Wildcats Enter Second Half of Big 12 Slate Friday vs. #15 Cowboys

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State enters the second half of its Big 12 schedule as the 15^th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys make their way to Tointon Family Stadium for a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m.

Saturday's afternoon game between K-State (22-14, 7-8 Big 12) and Oklahoma State (25-12, 10-5 Big 12) is scheduled for 4 p.m. followed by Sunday's finale at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday's games will broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while Sunday's contest will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

Fans can also tune in on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) while a free live stream audio is available at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

To purchase single-game tickets for any home game at Tointon Family Stadium, 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 #37
K-State (22-14, 7-8 Big 12) vs. #15 Oklahoma State (25-12, 10-5 Big 12)
Friday, April 19 | 6 p.m. | Tointon Family Stadium
Projected Starters: LHP Owen Boerema v. LHP Sam Garcia
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Brian Smoller & Mike Clark)
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM (Matt Walters & Jared Goedert)
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch

GAME #38
K-State (22-14, 7-8 Big 12) vs. #15 Oklahoma State (25-12, 10-5 Big 12)
Friday, April 19 | 6 p.m. | Tointon Family Stadium
Projected Starters: RHP Jackson Wentworth vs. RHP Brian Holiday
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Brian Smoller & Mike Clark)
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM (Matt Walters & Trevor Hurley)
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch

GAME #39
K-State (22-14, 7-8 Big 12) vs. #15 Oklahoma State (25-12, 10-5 Big 12)
Friday, April 19 | 6 p.m. | Tointon Family Stadium
Projected Starters: TBD vs. TBD
Watch: ESPNU (Mark Neely & Mike Rooney)
Radio: 1350AM/93.3/93.7FM (Matt Walters & Brian Smoller)
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch

A LOOK AT K-STATE
After 15 non-conference games, K-State is set to open the second half of its Big 12 schedule against Oklahoma State on Friday … The Wildcats are coming off a 1-1 outing in the Northeast, that included an impactful 9-8 RPI victory over Northeastern … K-State has collected five series wins this season and 6-2 in series openers … Three players are hitting over .300 led by Brady Day … The Cats' starting second baseman is slashing .388/.506/.640 with a team-high 52 hits, seven home runs and team-leading 41 RBI while his on-base percentage is second-best in the Big 12 … True freshman Nick English is second in the league and 16th nationally with 15 doubles and is the only freshman sitting in the top 15 in the category … K-State's .295 average ranks fourth in the league, while leading the Big 12 in triples (13) and stolen bases (87) … Chuck Ingram has belted a team-high eight home runs this season, followed Day and Kaelen Culpepper with 7… Brendan Jones has stolen a league-high 21 bases with a 95.5% success rate on the bases … Lefty Owen Boerema (3-3, 5.59 ERA) will make his first Friday start since the season opener, while Jackson Wentworth (2-1, 3.24 ERA), who has served in the reliever role all season, will make his first start since April 18, 2024 on Saturday.

SCOUTING #15 OKLAHOMA STATE
OSU, who ranks as high as 15^th by D1Baseball, enters the weekend series 25012 overall and third in the Big 12 standings at 10-5 in league action … The Cowboys shared the regular season championship with Texas and West Virigina last season, as they went on to finish 41-20 and hosted the Stillwater Regional of the NCAA Tournament … Four starters All-Big 12 selections returned from last season's roster including all-Americans Nolan Schubart and Carson Benge … Benge, who was a semifinalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, is projected to go No. 26 overall in the 2024 MLB by MLB Pipeline … As a team, OSU has a slash line of .284/.392/.482 with 57 home runs led by nine from first baseman Colin Bruggemann … Three players are hitting over .300 with Aidan Meola leading the way at .348 … The pitching staff boasts a league-leading 4.27 ERA, which ranks 21^st in the nation … OSU will send left-hander Sam Garcia (4-3, 3.47 ERA) to the hill in the opener while Brian Holiday (3-2, 3.13 ERA) will start Saturday … The duo ranks second and third in the Big 12 in strikeouts, combing for 133 on the year.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series, 178-70, including a 54-20 mark as Big 12 opponents ... K-State is 39-70 all-time in Manhattan ... K-State has not won a series 2010 – a three-game sweep in Manhattan ... The Wildcats have taken two of the last 10 meetings overall between the teams, along with OSU claiming the series 1-2 last season in Stillwater ... Sixth-year head coach Pete Hughes is 2-10 against the Cowboys.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
L, 6-8 – April 2, 2022 (Manhattan)
W, 7-2 – April 3, 2022 (Manhattan)
W, 10-9 – May 12, 2023 (Stillwater)
L, 5-19 – May 13, 2023 (Stillwater)
L, 2-12 (7) – May 14, 2023 (Stillwater)

