K-State Wraps Up Non-Conference Action Against SEMO

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State begins the final stretch of the regular season at Tointon Family Stadium this weekend, as the Wildcats host Southeast Missouri State in a three-game non-conference series that starts on Friday at 6 p.m.

The second game of the series is slated for 4 p.m. Saturday with the series wrapping up on Sunday at 1 p.m.

SEMO enters the weekend with a 26-20 overall record and 14-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Friday marks just the second meeting between the two schools with the Redhawks taking a 9-5 in Manhattan in 2003.

Senior Owen Boerema (5-1) will start on the hill Friday against the Redhawks left-hander Noah Niznik (6-3). German Fajardo (2-2) will get his 13^th start of the season when he takes the mound on Saturday.

The entire series will be streamed 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 at kstatesports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

GAME #47
K-STATE (28-18, 11-7 Big 12) vs. SEMO (26-20, 14-4 Ohio Valley)
Friday, May 5 | 6 p.m. | Tointon Family Stadium (2,331)
Projected Starters: LHP Owen Boerema vs. Noah Niznik
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch
Live Stats  | Tickets

GAME #48
K-STATE (28-18, 11-7 Big 12) vs. SEMO (26-20, 14-4 Ohio Valley)
Saturday, May 6 | 4 p.m. | Tointon Family Stadium (2,331)
Projected Starters: RHP German Fajardo vs. Esteban Hernandez
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch
Live Stats  | Tickets

GAME #49
K-STATE (28-18, 11-7 Big 12) vs. SEMO (26-20, 14-4 Ohio Valley)
Sunday, May 7 | 1 p.m. | Tointon Family Stadium (2,331)
Projected Starters: TBD vs. Haden Dow
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch
Live Stats  | Tickets

A LOOK AT K-STATE
The Wildcats enters the week 28-18 overall and 15-6 when playing at home … K-State is slashing .268/.396/.447 as a team which includes 72 doubles, nine triples and 61 home runs with two starters hitting over .300 … K-State ranks third in the nation in walks with 292 which ranks ninth in the school all-time leaderboard … The Cats rank 16^th in the nation in sacrifice flies (27) and 13^th in stolen bases (97) … Brady Day leads the offense hitting .349 followed by Cash Rugely at .306 with the duo each combining for 81 walks, 52 RBI and 70 runs scored … Roberto Pena has launched 12 homers this season followed by Nick Goodwin with 10 while they rank second and seventh in RBI among the Big 12 combing for 98 this season … Goodwin and Brendan Jones have started in all 46 games for K-State at shortstop and center field… Jones ranks second in the league with 24 stolen bases which ranks 25^th in the nation … Goodwin is fourth in the nation in sac flies with seven … The Wildcats have a 4.88 team ERA with 409 strikeouts compared to 170 walks … K-State ranks second In the league with a 2.41 strikeout-to-walk ratio while also ranking second in walks per nine innings at 3.82 and total walks allowed … Sixteen pitchers have made appearances on the mound with German Fajardo making a team-high 12 starts … Left-hander Owen Boerema ranks second in the league with 76 total strikeouts while the Minnesota product is just one-of-five pitchers to strikeout 12+ in a single game … Pete Hughes is in his fifth season at the helm and has compiled an 126-110 (.534) record during his time with Wildcats … Hughes is 778-602-3 (.564) in his 26 years as a head coach …

SCOUTING SEMO
SEMO comes to Manhattan with an overall 26-20 record with the Redhawks posting an 8-14 record on the road … Andy Sawyers is in his seventh season at the helm of the Redhawks baseball program boasting a record of 181-160 (.531) … SEMO is slashing .275/.384/.442 averaging 7.1 runs a game on 9.1 hits … The Redhawks have totaled 137 extra-base hits including 54 homers … Five starters are hitting over .300 led by Jevon Mason … The senior outfielder is hitting .343 on the year with 35 RBI and 51 runs scored … Eleven Redhawks have sent one out of the park this season led by Josh Cameron Josh with 16 to go along with a team-high .697 slugging-percentage … On the mound, SEMO has a 5.14 team ERA with opponents hitting .258 with a 2.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio … Left-hander Noah Niznik has earned six victories on the mound this year over 11 starts and a team-high 74 strikeouts … Reliever Logan Katen has made18 appearances on the hill followed by Kyle Miller with 17 with the duo combining for a 2-3 record …

TOINTON FAMILY STADIUM
The home of K-State baseball was rededicated in 2001 before its renovation and expansion debut in 2020 … The stadium is named in honor of Bob and Betty Tointon … K-State baseball is 386-209 (.674) when playing at home … The Wildcats are 79-33 (.705) at home under Hughes and 61-20 (.753) since 2021 … K-State had a pair of sellout crowds against Texas Tech … The Cats had 5,355 total fans in attendance during opening weekend with a season-high 2,247 against Army (March 5) … Tointon's largest crowd was on March 30, 2010 against Wichita State with 4,745 in attendance …

