Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, March 17
Waco, TX
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
at
Baylor
Wildcats Set for Big 12 Opener at Baylor
Mar 16, 2023 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State opens Big 12 action this weekend in Waco, Texas when the Wildcats face Baylor on March 17-19 inside Baylor Ballpark. Friday's conference opener is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT followed by games at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
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The Wildcats (12-5) will send left-hander Owen Boerema (2-0) to the mound on Friday to go against the Bears (6-11) Blake Helton (0-2) in Friday's conference opener. Jackson Wentworth will get Saturday's start while German Fajardo will start in the series finale.
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Friday's game marks the 86th meeting between the two Big 12 opponents with Baylor leading all-time series 53-32 and conference series 49-24 since the series start in 1966. K-State holds a current two-game win streak against the Bears after last season's 2-1 home series victory.
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Tickets are available for the Big 12 opener and can be purchased HERE.
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The games will be carried on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with radio coverage available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Live streaming audio is available for all four games at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
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GAME #18
K-STATE (12-5, 0-0 Big 12) at BAYLOR (6-11, 0-0 Big 12)
Friday, March 17 | 6:30 p.m. | Baylor Ballpark (5,000)
Projected Starters: LHP Owen Boerema (2-0) v. RHP Blake Helton (0-2)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online:Â kstatesports.com/watchÂ
Live Stats | Tickets
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GAME #19
K-STATE (12-5, 0-0 Big 12) at BAYLOR (6-11, 0-0 Big 12)
Friday, March 17 | 6:30 p.m. | Baylor Ballpark (5,000)
Projected Starters: RHP Jackson Wentworth (1-1) v. RHP Mason Marriott (0-2)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online:Â kstatesports.com/watchÂ
Live Stats | Tickets
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GAME #20
K-STATE (12-5, 0-0 Big 12) at BAYLOR (6-11, 0-0 Big 12)
Friday, March 17 | 6:30 p.m. | Baylor Ballpark (5,000)
Projected Starters: RHP German Fajardo v. LHP Cam Caley
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online:Â kstatesports.com/watchÂ
Live Stats | Tickets
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A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State opens the 2023 Big 12 schedule this weekend when they face the Baylor Bears in Waco, tExas on March 17-19 … Cats enter the weekend 12-5 overall with a 5-2 record on the road … K-State finished 8-16 in the Big 12 last season … The Wildcats are coming off a 3-0 shutout victory over highly RPI favored Creighton to extend their win streak out to eight … Cats currently have the longest winning streak since March 9-20, 2022 … K-State is slashing .276/.421/.492 including 30 doubles, five triples and 27 home runs with four starters batting over .300 … Nick Goodwin is hitting .328 to lead the pack to go along with eight extra-base hits … The junior shortstop has started in all 17 games with a .973 fielding percentage … Brendan Jones ranks third in the league with 12 stolen bases on the season which ranks 11th in the nation … As a team, the Wildcats are dangerous on the base path with 47 total stolen bases which is the seventh highest among Division I programs and leads the Big 12 … K-State has rolled 14 double plays this season … The Wildcats have a 4.32 team ERA with 165 strikeouts compared to 59 walks to rank second in the league … Fifteen pitchers have made appearances on the mound with Mason Buss and Shay Hartis each posting seven outings while German Fajardo has a team-high five starts… Four players have two victories … Left-hander Owen Boerema will get his fifth start of the season on Friday … The seniors is 2-0 on the year with a team-high 26 strikeouts which ranks third in the Big 12 … Jackson Wentworth (1-1) will start on Saturday while Fajardo (0-1) will get the series finale start …
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SCOUTING BAYLOR
