Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, February 24
Round Rock, TX
2 p.m.
Kansas State University
4-2
3
vs
7
LSU
5-0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Kansas State
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
3
4
0
LSU
0
1
0
0
0
2
4
0
X
7
10
1
K-State Falls to No. 1 LSU in Round Rock Classic Opener
Feb 24, 2023 | Baseball
ROUND ROCK, Texas – K-State was limited to just four hits on Friday afternoon as the Wildcats dropped the Round Rock Classic opener, 7-3, to No. 1 LSU at Dell Diamond.
"It was a really good college baseball game," stated head coach Pete Hughes. "There was two different styles of pitching but were also two very effective styles for both teams.
Despite holding the nation's top ranked team to one run through five frames, the Wildcats dropped their second straight game as the Tigers avoided the upset with the help of an explosive seventh inning. K-State moves to 4-2 overall while LSU remains undefeated at 5-0.
"I'm proud of how our guys came out and put some pressure on them early. It was a really disappointing loss. I thought the score wasn't indictive of the way the game was played."
"We had a great starting pitching performance by Owen. He pitched well enough for us to win a game and it's always unfortunate when that doesn't happen and you waste a really good start."
HOW IT HAPPENED
K-State opened scoring in the first game of the Round Rock Classic with an RBI single through the left side to lead 1-0 in the first. Brendan Jones led off the game with a single into center before stealing his fourth base of the season to move into scoring position.
Brady Day worked the count fighting off nine pitches until the fourth ball was called bringing Nick Goodwin to the plate. The junior shortstop moved the runners to second and third with a deep fly ball into center to put pressure on right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes. With one out, Kaelen Culpepper connected on a 2-1 pitch to bring in the first run of the day.
Gavin Dugas found the grass in center to wind up on base but was left to sit on first as Owen Boerema forced three straight fly outs to shut down the threat 1-2-3.
After a scoreless top half, LSU leveled the score with three consecutive singles to make it 1-1 in the second.
It took just three pitches for Boerema to record his final strikeout before right-hander Ty Ruhl entered the game. K-State quickly recorded the second out after the pitching change when Raphael Pelletier gunned down the runner at second before Ruhl handled the out at the plate to keep it a 1-all game.
Both teams remained scoreless until the sixth frame when LSU capitalized on a balk call followed by a wild pitch to take the lead.
K-State snapped the five-inning drought with a solo home run by Roberto Pena to bridge the gap to one, 3-2, in the seventh. With two outs, the senior from Caracas, Venezuela belted a 1-1 pitch deep and out into left center for his third home run of the season.
LSU immediately responded in the second half of the inning, plating four runs on four hits.
Goodwin reached base for the first time of the day with single into left center before coming around on a fielding error at second to cut the margin, 7-3. The Cats were unable to produce the tying runs to give LSU its fifth straight win.
Skenes collected his second victory on the mound while Ty Floyd recorded the save after coming in in the seventh inning. Ruhl (1-1) was charged with the loss after allowing six earned runs through two innings.
INSIDE THE BOX
The Wildcats will return to Dell Diamond on Saturday with a matchup against Sam Houston (3-2) at 4 p.m. in game two of the Karbach Round Rock Classic. Tomorrow's game will be streamed exclusively on D1Baseball.com (paid) while fans can tune-in to a free live audio at kstatesports.com/watch.
"It was a really good college baseball game," stated head coach Pete Hughes. "There was two different styles of pitching but were also two very effective styles for both teams.
Despite holding the nation's top ranked team to one run through five frames, the Wildcats dropped their second straight game as the Tigers avoided the upset with the help of an explosive seventh inning. K-State moves to 4-2 overall while LSU remains undefeated at 5-0.
"I'm proud of how our guys came out and put some pressure on them early. It was a really disappointing loss. I thought the score wasn't indictive of the way the game was played."
"We had a great starting pitching performance by Owen. He pitched well enough for us to win a game and it's always unfortunate when that doesn't happen and you waste a really good start."
HOW IT HAPPENED
K-State opened scoring in the first game of the Round Rock Classic with an RBI single through the left side to lead 1-0 in the first. Brendan Jones led off the game with a single into center before stealing his fourth base of the season to move into scoring position.
Brady Day worked the count fighting off nine pitches until the fourth ball was called bringing Nick Goodwin to the plate. The junior shortstop moved the runners to second and third with a deep fly ball into center to put pressure on right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes. With one out, Kaelen Culpepper connected on a 2-1 pitch to bring in the first run of the day.
Gavin Dugas found the grass in center to wind up on base but was left to sit on first as Owen Boerema forced three straight fly outs to shut down the threat 1-2-3.
After a scoreless top half, LSU leveled the score with three consecutive singles to make it 1-1 in the second.
It took just three pitches for Boerema to record his final strikeout before right-hander Ty Ruhl entered the game. K-State quickly recorded the second out after the pitching change when Raphael Pelletier gunned down the runner at second before Ruhl handled the out at the plate to keep it a 1-all game.
Both teams remained scoreless until the sixth frame when LSU capitalized on a balk call followed by a wild pitch to take the lead.
K-State snapped the five-inning drought with a solo home run by Roberto Pena to bridge the gap to one, 3-2, in the seventh. With two outs, the senior from Caracas, Venezuela belted a 1-1 pitch deep and out into left center for his third home run of the season.
LSU immediately responded in the second half of the inning, plating four runs on four hits.
Goodwin reached base for the first time of the day with single into left center before coming around on a fielding error at second to cut the margin, 7-3. The Cats were unable to produce the tying runs to give LSU its fifth straight win.
Skenes collected his second victory on the mound while Ty Floyd recorded the save after coming in in the seventh inning. Ruhl (1-1) was charged with the loss after allowing six earned runs through two innings.
INSIDE THE BOX
- K-State was limited to three runs on just four hits with two RBI and four left on base
- Jones went 1-for-3 with a leadoff single and a walk, extending his hit streak to five
- Pena and Culpepper each registered an RBI in the loss
- Friday's game marks the second game of the season where an error was not committed by the Wildcat defense
- Owen Boerema threw a season-high 4.1 innings in his second start of the season with one earned run on four hits and a season-high seven strikeouts.
- The Tigers error in the ninth marks their first error of the season
- The Wildcats four hits marks the third time this season they had under 10 hits in a game, the lowest of the year
- Nick Goodwin stretched his on-base-streak to 10 and Culpepper to 11 with both streaks going back to last season
- LSU earns the first neutral game win in the all-time series, Tigers lead 12-8-1 since start in 1968
The Wildcats will return to Dell Diamond on Saturday with a matchup against Sam Houston (3-2) at 4 p.m. in game two of the Karbach Round Rock Classic. Tomorrow's game will be streamed exclusively on D1Baseball.com (paid) while fans can tune-in to a free live audio at kstatesports.com/watch.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Skenes (2-0)
L: Ruhl, Ty (1-1)
S: Floyd (1)
Batting:
HR: Pena, Roberto 1
RBI: Culpepper, Kaelen 1 ; Pena, Roberto 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Brendan 1 ; Goodwin, Nick 1 ; Pena, Roberto 1
SB: Jones, Brendan 1 ; Culpepper, Kaelen 1
Batting:
2B: Jones 1
RBI: Dugas 1 ; Crews 1 ; Jones 2 ; Morgan 1 ; Neal 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dugas 1 ; Crews 2 ; White 1 ; Morgan 1 ; Jobert 1 ; Nippolt 1
CS: Nippolt 1
HBP: Nippolt 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballINF
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