K-State Continues Homestand Against UMass Lowell

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State continues its six-game homestand with a three-game series against UMass Lowell, starting Friday at 3 p.m. inside Tointon Family Stadium. The final two games of the non-conference series are each scheduled for a 1 p.m. game start.

Left-hander Owen Boerema (1-0) will get the start in the series opener for the Wildcats (4-3) and go head-to-head with right-hander Brendan Williams (1-0). Boerema leads the nation in total strikeouts with 24, after punching out 11 hitters in the rubber match between K-State and Holy Cross. Righty Jacob Frost will start on the mound Saturday against left-hander LJ Keevan, while Sunday's starters will be announced at a later date.

Friday's meeting marks the first-ever contest between K-State and UMass Lowell (3-4).

The weekend 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) and 1350KMAN.com. A free live stream audio is available for the three-game series at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

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.

GAME #8
K-STATE (4-3, 0-0 Big 12) vs. UMass Lowell (3-4, 0-0 America East)
Friday, March 1 | 3 p.m. | Tointon Family Stadium (2,334)
Projected Starters: LHP Owen Boerema (1-0) vs. Brendan Williams (1-0)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch

GAME #9
K-STATE (4-3, 0-0 Big 12) vs. UMass Lowell (3-4, 0-0 America East)
Saturday, March 2 | 1 p.m. | Tointon Family Stadium (2,334)
Projected Starters: LHP Jacob Frost (0-0) v. LHP LJ Keevan (0-1)
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch

GAME #10
K-STATE (4-3, 0-0 Big 12) vs. UMass Lowell (3-4, 0-0 America East)
Sunday, March 3 | 1 p.m. | Tointon Family Stadium (2,334)
Projected Starters: TBD v. TBD
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch

A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State returns to Tointon Family Stadium to host UMass Lowell in week three action ... The weekend series continues the Cats six-game homestand as part of a stretch of 13 home games played over 15 games … The Wildcats are coming off the 2024 home-opening weekend against Holy Cross, where they picked up their first series win of the season … K-State earned the win in the series opener before the Crusaders forced Sunday's rubber game … Lefty Owen Boerema (1-0) struck out a season-high 11 – his second double digit strikeout game as a Wildcat – to pick up the win … K-State's offense is hitting .280 entering the weekend with three players hitting above .300 … Seven players have produced home runs this season, including five with multiple led by Kaelen Culpepper (3) … Sophomore Jayden Lobliner leads the Cats offense, hitting .393 with a team-high 11 hits and 13 RBI … Jones slugged .867 in the opening weekend that included two home runs, a double and a triple, while driving in four two-out RBI … Boerema, who leads the nation in total strikeouts (24), will get the start Friday, while the Cats' will send left-hander Jacob Frost (0-0) to the mound Saturday … Culpepper stretched his hitting streak out to 10, dating back to last season … Five starters have reached base in each game this season … Three Wildcats extended their on-base streaks to 10-plus, dating back to 2023 (Culpepper – 14), Jones – 11), (Pelletier – 10).

SCOUTING UMASS LOWELL
UMass Lowell makes its first trip out to Manhattan with a 3-4 overall record … The River Hawks enter the weekend non-conference series with a three-game losing streak after dropping a three-game set against William & Mary ... UML are led offensively by sophomore outfielder Carlos Martinez … The Puerto Rico native is slashing .357/.419/.821 with four doubles, three home runs and a team-leading eight RBI … As a team, UML has a .231 average, scoring 4.7 runs a game on 8.1 hits ... On the mound, the River Hawks boast a 5.81 ERA with 48 strikeouts against 45 walks ... Right-hander Brendan Williams (0-1) will start in the series opener while lefty LJ Keevan will start Saturday ... Friday's contest marks the first meeting between K-State and UMass Lowell …

LAST TIME OUT
K-State won the rubber match against Holy Cross, 5-4 … K-State scored five runs on 11 hits with one error and 10 left on base … Holy Cross scored four runs on six hits with no errors committed and six runners stranded … Boerema (1-0) struck out a season-best 11 hitters … Lobliner hit his second home run of the weekend in the third and finished with a game-high three RBI while Rivera went 3-for-3 with a walk … Wentworth earned his second save of the year … Seven positional players recorded a hit for K-State … K-State stole six bases …

NEED FOR SPEED
K-State leads the Big 12 and ranks seventh in the nation with 25 stolen bases … The Wildcats went 18-18 on the bases against Holy Cross … The K-State single-season record is 149 set in 2009 thru 62 games …

HOME. SWEET. HOME.
K-State started off the 2024 home slate 2-1 ... At home, the Wildcat offense is hitting .302 while slugging .547 with seven home runs ... K-State averages 10.7 runs a game on 10.7 hits when playing at Tointon Family Stadium while drawing 26 walks with 18 stolen bases... The Wildcat bullpen has boasted a 7.71 ERA at home with opponents hitting .284 … The Cats have struck out 39 compared to 14 walks for a 2.79 strikeout-to-walk ratio ... Five Cats hit over .300 in the home-opening weekend led by newcomer Danniel Rivera … The senior leads the pack at home with a .455 batting average followed by Jayden Lobliner (.429), who is slugging a team-high .857 at home … Lobliner has a team-leading nine RBI at home ... Frost and Boerema earned the victories on the mound while Wentworth earned both saves … Over the last four seasons, K-State has compiled an overall home record of 66-21 (.759) ...

WALK THE WALK
The Cats drew a season-high 13 walks in game two of the Holy Cross series, bringing the season total to 52 … K-State's 52 walks rank second in the Big 12 and 40^th in the nation led by Brendan Jones … The junior has drawn a league-high 12 walks this season, ranking 11^th overall in Division I … The Cats turned in 16 walks last season against Youngstown State (March 10, 2023) which was nine short of matching the Division I all-time record … The Wildcats all-time single-season walks record was set in 1995 with 382.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
Just two members of the Big 12 remain undefeated with TCU and UCF … TCU's 9-0 record marks the program's hottest start since 1994… Four Big 12 programs are ranked in the D1Baseball Top 25 standings: TCU (No. 5), Texas (No. 15), and Texas Tech (No. 18) … Texas' Peyton Powell (player), Lebarron Johnson Jr. (pitcher) and Texas Tech's TJ Pompey (newcomer) claimed Big 12 baseball weekly awards for the second week of the season.

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 394-213 when playing at home since 2002 … The Wildcats are 84-36 at home under Hughes and 69-24 since 2021 … Tointon's largest crowd was on March 30, 2010, against Wichita State with 4,745 in attendance.

UP NEXT
K-State head east for a pair of matchups against ranked foes in No. 8 Tennessee and No. 10 Clemson. The Wildcats will take on the Vols Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, before making a quick turnaround against Clemson on Wednesday at 3 p.m. CT at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

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

Jacob Frost

Brendan Jones

Jayden Lobliner

Danniel Rivera

Kansas State University Athletics