HOME. SWEET. HOME.
K-State is 15-6 when playing at Tointon this season ... Over the last three seasons, K-State has compiled an overall home record of 61-20 (.753) ... At home, the Wildcat offense is hitting .274 while slugging .465 with 29 home runs ... K-State averages 8.3 runs a game on 8.9 hits when playing at Tointon Family Stadium ... The Wildcat bullpen has boasted a 4.23 ERA at home with opponents hitting .253 … The Cats have struck out 182 compared to 73 walks for a 2.49 strikeout-to-walk ratio ... K-State has homered in 15 of the 21 games played at home with 29 of the 61 total home runs coming at Tointon … Four Cats are hitting over .300 at home led by Cash Rugely … The senior leads the pack at home with a .387 batting average while Roberto Pena has a team-high .710 slug percentage… Pena has recorded 14 extra base hits at home with six home runs … Owen Boerema and Tyson Neighbors have picked up three of the victories on the mound at Tointon followed by Mason Buss and Shay Hartis each with two …

AROUND THE LEAGUE
The West Virginia Mountaineers (34-11) lead the league with an 11-4 record followed by Oklahoma State (30-14, 11-7) and K-State (28-18, 11-7) tied for second … Texas (30-16, 10-7) ranks fourth followed by Texas Tech (30-15, 9-9), Oklahoma (25-20, 9-9), TCU (25-20, 7-10), Kansas (21-24, 6-12), and Baylor (16-30, 6-15) … The Cats are one of just two teams with double figure wins on the road with 13 while WVU leads with 16 …

THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
The 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship will again be held at the home of the Texas Rangers, Globe Life Field, for the second straight season in Arlington, Texas, May 24 through May 28 … All-tournament tickets for the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas are on sale at GlobeLifeField.com/Big12 … The 2023 NCAA Baseball Tournament begins June 2.

A SEASON OF FIRSTS
K-State matched a program record 13 wins on the road after defeating UC Irvine … The Cats last won 13 road games in 2013 … The Wildcats' Dillons Sunflower Showdown series sweep was the first road sweep over KU since 2013 … The 2023 team is the fastest team to nine conference wins in program history … Fastest team to 24 overall wins since 2013 … K-State completed its first sweep over Oklahoma at home since 1990 … The sweep over the Sooners marked the first Big 12 series sweep since 2013 … K-State was the first member of the Big 12 to reach nine conference victories this season … First time in 123-years of K-State baseball history the Wildcats led off the season with a four-game road series sweep …

CRACKIN' THE POLLS
K-State was ranked 22^nd in the Collegiate Baseball's Top 30 poll on Monday morning marking the first appearance in a national poll since 2014 … The Cats are receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) …

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Right-handed closer Tyson Neighbors has been dominate on the mound for the Cats this season, totaling eight saves and a 4-1 record … The sophomore ties 10^th all-time in K-State history with eight career saves and leads the Big 12 in the category … In the series opener against Texas Tech, Neighbors broke the school's TrackMan-era pitch velocity record at 99 mph … Neighbors was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List …

BRING OUT THE BROOMS
K-State has swept four three-plus game series this season including two Big 12 foes which marks the first since 2013 … The Cats are 13-0 in the four series and have outscored opponents 144-72 (+72) … The Wildcats plated 21 runs in the series finale against the KU Jayhawks in the highest-scoring game in series history to complete the Showdown sweep … K-State is the only program in the Big 12 to have two conference sweeps this season …

KEEP AN EYE ON 25
Junior Nick Goodwin was named to the 2023 College Baseball Foundation Brooks Wallace Award Watch List … The award honors the nation's top shortstop and will be presented by the College Baseball Foundation later this year ... It is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who played for the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980 … Goodwin, a junior from Overland Park, Kan., ranks fifth in the nation with seven sacrifice flies while ranking seveneth in the league with 46 RBI … At the plate, the Overland Park native has a slash line of .289/.409/.520 to go with six doubles, two triples, and 10 homers … Goodwin hit his 31^st career home runs in the Cats victory over UC Irvine to rank fifth overall in the K-State all-time leaderboard … He was one of seven shortstops from the Big 12 represented on the watch list …

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Raphael Pelletier continues to be a threat behind the plate as the redshirt-sophomore catcher from Mascouche, Quebec, Canada has thrown out a league-high 15 runners this season after tossing out a pair of runners in the series against UC Irvine… As a team, K-State is second in the league in caught stealing with 23 runners thrown out while having the lowest stolen base attempt percentage at .425 …

WALK THE WALK
The Cats rank third in the nation in walks with 292, averaging 6.3 per contest … Brady Day and Cash Rugely rank 20^th and 26^th in the nation in walks … K-State has registered double figure walks in eight games this season … The Cats had 16 walks against Youngstown State (March 10) which was nine short of matching the Division I all-time record … K-States' 292 walks ranks ninth in the all-time program single-season records … The Wildcats all-time single-season walks record was set in 1995 with 382 …