The Bears enter the weekend 6-11 overall and 6-8 when playing at home … Baylor finished 7-17 last season during conference play … The Bears are currently on a one game win streak after shutting out Rice, 6-0, on Tuesday night … Mitch Thompson is in his first season at the helm of the Bears baseball program after spending nine seasons as the head coach of McLennan Community College and previous 18 seasons as an assistant at Baylor … Baylor has a slash line of .236/.349/.373 with 30 doubles, six triples and 12 home runs while scoring 5.2 runs on 7.9 hits per competition … Two players are hitting over .300 led by freshman Kolby Branch … The shortstop is hitting .368 with a team-high 18 RBI and 19 runs on 25 hits … The Bears have a team 6.79 ERA allowing 8.8 runs per game … Relief Hambleton Oliver has two wins to lead the pitching staff that has sent 18 pitchers to the mound … Junior right-hander Adam Muirhead has made a team-high eight appearances … Right-hander Blake Helton will get the start on Friday … The senior right-hander from Austin, Texas has a 7.91 ERA through four games allowing 30 runs (21 earned) with opponents hitting .361 … Mason Marriot (6.11 ERA, 0-2) will start on Saturday while Cam Caley (8.64 ERA, 0-3) will start in the series finale …  Â
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INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday's game marks the 86th meeting between the two Big 12 opponents with Baylor leading all-time series 53-32 and conference series 49-24 since the series start in 1966 … K-State holds a current two-game win streak against the Bears after last season's 2-1 home series victory … The Bears lead 31-10 when playing in Waco … The last K-State series win in Waco came in 2017 (2-1) while the Cats have never swept on the road … K-State is 5-5 in the last 10 meetings including 5-5 in the Hughes era …
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L, 3-23 (7) – May 9, 2021 (Waco)
W, 9-4 – May 27, 2021 (Oklahoma City)
L, 2-4 – May 13, 2022 (Manhattan)
W, 7-5 – May 14, 2022 (Manhattan)
W, 7-5 – May 15, 2022 (Manhattan)
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LAST TIME OUT
K-State baseball recorded its first shutout of the season on Wednesday night after defeating Creighton, 3-0, at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb. … Cole Johnson sent out his fourth home run of the season to give the Wildcats (12-5) the go-ahead lead before they added insurance runs to the board with a two-run triple by Dom Hughes … Four pitchers combined for the midweek shutout with freshman Mason Buss (2-0) receiving his second consecutive victory on the mound …  Buss tossed a one-hitter during his five innings to go along with a season-high seven strikeouts while Tyson Neighbors was credited with his second save of the year … K-State scored three runs with three RBI on just seven hits, no errors and 12 left on base … Buss, Cole Wisenbaker, Ty Ruhl and Tyson Neighbors combined for a three-hitter in the shutout … Dom Hughes led with two RBI followed by Johnson with one … Brady Day was the only Wildcat with a multiple hit game  … Wildcats' staff matched a season-high 14 strikeouts …
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AROUND THE LEAGUE
Texas Tech moved to first in the league standings after defeating UT Arlington, 14-7, on Wednesday night to sit 16-3 overall … Oklahoma State comes in second at 15-3 with a 12-game winning streak which is the longest in the league … West Virginia is third at 12-4 followed by Kansas State (12-5) and Oklahoma (11-6) rounding out the top five … Texas (11-7) is sixth followed by TCU (9-7), Kansas (7-8), and Baylor (6-11) … K-State is one of two teams to have 5+ victories on the road …
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THE LONG BALL
K-State has produced 27 home runs this season which ranks third in the Big 12 and 30th among Division I …  Four players lead the pack with four home runs each … The Cats have produced 80+ home runs the past two seasons … Three Wildcats have hit three grand slams this season with the last coming against Stonehill (March 4) by Cash Rugely … 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 … Eight players are posting a multi-home run season … Twenty-three homers were against right-handed pitchers, 11 were solo shots while 12 came with one-out … The Wildcats were the only team to produce double digit bombs in the opening weekend (10) … 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 …
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ON THE ROAD AGAIN
K-State is 5-5 when playing on the road and 5-2 when playing away ... On the road, the Wildcat offense hits .252 while slugging .442 with 15 home runs ... K-State has averaged 6.8 runs a game on 8.3 hits when on the road  ... The Wildcat bullpen has boasted a 4.76 ERA on the road, striking out 93 compared to 35 walks ... Brendan Jones leads the offense when on the road slashing .371/.511/.457 with seven stole bases while Cole Johnson has a team-high 12 RBI …
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COACH HUGHES FILE
Pete Hughes grabbed his 100th 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 762-589-3 (.564) 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 110-97 (.534) 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.
