Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, March 4
Manhattan, KS
12 p.m.
Kansas State University
6-5
25
vs
3
Stonehill
0-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Stonehill
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
7
1
K-State
0
0
3
9
2
0
0
11
X
25
17
0
Cats Rout Skyhawks, 25-3
Mar 04, 2023 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Ten different players drove in runs on Saturday afternoon en route to K-State's 25-3 victory over Stonehill at Tointon Family Stadium. With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 6-5 overall and 2-0 at home while Stonehill fell to 0-5.
K-State scored multiple runs in four innings, highlighted by a nine-run fourth that brought 14 batters to the plate before the Cats plated 11 runs in the eighth to mark its largest win margin of the season.
"Sometimes when those games get away from everyone, you still have to have quality at bats, and throw quality pitches," said head coach Pete Hughes. "It's a great opportunity for those bullpen guys to audition themselves and to create a bigger role for themselves in our program. Those games are critical."
The Cats nine runs in the fourth greatly supported starting pitcher Jackson Wentworth. The right-hander from Urbandale, Iowa earned his first victory on the mound and allowed just two earned runs in his five-inning outing alongside a career-high six strikeouts.
"At the end of the year, these games help us with the depth of our program and depth of our bench. I saw a lot of kids who got a chance today do a great job," said Hughes.
"It's a good day to build and get our program where it needs to be."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Skyhawks pushed a run across the plate to open the first inning as Conor Kiely led off with a double out to right center before coming around on a single past the mound.
Roberto Pena and Brady Day snapped the no hitter with back-to-back singles into center but Stonehill's Brendan Kelly struck out the final batter to end the threat.
A sac fly out to left doubled the Skyhawks lead in the third before the Cats leveled the playing field. With runners on first and second, junior shortstop Nick Goodwin tripled into left center before coming home on a grounder to second to take the 3-2 lead.
K-State took control of the game in the fourth frame with nine runs on six hits. Pena led off the explosive inning with a triple into right center followed by two consecutive hits from Day and Carson Queck to push the lead out to three. The bats stayed alive as seven runs crossed the plate to make it 12-2 ball game led by three RBI from Cole Johnson.
The offense continued with two runs in the fifth with Orlando Salinas, Jr. and Pena each driving in a run to increase the K-State's edge to 14-2 after five innings.
Stonehill held K-State over two straight frames before the Cats registered the biggest inning of the season with 11 runs. K-State loaded the bases on three occasions before pinch hitter Cash Rugely approached the plate. The senior unloaded on a 1-0 pitch to clear the bases for his first career grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to complete the Wildcats scoring.
Corey Cater, Jared Henry, Kyler Heyne and Trae Robertson each saw action on the mound in relief of Wentworth. Cater and Heyne each threw a no-hit inning while Henry struck out two in his first outing of the season.
INSIDE THE BOX
K-State continues the home-opening weekend on Sunday with game two against the Army Black Knights (5-3) at 4 p.m. CT. Tomorrow's game can be seen on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with radio coverage on KMAN (93.3 FM/1350AM). A free live audio is available at kstatesports.com/watch.
K-State scored multiple runs in four innings, highlighted by a nine-run fourth that brought 14 batters to the plate before the Cats plated 11 runs in the eighth to mark its largest win margin of the season.
"Sometimes when those games get away from everyone, you still have to have quality at bats, and throw quality pitches," said head coach Pete Hughes. "It's a great opportunity for those bullpen guys to audition themselves and to create a bigger role for themselves in our program. Those games are critical."
The Cats nine runs in the fourth greatly supported starting pitcher Jackson Wentworth. The right-hander from Urbandale, Iowa earned his first victory on the mound and allowed just two earned runs in his five-inning outing alongside a career-high six strikeouts.
"At the end of the year, these games help us with the depth of our program and depth of our bench. I saw a lot of kids who got a chance today do a great job," said Hughes.
"It's a good day to build and get our program where it needs to be."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Skyhawks pushed a run across the plate to open the first inning as Conor Kiely led off with a double out to right center before coming around on a single past the mound.
Roberto Pena and Brady Day snapped the no hitter with back-to-back singles into center but Stonehill's Brendan Kelly struck out the final batter to end the threat.
