … Senior infielder Kirkland Banks and All-WAC Defensive Team selection Kirkland Banks returned for his final season with Lamar … The Cardinals are led by seventh-year head coach Will Davis … The LSU alum has led Lamar to an overall 142-151 (.485) record since joining the program in 2016 … Lamar is hitting .196 as a team with 14 runs on 18 hits and 13 RBI … Kevin Dodge and Tanner Wilson lead the offense with a .333 batting average each producing three hits … In the circle, Lamar threw 11 different pitchers in the opening weekend … The Cardinals have a 2.57 ERA allowing 11 runs (eight earned) on 20 hits while limiting opponents to hit .217 … Left-hander Jacob Ellis has a team-low 2.08 ERA and earned one of the three starts on the mound … Lamar finished 37-21 overall in 2022 including a victory in the Western Athletic Conference Championship … Jeremy Rivera is the projected starter for the midweek contest … Davis earned one start against Oakland producing a 0.00 ERA through 2.0 innings.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Wednesday marks the 10^th overall meeting between K-State and Lamar and first under Hughes … K-State currently holds a five-game win streak over the Cardinals to lead the all-time series 6-3 with all games taking place in Beaumont … The two schools last met on April 1, 2008 where the Wildcats won 4-1 … The series first started in 1967 with Lamar leading off the series with a two-game win streak … K-State is 5-0 in the last five matchups.

W, 3-0 – Feb. 22, 1986 (Beaumont)
W, 3-2 – Feb. 23, 1986 (Beaumont)
W, 6-5 – Feb. 23, 1986 (Beaumont)
W, 8-7 (10) – March 3, 2007 (Beaumont)
W, 4-1 – April 1, 2008 (Beaumont)

OPENING DAY
The Wildcats moved to 2-3 in season openers under fifth-year head coach Pete Hughes after collecting a 7-6 victory over Stephen F. Austin ... The Cats are 5-5 over their last 10 season openers and 15-9 going back to the year 2000.

BOMBS AWAY
K-State leads the Big 12 with 10 team home runs and was the only team to produce double digit bombs in the opening weekend … The Wildcats sent five deep and out in the series finale against Stephen F. Austin marking the third time in the Hughes era … The five home runs were just short two of matching a program record seven … The Cats have produced 80+ home runs the past two seasons … Cole Johnson and Roberto Pena each launched a grand slam against SFA (Feb. 20) to mark the first time since 2010 where two Wildcats posted grand slams in the same game … Three home runs against SFA came were 2-out bombs while five were with the Cats behind in the count …

DIGGIN' THE LONG BALL
Cole Johnson became the first player in the Big 12 to record a multi-home run game this season … The senior launched a pair of bombs in back-to-back at-bats in the series finale against Stephen F. Austin … He sent out his first collegiate grand slam to bring his career total to 11 … Johnson is just four home runs away from matching his season-high seven from last season …

HOME. SWEET. HOME.
K-State finished its 2022 home schedule with a record of 21-7, marking the second straight season in which the Cats have reached the 20-win plateau at home ... It was the first time K-State has put together consecutive 20-win home seasons since three straight from 2009-11 ... Over the last two seasons, K-State is 45-14 (.763) - good for the third-best win total and home winning percentage in the Big 12 ... At home, the Wildcat offense hit .303 while slugging .566 with 60 home runs ... K-State averaged 6.9 runs a game on 10.2 hits at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Wildcat bullpen boasted a 3.83 ERA at home, striking out 128 compared to 60 walks ... K-State homered in 24 of 28 home games while 60 of its 82 home runs have come at Tointon Family Stadium.