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A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
K-State has a season +78 run differential through 17 games averaging 9.5 runs on 9.1 hits ... The Wildcats outscored opponents 28-6 in the fourth inning alone and 56-23 from the seventh and on … Cats are 9-1 when leading after the seventh and 1-1 when tied after seven ... K-State is 4-2 when committing no errors in a game … Conversely, K-State has won eight games when one or more errors are committed, 8-3 overall ... The Wildcats are 9-2 when scoring first and 6-2 when scoring in the first inning … K-State has outhit opponents on eight occasions this season and is 4-5 when being outhit …  The Cats are 5-1 when limiting opponents to just 3-5 runs and is 2-3 in one-run games…
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FROM THE 'PEN
The Cats pitching staff has produced a 4.32 ERA which ranks fourth in the Big 12 with outings from 15 different players this season … Four players have earned two victories on the mound while Owen Boerema tossed a team-high 19 1/3 innings this season … Right-hander German Fajardo has made a team-high five starts on the mound this season … Owen Boerema has struck out a team leading 26 batters followed by Tyson Neighbors with 24 … Four different players have earned a save this year led by Neighbors with two …  The Wildcats have struck out 165 batters this season compared to 59 walks, averaging 10 stirkeouts per nine innings which ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 66th nationally …
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UP NEXT
The Wildcats will return home for a non-conference series against St. Thomas (1-9, 0-0 Summit) on March 21-22 before heading back into conference play with a series against the Oklahoma Sooners. The two-game series will be streamed on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app while radio coverage available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Live streaming audio is available for all games at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
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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.
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-- www.k-statesports.com --
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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).
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The Wildcats (12-5) will send left-hander Owen Boerema (2-0) to the mound on Friday to go against the Bears (6-11) Blake Helton (0-2) in Friday's conference opener. Jackson Wentworth will get Saturday's start while German Fajardo will start in the series finale.
Â
Friday's game marks the 86th meeting between the two Big 12 opponents with Baylor leading all-time series 53-32 and conference series 49-24 since the series start in 1966. K-State holds a current two-game win streak against the Bears after last season's 2-1 home series victory.
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Tickets are available for the Big 12 opener and can be purchased HERE.
Â
The games will be carried on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with radio coverage available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Live streaming audio is available for all four games at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
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GAME #18
K-STATE (12-5, 0-0 Big 12) at BAYLOR (6-11, 0-0 Big 12)
Friday, March 17 | 6:30 p.m. | Baylor Ballpark (5,000)
Projected Starters: LHP Owen Boerema (2-0) v. RHP Blake Helton (0-2)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online:Â kstatesports.com/watchÂ
Live Stats | Tickets
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GAME #19
K-STATE (12-5, 0-0 Big 12) at BAYLOR (6-11, 0-0 Big 12)
Friday, March 17 | 6:30 p.m. | Baylor Ballpark (5,000)
Projected Starters: RHP Jackson Wentworth (1-1) v. RHP Mason Marriott (0-2)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online:Â kstatesports.com/watchÂ
Live Stats | Tickets
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GAME #20
K-STATE (12-5, 0-0 Big 12) at BAYLOR (6-11, 0-0 Big 12)
Friday, March 17 | 6:30 p.m. | Baylor Ballpark (5,000)
Projected Starters: RHP German Fajardo v. LHP Cam Caley
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online:Â kstatesports.com/watchÂ
Live Stats | Tickets
