Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, March 15
Manhattan, Kan.
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
11-6
7
vs
3
Missouri State
9-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Missouri State
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
3
9
1
Kansas State
0
0
1
1
0
3
2
0
X
7
11
0
K-State Scores Five Unanswered to Upend Missouri State
Mar 16, 2024 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State plated five unanswered runs Friday, including a go-ahead two-run single from Raphael Pelletier, on its way to down Missouri State 7-3 at Tointon Family Stadium in the series opener. Â
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"Really good, quality team win, and it had the feel of a Friday conference game, that's for sure," commented head coach Pete Hughes on his team's series opening win. "That's a really good team we played tonight."
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After back-and-forth action, the Wildcats (11-6) scored five-runs over a two-inning span to erase the Bears (9-7) one-run deficit. Down 3-2 in the sixth, pinch hitter Jaden Parsons laid down a squeeze bunt to tie the game before Pelletier laced a two-run single to center to plate the game-winning run. Â
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"We got a solid start from Josh Wintroub. I thought our bullpen was outstanding and then we got the big hits when we needed to get big hits. We executed some stuff in our offense and were able to build a lead. Raphael got the biggest hit of the game in a pressure situation that kind of put us over the hump."
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Offensively, K-State had four players record multi-hit games, led by Brendan Jones who went 3-for-5 with a home run and three stolen bases. It marked the Greenbrier, Tenn., products' 16th career game with multiple hits in his 106th game.
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Brady Day, Nick English, and Pelletier each had two hits on the night. Pelletier had a game-high three RBI that included his 13th career home run. Â
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Mason Buss was awarded the victory in relief, as the sophomore surrendered just one hit in his fifth outing of the season (1-0). Right-hander Josh Wintroub held the Bears to two earned runs through his 4 1/3 inning start, scattering seven hits with four strikeouts.
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Jackson Wentworth threw a perfect three innings, retiring nine straight with seven strikeouts. The redshirt-sophomore from Urbandale, Iowa, struck out the side in the final frame to earn his third save of the season.
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"When you have someone like Jackson in the back end of your game, it gives you an incentive to just keep building run-by-run, because he's tough to hit."
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THE RUNDOWN
The Bears plated a run in the opening frame with a solo homer by designated hitter Zack Stewart.
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K-State was held to just two hits heading into the third until the Wildcats leveled the score with an RBI double by Day.
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Pelletier broke the tie in the next inning with his fourth homer of the season, handing the Cats the one-run lead, 2-1.
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Missouri State took back the lead after scoring a pair of runs over the fifth and sixth innings.
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Day singled to lead off the home half of the inning and advanced to third on a double to left center by Nick English. With one out and runners in scoring position, Parsons laid down the squeeze bunt to score a diving headfirst Day.
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The Wildcats took control of the game in the next at bat as Pelletier lined a two-run single out to centerfield to make it a 5-3 ball game.
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K-State extended its lead to four after plating two runs in the seventh, led by Jones' solo home run.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
ON DECK
K-State and Missouri State will meet for game two of the weekend series Saturday at 4 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium. The non-conference series can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while radio coverage is available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). A free live streaming audio available for all games at KStateSports.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 Facebook, X formally known as Twitter and Instagram.
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"Really good, quality team win, and it had the feel of a Friday conference game, that's for sure," commented head coach Pete Hughes on his team's series opening win. "That's a really good team we played tonight."
Â
After back-and-forth action, the Wildcats (11-6) scored five-runs over a two-inning span to erase the Bears (9-7) one-run deficit. Down 3-2 in the sixth, pinch hitter Jaden Parsons laid down a squeeze bunt to tie the game before Pelletier laced a two-run single to center to plate the game-winning run. Â
Â
"We got a solid start from Josh Wintroub. I thought our bullpen was outstanding and then we got the big hits when we needed to get big hits. We executed some stuff in our offense and were able to build a lead. Raphael got the biggest hit of the game in a pressure situation that kind of put us over the hump."
Â
Offensively, K-State had four players record multi-hit games, led by Brendan Jones who went 3-for-5 with a home run and three stolen bases. It marked the Greenbrier, Tenn., products' 16th career game with multiple hits in his 106th game.