COACH HUGHES FILE
Pete Hughes grabbed his 100^th victory with K-State on Feb. 18 against in game two against Stephen F. Austin … Hughes is in 26th season and fifth at the helm of K-State baseball … Hughes has compiled a career record of 754-584-3 (.563) as a head coach … His 750 career victories ranks first among active Big 12 head coaches … In five seasons as the head coach of the Wildcats, Hughes has put together a 102-92 (.526) record … He's led the Cats to two straight runs in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship semifinals ... In 2021, K-State turned in a 34-23 mark, its highest win total since posting 45 in 2013 … Three players were selected in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft increasing Hughes' career draft total to 82, including eight while at K-State.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
K-State had a season +22 run differential through four games ... The Wildcats outscored opponents 7-0 in the fourth inning alone and 13-2 from the seventh inning on ... The Cats are 3-0 when hitting a home run and 2-0 when hitting multiple homers ... K-State won four games when one or more errors were committed ...

FROM THE 'PEN
The Cats bullpen has produced a 5.00 ERA after opening weekend with SFA hitting .301 … Blake Corsentino leads with two appearances while Ty Ruhl has pitched a team-high five innings with a team-low 1.80 ERA … Shay Hartis and Corsentino each were rewarded a save … Four pitchers were credited with a victory during the series at Stephen F. Austin … Tyson Neighbors struck out a weekend-high five batters … Thirteen pitchers made their season debuts in Nacogdoches.

PROMISING PROSPECTS
K-State's Nick Goodwin cracked D1Baseball's top 100 collegiate prospects list ahead of the 2023 MLB Draft ... Goodwin came in at No. 77 overall and ranked No. 12 among top 50 shortstops … Cole Johnson came in at No. 109 in the top 150 outfielders' standings … Just 10 student-athletes from the Big 12 were selected in the Top 100 with Brayden Taylor of TCU leading the pack at No. 8 … Redshirt-freshman Jackson Wentworth was selected into D1Baseball's Top 200 starting pitchers list with the righty sitting 185th …

2023 SCHEDULE REVIEW
The Wildcats schedule 56 regular-season games, highlighted by 27 games played inside Tointon Family Stadium … K-State will play in 23 games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago … The 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship will again be held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, May 24 through May 28 …The 2023 NCAA Baseball Tournament begins June 2.

UP NEXT
K-State will compete in the 2023 Karbach Round Rock Classic on Feb. 24-26 in Round Rock, Texas … The Wildcats will face top ranked LSU, Sam Houston, and Iowa in the three-day event.

How to follow the 'Cats: Stay up to date on K-State baseball online at www.kstatesports.com and on the team's social media channels on Twitter and Instagram.

-- www.k-statesports.com --

Kansas State University, the nation's first operational land-grant institution and a Carnegie Foundation Tier One university, is recognized as one of the nation's best colleges with world-class research and academic excellence located in America's No. 1 College Town (Manhattan, KS).

NEW FACES
The 2023 roster is comprised of 19 new faces with 10 transfers and nine freshmen... Four of the Wildcats' 10 transfers come from four-year universities, including three from Power 5 programs with Shay Hartis (Texas Tech), Trae Robertson (Missouri) and Jared Henry (UMass) ... Combined with a nine freshman and three redshirts, 22 players on K-State's 38-man roster have never played a game in a Wildcat uniform ... Additionally, just seven have more than one year of experience.

MLB DRAFT
K-State saw three players taken in the 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, with Dylan Phillips (8th round, Los Angeles Angels), Blake Adams (13th round, Colorado Rockies), and Dominic Johnson (13th round, Detroit Tigers) ... Phillips was the Wildcats fourth Top 10 round draft pick over the last four years ... Dylan Phillips finished his time in Manhattan as the program's all-time career home run leader with 44 – breaking the previous record of 37 by Scott Poepard that had stood since 1997.

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Players Mentioned

Blake Adams

Mason Buss

Blake Corsentino

Andrew Evans

German Fajardo

Nick Goodwin

Shay Hartis

Jared Henry

Cole Johnson

Dominic Johnson

Brendan Jones

Tyson Neighbors

Roberto Pena

Dylan Phillips

Trae Robertson

Ty Ruhl

Jackson Wentworth

Cole Wisenbaker

Kansas State University Athletics