#24 Wildcats Wrap Up Arizona Trip at Arizona State

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State finishes off its Arizona trip Tuesday night, as the No. 24 Wildcats take on the Arizona State Sundevils at Phoenix Municipal Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. CT game start.

K-State (2-1) heads into the week with a two-game win streak with victories over Boston College and Georgetown at the fifth annual MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Wildcats will send left-handed starter Owen Boerema (0-0) to the hill for his second start of the season. In his first season with K-State, Boerema finished 7-2 with 15 weekend starts and a team-best 95 strikeouts.

The Cats and Sundevils (2-1) will meet for the first time since 2009, while ASU owns a 4-2 edge in the all-time series. K-State and ASU spilt the series in 2009, with the Sundevils claiming the final meeting 12-1.

Tuesday's night cap will be streamed on Pac-12 Network while live streaming audio will be available at KStateSports.com/watch, the K-State Sports app and 1350KMAN.com.

Season and single-game tickets for the Cats 2024 home schedule are now available. To purchase season tickets, fans can visit K-StateSports.com/Tickets, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stop by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.

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 Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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 Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

GAME #4
#24 K-STATE (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Arizona State (2-1, 0-0 Pac 12)
Tuesday, February 20 | 7:30 p.m. CT | Phoenix Municipal Stadium (8,775)
Projected Starters: LHP Owen Boerema v. RHP Adam Behrens
Watch: Pac-12 Network
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch // 1350KMAN.com

A LOOK AT #24 K-STATE
In the season's opening weekend, K-State went 2-1 at the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz. … Fueled by three home runs, K-State claimed a 7-6 victory in the weekend finale against Georgetown … After surrendering Opening Day to Cal, the Wildcats bounced back to claim two straight victories led by a 6-4 victory against the tournament favored Boston College, which was the only 2023 regional team at the event … Three different players belted a home run in opening weekend, led by Brendan Jones with two, while Kaelen Culpepper and Chuck Ingram had one with all home runs coming with two outs … Sophomore Jayden Lobliner was red hot in opening weekend, going 5-for-11 (.455) with four RBI and a double … Jones slugged an incredible 1.000 that included two home runs, a double and a triple, while driving in four two-out RBI … Right-hander Ty Ruhl earned the first win of 2024 as the redshirt junior struck out six in his first quality start, while true freshman Blake Dean added six in his three innings of work to earn his first collegiate save … Reliever Jackson Wentworth picked up the win against Georgetown with Tyson Neighbors earning the save … The Wildcats will send left-handed starter Owen Boerema (0-0) on the hill for his second start of the season … Boerema struck out four in his season debut on Opening Day.

SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State, completed a three-game home series with Santa Clara, 2-1 … With high scoring games, ASU won the series Saturday, before dropping a 14-13 decision in the finale … The Sundevils hit .390 as a team with 10 home runs and 38 RBI over the three-day stretch … ASU's pitching staff surrendered 30 earned runs over 27 innings pitch (10.00), picking up 35 strikeouts against nine walks … Freshman right-hander Adam Behrens will make his second appearance of the season and get his first collegiate start in the night cap … Behrens allowed one earned run on two hits with a walk in his 1 1/3 inning debut to pick up the win in relief against Santa Clara … Five players were named to the Preseason All-Pac 12 team while the Sundevils were voted to finish sixth in the league …

INSIDE THE SERIES
The Cats and Sundevils (2-1) will meet for the first time since 2009, while ASU owns a 4-2 edge in the all-time series ... K-State and ASU spilt the series in 2009, with the Sundevils claiming the final meeting 12-1 … ASU has outscored the Cats 42-22 in the all-time series.

L, 6-9 – March 13, 2007 (Tempe, AZ)
L, 2-6 – March 14, 2007 (Tempe, AZ)
W, 7-6 – May 6, 2008 (Manhattan, KS)
W, 6-2 – March 10, 2009 (Surprise, AZ)
L, 1-12 – March 11, 2009 (Surprise, AZ)

IN THE POLLS
K-State is ranked No. 24 by D1Baseball following opening weekend, and stands No. 27 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association … The Cats are receiving votes by USA Today … K-State is one of four programs from the Big 12 to rank in the D1Baseball Top 25 standings alongside TCU (No. 5), Texas (No. 16) and Texas Tech (No. 19).

AROUND THE LEAGUE
Only two members of the Big 12 went undefeated in opening weekend action with Houston and TCU each going 3-0 … UCF picked up a victory, before the remaining two of the three game series were washed out … Four programs led off the year 2-1, while four took hold of one win and two programs without … KU's Kodey Shojinaga and TCU's Anthony Silva split Big 12 Player of the Week honors, while Mason Marriott of Baylor was named the Pitcher of the Week and Chase Brunson of TCU earned Newcomer of the Week recognition.

POWER SURGE
With a roster that retained under half of hits home run production in 2023, K-State saw three different Wildcats belt four home runs in the first three games of the season … All four home runs came with two outs … Brendan Jones launched two in opening weekend to bring his career total to nine, while Kaelen Culpepper hit his 16^th career … Chuck Ingram hit his first of his career with K-State, coming in the bottom of the eight to score the game-winning run against Georgetown.

BURST ON THE SCENE
In his first games in a K-State uniform, senior transfer Chuck Ingram broke out with three extra-base hits that included two doubles and a go-ahead solo shot to lead the Wildcats to a 7-6 victory over Georgetown … Ingram hit safely in all three games he started in left field, and is currently second on the team with a .417 average …

COACH HUGHES FILE
Pete Hughes is in 27th season as a head coach and sixth at the helm of K-State baseball … Hughes has compiled a career record of 787-609-3 (.564) as a head coach … His 787 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 135-117 (.536) record … Hughes grabbed his 100^th victory at K-State on Feb. 18, 2023 against Stephen F. Austin… He's led the Cats to three straight runs in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship semifinals ... In 2023, K-State turned in a 35-24 mark, its highest win total since posting 45 in 2013 … Two players were selected in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft increasing Hughes' career draft total to 84, including 10 while at K-State, with 21 top-10 round picks after Nick Goodwin was taken in the seventh round by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2023 MLB Draft … In total, Hughes has recruited 138 players who were drafted and/or played professionally, including 22 major leaguers and seven first-round draft picks.

UP NEXT
K-State will return to the Little Apple Friday to jump start a six-game home stand, beginning with a three-game set against Holy Cross Friday at 3 p.m. CT. The three-game series will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with radio coverage on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Live streaming audio is available for all games at KStateSports.com/watch and on 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 Facebook, 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

Kaelen Culpepper

Blake Dean

Nick Goodwin

Chuck Ingram

Brendan Jones

Jayden Lobliner

Tyson Neighbors

Ty Ruhl

Jackson Wentworth

Kansas State University Athletics