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Brady Day, Nick English, and Pelletier each had two hits on the night. Pelletier had a game-high three RBI that included his 13th career home run. Â
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Mason Buss was awarded the victory in relief, as the sophomore surrendered just one hit in his fifth outing of the season (1-0). Right-hander Josh Wintroub held the Bears to two earned runs through his 4 1/3 inning start, scattering seven hits with four strikeouts.
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Jackson Wentworth threw a perfect three innings, retiring nine straight with seven strikeouts. The redshirt-sophomore from Urbandale, Iowa, struck out the side in the final frame to earn his third save of the season.
Â
"When you have someone like Jackson in the back end of your game, it gives you an incentive to just keep building run-by-run, because he's tough to hit."
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THE RUNDOWN
The Bears plated a run in the opening frame with a solo homer by designated hitter Zack Stewart.
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K-State was held to just two hits heading into the third until the Wildcats leveled the score with an RBI double by Day.
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Pelletier broke the tie in the next inning with his fourth homer of the season, handing the Cats the one-run lead, 2-1.
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Missouri State took back the lead after scoring a pair of runs over the fifth and sixth innings.
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Day singled to lead off the home half of the inning and advanced to third on a double to left center by Nick English. With one out and runners in scoring position, Parsons laid down the squeeze bunt to score a diving headfirst Day.
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The Wildcats took control of the game in the next at bat as Pelletier lined a two-run single out to centerfield to make it a 5-3 ball game.
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K-State extended its lead to four after plating two runs in the seventh, led by Jones' solo home run.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored seven runs on 11 hits and committed no errors and left eight runners on base.
- Missouri State scored three runs on nine hits with one error and stranded six baserunners.
- Wintroub allowed just two earned runs in his 4 1/3 inning start with four strikeouts.
- Buss (1-0) was awarded his fifth career win.
- Four Wildcats had multi-hit games.
- Jones had a game-high three hits, including a home run with three stolen bases and two runs scored.
- Day, English and Pelletier each had two-hit nights.
- Pelletier hit his fourth home run of the season.
- K-State had five extra-base hits.
- The Cats recorded their ninth multi-home run game.
- K-State hit .300 (3-for-10) with runners in scoring position while MSU was 1-for-9 (.111)
- K-State now leads the all-time series, 15-11, dating back to 1984.
- The Wildcats improved to 9-2 at home, that includes a current three-game win streak.
- K-State finishes the season 3-1 against teams from the state of Kansas.
- The Cats have won 6 of the last 10 in the series with Missouri State.
- Jones is on a 21-game on-base streak dating back to last season while Pelletier is on a 20-game on-base streak also from last season.
- Pete Hughes is four games away from his 800th career win (796-614-3)
- K-State moves to 90-37 at home in the Hughes era.
ON DECK
K-State and Missouri State will meet for game two of the weekend series Saturday at 4 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium. The non-conference series can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while radio coverage is available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). A free live streaming audio available for all games at KStateSports.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 Facebook, X formally known as Twitter and Instagram.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Buss, Mason (1-0)
L: Beaver,Brenden (0-1)
S: Wentworth, Jackson (3)
Batting:
2B: Leach,Dylan 1 ; Rogers,Jahlani 1
3B: Rodriguez,Nick 1
HR: Stewart,Zack 1
RBI: Rodriguez,Nick 1 ; Stewart,Zack 1 ; Rogers,Jahlani 1
SH: Chambers,Logan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Stewart,Zack 1 ; Leach,Dylan 1 ; Epstein,Tyler 1
Batting:
2B: Day, Brady 1 ; English, Nick 1 ; Bishop, David 1
HR: Jones, Brendan 1 ; Pelletier, Raphael 1
RBI: Jones, Brendan 1 ; Day, Brady 1 ; Parsons, Jaden 1 ; Pelletier, Raphael 3
SH: Parsons, Jaden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Brendan 2 ; Day, Brady 2 ; English, Nick 1 ; Parsons, Jaden 1 ; Pelletier, Raphael 1
SB: Jones, Brendan 3 ; Culpepper, Kaelen 1
CS: English, Nick 1 ; Lodice, Kyan 1
HBP: Ingram, Chuck 1 ; Pelletier, Raphael 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ BaseballC/OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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