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
At Tointon Family Stadium, K-State is undefeated in series openers with a perfect 5-0 record – with a 4-0 record in Friday night openers … In series openers at home, K-State is outhitting opponents .349-.229 and averages 10.4 runs a game on 12 hits … Overall, the Cats are 6-2 in series openers, including 3-2 in Big 12 action hitting .301 against opponents .257 average, outscoring opponents 66-43 (+23) … Fourteen of the Wildcats 47 home runs have come in series openers, led by three from Day and Pelletier.

WILDCATS VS. THE BIG 12
The Cats tie seventh in the Big 12 standings alongside KU and Cincinnati at 7-8 … K-State is hitting .283 in Conference play, averaging 6.5 runs on 10.3 hits … Day is slashing .383/.479/.567 in Big 12 games with a team-high 23 hits and two home runs … The second baseman's .383 average in conference play is fourth in the Big 12 … The pitching staff posts a 6.67 ERA, with opponents hitting .276 … K-State's Big 12 slate features 30 games, highlighted by series against all four league newcomers (Cincinnati, Houston, UCF, and BYU) … K-State finished its 2023 Big 12 schedule tied fourth in the league at 13-11.

HOME. SWEET. HOME.
K-State is 13-5 when playing at home this season, including a 3-3 record in conference games at Tointon … At home, the Wildcat offense is slashing .347/.455/.587 with 33 home runs and 158 RBI ... K-State averages 10.2 runs a game on 12.7 hits while drawing 113 walks with 50 stolen bases... The Wildcat bullpen boasts a 5.56 ERA at home, holding opponents to a .256 average … The Cats have struck out 173 compared to 52 walks for a 3.32 strikeout-to-walk ratio ... Day's .435 average at Tointon leads the Cats, as the redshirt-junior has generated 30 hits with a team-leading 26 RBI … K-State baseball is 405-216 when playing at home since 2002 … The Wildcats are 94-39 (.707) at home under Hughes and 80-27 (.748) since 2021.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
K-State has a season +36 run differential through 36 games averaging 7.6 runs on 10.4 hits ... The Wildcats have outscored opponents 48-22 in the sixth inning alone and 94-71 (+23) from the seventh and on … Cats are perfect when leading after six at 16-0 and are 2-1 when tied after six ... K-State is 11-2 when committing no errors in a game … Conversely, K-State has won 11 games when one or more errors are committed, 11-12 overall ... The Wildcats are 9-5 when scoring first and 9-3 when scoring in the first inning … K-State has outhit opponents in 21 contests this season and is 2-10 when being outhit, and is 3-0 when hits are tied … The Cats are 15-1 when limiting opponents to five or less runs and are 6-1 in one-run games… K-State is 14-5 when playing afternoon games and 8-9 when playing under the lights … The Cats have won 15 games against right-handed starters while going 7-4 against lefties …

AROUND THE BIG 12
West Virginia (23-13) and Oklahoma (21-14) tie first in the Big 12 standings with a record of 11-4 in Conference action … OSU stands alone in third with a 10-5 league record, followed by Texas and Baylor rounding out the top five … K-State ties seventh in the standings at 7-8 alongside KU and Cincinnati … Baylor's Enzo Apodaca (player), Oklahoma State's Robert Cranz (pitcher) and Kansas' John Nett (newcomer) were voted for Big 12 baseball weekly awards for games ending April 14. It is the first career weekly honor for all three players.

CALL THE COPS
K-State has stolen a league-high 87 bases this season, ranking ninth overall in Division I … The Cats 2.42 stolen bases per game is first in the Big 12 and 10^th in the nation … Jones has stolen a league-high 21 bases this season, ranking 20^th in Division I … Now with 51 career stolen bases, Jones ranks eighth all-time in K-State baseball history … Last season, the Wildcats finished third in the league with 114 stolen bases through 59 games … The K-State single-season record is 149 set in 2009 through 62 games.

UP NEXT
K-State welcomes Omaha (10-22, 8-7 Summit) Tuesday to Tointon Family Stadium for midweek action slated for 6 p.m.

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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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).

Wildcats Enter Second Half of Big 12 Slate Friday vs. #15 Cowboys

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Players Mentioned

Owen Boerema

Kaelen Culpepper

Brady Day

Nick English

Chuck Ingram

Brendan Jones

Jackson Wentworth

Kansas State University Athletics