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A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State opens the 2023 Big 12 schedule this weekend when they face the Baylor Bears in Waco, tExas on March 17-19 … Cats enter the weekend 12-5 overall with a 5-2 record on the road … K-State finished 8-16 in the Big 12 last season … The Wildcats are coming off a 3-0 shutout victory over highly RPI favored Creighton to extend their win streak out to eight … Cats currently have the longest winning streak since March 9-20, 2022 … K-State is slashing .276/.421/.492 including 30 doubles, five triples and 27 home runs with four starters batting over .300 … Nick Goodwin is hitting .328 to lead the pack to go along with eight extra-base hits … The junior shortstop has started in all 17 games with a .973 fielding percentage … Brendan Jones ranks third in the league with 12 stolen bases on the season which ranks 11th in the nation … As a team, the Wildcats are dangerous on the base path with 47 total stolen bases which is the seventh highest among Division I programs and leads the Big 12 … K-State has rolled 14 double plays this season … The Wildcats have a 4.32 team ERA with 165 strikeouts compared to 59 walks to rank second in the league … Fifteen pitchers have made appearances on the mound with Mason Buss and Shay Hartis each posting seven outings while German Fajardo has a team-high five starts… Four players have two victories … Left-hander Owen Boerema will get his fifth start of the season on Friday … The seniors is 2-0 on the year with a team-high 26 strikeouts which ranks third in the Big 12 … Jackson Wentworth (1-1) will start on Saturday while Fajardo (0-1) will get the series finale start …
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SCOUTING BAYLOR
The Bears enter the weekend 6-11 overall and 6-8 when playing at home … Baylor finished 7-17 last season during conference play … The Bears are currently on a one game win streak after shutting out Rice, 6-0, on Tuesday night … Mitch Thompson is in his first season at the helm of the Bears baseball program after spending nine seasons as the head coach of McLennan Community College and previous 18 seasons as an assistant at Baylor … Baylor has a slash line of .236/.349/.373 with 30 doubles, six triples and 12 home runs while scoring 5.2 runs on 7.9 hits per competition … Two players are hitting over .300 led by freshman Kolby Branch … The shortstop is hitting .368 with a team-high 18 RBI and 19 runs on 25 hits … The Bears have a team 6.79 ERA allowing 8.8 runs per game … Relief Hambleton Oliver has two wins to lead the pitching staff that has sent 18 pitchers to the mound … Junior right-hander Adam Muirhead has made a team-high eight appearances … Right-hander Blake Helton will get the start on Friday … The senior right-hander from Austin, Texas has a 7.91 ERA through four games allowing 30 runs (21 earned) with opponents hitting .361 … Mason Marriot (6.11 ERA, 0-2) will start on Saturday while Cam Caley (8.64 ERA, 0-3) will start in the series finale …  Â
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INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday's game marks the 86th meeting between the two Big 12 opponents with Baylor leading all-time series 53-32 and conference series 49-24 since the series start in 1966 … K-State holds a current two-game win streak against the Bears after last season's 2-1 home series victory … The Bears lead 31-10 when playing in Waco … The last K-State series win in Waco came in 2017 (2-1) while the Cats have never swept on the road … K-State is 5-5 in the last 10 meetings including 5-5 in the Hughes era …
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L, 3-23 (7) – May 9, 2021 (Waco)
W, 9-4 – May 27, 2021 (Oklahoma City)
L, 2-4 – May 13, 2022 (Manhattan)
W, 7-5 – May 14, 2022 (Manhattan)
W, 7-5 – May 15, 2022 (Manhattan)
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LAST TIME OUT
K-State baseball recorded its first shutout of the season on Wednesday night after defeating Creighton, 3-0, at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb. … Cole Johnson sent out his fourth home run of the season to give the Wildcats (12-5) the go-ahead lead before they added insurance runs to the board with a two-run triple by Dom Hughes … Four pitchers combined for the midweek shutout with freshman Mason Buss (2-0) receiving his second consecutive victory on the mound …  Buss tossed a one-hitter during his five innings to go along with a season-high seven strikeouts while Tyson Neighbors was credited with his second save of the year … K-State scored three runs with three RBI on just seven hits, no errors and 12 left on base … Buss, Cole Wisenbaker, Ty Ruhl and Tyson Neighbors combined for a three-hitter in the shutout … Dom Hughes led with two RBI followed by Johnson with one … Brady Day was the only Wildcat with a multiple hit game  … Wildcats' staff matched a season-high 14 strikeouts …