A sac fly out to left doubled the Skyhawks lead in the third before the Cats leveled the playing field. With runners on first and second, junior shortstop Nick Goodwin tripled into left center before coming home on a grounder to second to take the 3-2 lead.
K-State took control of the game in the fourth frame with nine runs on six hits. Pena led off the explosive inning with a triple into right center followed by two consecutive hits from Day and Carson Queck to push the lead out to three. The bats stayed alive as seven runs crossed the plate to make it 12-2 ball game led by three RBI from Cole Johnson.
The offense continued with two runs in the fifth with Orlando Salinas, Jr. and Pena each driving in a run to increase the K-State's edge to 14-2 after five innings.
Stonehill held K-State over two straight frames before the Cats registered the biggest inning of the season with 11 runs. K-State loaded the bases on three occasions before pinch hitter Cash Rugely approached the plate. The senior unloaded on a 1-0 pitch to clear the bases for his first career grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to complete the Wildcats scoring.
Corey Cater, Jared Henry, Kyler Heyne and Trae Robertson each saw action on the mound in relief of Wentworth. Cater and Heyne each threw a no-hit inning while Henry struck out two in his first outing of the season.
INSIDE THE BOX
- K-State scored 25 runs (22 earned) on 17 hits with 25 RBI and five left on base
- Nine Wildcats recorded hits in the victory with five posting a multi-hit game
- Ten players drove in a run with nine registering multiple RBI; Rugely had a game-high four
- Roberto Pena went 4-for-4 at the plate to lead the Cats offense
- Nick Goodwin led with four runs to go along with three RBI and one walk
- K-State's pitching staff limited Stonehill to three earned runs on seven hits with four walks, 14 strikeouts and one hit by pitch
- Dom Hughes hit his first home run of the season
- Rugely hit his first career grand slam and the team's third slam of the season
- K-State scored 25 runs for the first time since March 2, 2010, against Western Michigan (27-8)
- Saturday's win was the largest win margin under Pete Hughes
- Cats had a season-high 17 hits; fourth time hitting double figures
- The Wildcats 11 runs in the eighth was the highest scoring inning of the season; first 10+ run inning since April 22, 2022 against UC Irvine (13-8)
- Pena is the first Wildcat to have four hits in a single-game since Cole Johnson on March 20, 2022 against Northern Colorado
- K-State takes the win in the first meeting between the two schools
K-State continues the home-opening weekend on Sunday with game two against the Army Black Knights (5-3) at 4 p.m. CT. Tomorrow's game can be seen on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with radio coverage on KMAN (93.3 FM/1350AM). A free live audio is available at kstatesports.com/watch.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wentworth, Jackson (1-1)
L: Brendan Kell (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Conor Kiely 1
HR: Ryan Flahert 1
RBI: Jack Marshal 1 ; Chris Robert 1 ; Ryan Flahert 1
SH: Sam Parks 1
SF: Chris Robert 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Conor Kiely 2 ; Ryan Flahert 1
HBP: Sam Parks 1
Batting:
2B: Knight, Lawson 1 ; Queck, Carson 1 ; Day, Brady 2 ; Johnson, Cole 1
3B: Goodwin, Nick 1 ; Pena, Roberto 1
HR: Hughes, Dom 1 ; Rugely, Cash 1
RBI: Knight, Lawson 2 ; Hughes, Dom 3 ; Goodwin, Nick 3 ; Queck, Carson 2 ; Salinas, Jr., Orlando 2 ; Pena, Roberto 2 ; Day, Brady 3 ; Johnson, Cole 3 ; Rugely, Cash 4 ; Lobliner, Jayden 1
SF: Day, Brady 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Brendan 2 ; Knight, Lawson 1 ; Hughes, Dom 3 ; Goodwin, Nick 4 ; Queck, Carson 3 ; Salinas, Jr., Orlando 1 ; Pena, Roberto 2 ; Lodice, Kyan 2 ; Day, Brady 3 ; Johnson, Cole 2 ; Rugely, Cash 1 ; Lobliner, Jayden 1
SB: Jones, Brendan 2 ; Johnson, Cole 1 ; Lobliner, Jayden 1
HBP: Goodwin, Nick 2 ; Johnson, Cole 1 ; Lobliner, Jayden 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
4
RBI
2
AB
5
R
3
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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