GOTTA BE QUICKER THAN THAT
K-State has caused trouble on the base path for opponents, stealing a 97 bases which ranks 13^th in all Division I and second in the Big 12 while sitting 21st with 2.11 stolen bases per game … Brendan Jones has been the speedster for the Cats lineup with 24 stolen bases which is second in the Big 12 and 25^th among all Division I players … The Cats nearly matched the program record with 11 stolen bases against Youngstown State (March 10) and were just one base shy of matching the record … The Cats 90 stolen bases surpasses the 2022 season total by 48 … The K-State single-season record is 149 set in 2009 thru 62 games …

THE LONG BALL
K-State has launched 61 balls out of the park this season which ranks third in the Big 12 … Eleven players have recorded multiple homers this season led by Roberto Pena with 12 … Nick Goodwin leads the current career leaderboard with 31 which ranks fifth on the all-time leaderboard … Four players have hit multiple homers in a single game with Kaelen Culpepper, Cole Johnson, Orlando Salinas, Jr., and Pena … Brendan Jones hit the Cats only game leadoff home run in the series opener against the West Virginia … K-State hit back-to-back home runs for the third time this season against Wichita State by Culpepper and Pena … Four Wildcats have hit grand slams this season with the last coming from Kyan Lodice against Kansas (April 16) … Johnson and 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 … Just 10 homers have been against left-handed pitchers, 29 are solo shots while 16 have come with two outs … 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 No. 24 West Virginia marking the fourth time in the Hughes era, and second this season … The five home runs were just short two of matching a program record seven …

LAST TIME OUT
K-State was shut out for the first time of the season as the Cats dropped a 1-0 decision to Wichita State on Tuesday night … The Shockers claimed the season series over the Cats, 2-0 … K-State was held to five hits with seven left on base … Four Cats recorded a hit against the Shockers … Nick Goodwin led the offense going 2-for-3 with a walk and reached in three straight plate appearances … Mason Buss (3-2) received the loss allowing the one run during his four innings … The bullpen combined for four strikeouts and five walks … Blake Corsentino struck out a game-high three … K-State moved to 13-9 in true road games … Cash Rugely extended his on-base streak to 28 straight games followed by Brady Day (26) and Raphael Pelletier (22) … Cats are 44-58 in the all-time series against the Shockers …

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
K-State has a season +87 run differential through 46 games averaging 7.4 runs on 8.9 hits ... The Wildcats have outscored opponents 50-26 in the second inning alone and 120-55 (+65) from the seventh and on … Cats are 19-3 when leading after the sixth and 4-0 when tied after six ... K-State is 14-11 when committing no errors in a game … Conversely, K-State has won 14 games when one or more errors are committed, 14-7 overall ... The Wildcats are 20-6 when scoring first and 8-7 when scoring in the first inning … K-State has outhit opponents in 23 contests this season and is 5-18 when being outhit … The Cats are 19-4 when limiting opponents to five or less runs and are 7-6 in one-run games… K-State is 22-11 when playing afternoon games and 6-7 when playing under the lights … The Cats have won 22 games against right-handed starters while going 6-6 against lefties …

FROM THE 'PEN
Under the guidance pitching coach Rudy Darrow, the Cats pitching staff has produced a 4.88 ERA which ranks fourth in the Big 12 with outings from 16 different players this season … The Wildcats have struck out 409 batters this season compared to 170 walks, averaging 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings which ranks fourth in the Big 12 … K-State's pitching staff ranks second in the league with a 2.41 strikeout-to-walk ratio … The Cats are second in the Big 12 with fewest walks allowed per nine innings at 3.82 and fewest allowed overall … Five players have earned at least three victories on the mound led by newcomer Owen Boerema with five … Boerema earned his fifth victory in the series opener against UC Irvine limiting the 'Eaters with five strikeouts … The Litchfield, Minn., product is one of five players to strikeout 12+ batters in a single-game after fanning 12 against No. 21 Texas (April 7), ranks second in the league with 76 total strikeouts… Right-hander German Fajardo has made a team-high 12 starts on the mound this season … Four different players have earned a save this year led by sophomore Tyson Neighbors with a league-high eight which is the 15^th-best in D1…

UP NEXT
The Cats begin the final stretch of the Big 12 regular-season when they set out to Stillwater on May 12-14 to go head-to-head with Oklahoma State. The series will be streamed on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Live streaming audio will be available at kstatesports.com/watch and the K-State Sports app.

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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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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Players Mentioned

Owen Boerema

Mason Buss

Blake Corsentino

Kaelen Culpepper

Brady Day

German Fajardo

Nick Goodwin

Shay Hartis

Cole Johnson

Brendan Jones

Kyan Lodice

Tyson Neighbors

Raphael Pelletier

Roberto Pena

Cash Rugely

Orlando Salinas, Jr.

Kansas State University Athletics