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AROUND THE LEAGUE
Texas Tech moved to first in the league standings after defeating UT Arlington, 14-7, on Wednesday night to sit 16-3 overall … Oklahoma State comes in second at 15-3 with a 12-game winning streak which is the longest in the league … West Virginia is third at 12-4 followed by Kansas State (12-5) and Oklahoma (11-6) rounding out the top five … Texas (11-7) is sixth followed by TCU (9-7), Kansas (7-8), and Baylor (6-11) … K-State is one of two teams to have 5+ victories on the road …
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THE LONG BALL
K-State has produced 27 home runs this season which ranks third in the Big 12 and 30th among Division I …  Four players lead the pack with four home runs each … The Cats have produced 80+ home runs the past two seasons … Three Wildcats have hit three grand slams this season with the last coming against Stonehill (March 4) by Cash Rugely … 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 … Eight players are posting a multi-home run season … Twenty-three homers were against right-handed pitchers, 11 were solo shots while 12 came with one-out … The Wildcats were the only team to produce double digit bombs in the opening weekend (10) … 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 …
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ON THE ROAD AGAIN
K-State is 5-5 when playing on the road and 5-2 when playing away ... On the road, the Wildcat offense hits .252 while slugging .442 with 15 home runs ... K-State has averaged 6.8 runs a game on 8.3 hits when on the road  ... The Wildcat bullpen has boasted a 4.76 ERA on the road, striking out 93 compared to 35 walks ... Brendan Jones leads the offense when on the road slashing .371/.511/.457 with seven stole bases while Cole Johnson has a team-high 12 RBI …
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COACH HUGHES FILE
Pete Hughes grabbed his 100th 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 762-589-3 (.564) 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 110-97 (.534) 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.
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A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
K-State has a season +78 run differential through 17 games averaging 9.5 runs on 9.1 hits ... The Wildcats outscored opponents 28-6 in the fourth inning alone and 56-23 from the seventh and on … Cats are 9-1 when leading after the seventh and 1-1 when tied after seven ... K-State is 4-2 when committing no errors in a game … Conversely, K-State has won eight games when one or more errors are committed, 8-3 overall ... The Wildcats are 9-2 when scoring first and 6-2 when scoring in the first inning … K-State has outhit opponents on eight occasions this season and is 4-5 when being outhit …  The Cats are 5-1 when limiting opponents to just 3-5 runs and is 2-3 in one-run games…
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FROM THE 'PEN
The Cats pitching staff has produced a 4.32 ERA which ranks fourth in the Big 12 with outings from 15 different players this season … Four players have earned two victories on the mound while Owen Boerema tossed a team-high 19 1/3 innings this season … Right-hander German Fajardo has made a team-high five starts on the mound this season … Owen Boerema has struck out a team leading 26 batters followed by Tyson Neighbors with 24 … Four different players have earned a save this year led by Neighbors with two …  The Wildcats have struck out 165 batters this season compared to 59 walks, averaging 10 stirkeouts per nine innings which ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 66th nationally …
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UP NEXT
The Wildcats will return home for a non-conference series against St. Thomas (1-9, 0-0 Summit) on March 21-22 before heading back into conference play with a series against the Oklahoma Sooners. The two-game series will be streamed on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app while radio coverage available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Live streaming audio is available for all games at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
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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.
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-- www.k-statesports.com --
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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).
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