Kansas State University Athletics
Tuesday, May 21
Arlington, Texas
9 a.m.
Kansas State University
31-23
1
vs
2
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Kansas
30-21
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Kansas
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
2
5
0
Kansas State
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
7
1
Cats Fall in Opening Round Tuesday, 2-1
May 21, 2024 | Baseball
ARLINGTON, Texas – KU managed to outlast K-State in the opening round of the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Tuesday, as the Jayhawks held on for a 2-1 victory at Globe Life Field.
"It was a well-played game," said head coach Pete Hughes. "Disappointing from our perspective, obviously, but when you play in those tight ball games you've got to get a two-out hit. Have to get a misplay, there's no wiggle room. You have to play really clean baseball to win those games."
The Cats will play West Virginia (33-21) in an elimination game at 9 a.m. at Globe Life Field and can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Radio coverage can be heard on the K-State Sports Radio Network with live audio streaming at K-StateSports.com/Watch.
The pitching staff combined to strike out 10 batters and held the Jayhawks (30-21) to five hits. Josh Wintroub logged 3 1/3 innings of three-hit, one run ball in his 13th start of the season, while Cole Wisenbaker and Jackson Wentworth combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
"It's a challenge especially with the new format, starting a day early. It gets tricky. You need depth. Certainly, bullpen depth really didn't hurt us today. We pitched well enough for sure to win a ballgame," commented Hughes.
"It'll get tricky, the key is those built-in day offs. That's what you have to play to get in those situations. We can have a day off to rest your pitching, but going through the losing bracket will certainly test the depth of our pitching staff going forward."
Tyson Neighbors (1-2) suffered the loss in relief, allowing one run (one earned) on one hit in 1 1/3 innings of work with three strikeouts.
K-State (31-23) held a 7-5 advantage in hits led by three-hit days from Kaelen Culpepper and David Bishop. Culpepper, who went 3-for-4, drove in the Cats' only run in the fifth to tie the game.
The Sunflower Showdown rivals met for the second consecutive year in the Conference tournament.
THE RUNDOWN
The two squads mirrored each other with two hits heading into the fourth until KU jumped on the board in the top of the inning with a solo shot to left center by junior first baseman Ben Hartl.
K-State responded in the bottom of the fifth, as Chuck Ingram was issued a six-pitch walk to lead off the inning, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Brendan Jones. With Ingram on second, Culpepper laced a 2-2 pitch into left field to even the score.
The Cats best chance to take the lead came in the seventh when Culpepper and English each singled to land in scoring position, but relief pitcher Cooper Moore punched out the final batter to hold off K-State.
Tied 1-1, Lenny Ashby started off the ninth inning with a triple off the left field wall before a lifted a fly ball into center to take the go-ahead lead.
INSIDE THE BOX
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.
"It was a well-played game," said head coach Pete Hughes. "Disappointing from our perspective, obviously, but when you play in those tight ball games you've got to get a two-out hit. Have to get a misplay, there's no wiggle room. You have to play really clean baseball to win those games."
The Cats will play West Virginia (33-21) in an elimination game at 9 a.m. at Globe Life Field and can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Radio coverage can be heard on the K-State Sports Radio Network with live audio streaming at K-StateSports.com/Watch.
The pitching staff combined to strike out 10 batters and held the Jayhawks (30-21) to five hits. Josh Wintroub logged 3 1/3 innings of three-hit, one run ball in his 13th start of the season, while Cole Wisenbaker and Jackson Wentworth combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
"It's a challenge especially with the new format, starting a day early. It gets tricky. You need depth. Certainly, bullpen depth really didn't hurt us today. We pitched well enough for sure to win a ballgame," commented Hughes.
"It'll get tricky, the key is those built-in day offs. That's what you have to play to get in those situations. We can have a day off to rest your pitching, but going through the losing bracket will certainly test the depth of our pitching staff going forward."
Tyson Neighbors (1-2) suffered the loss in relief, allowing one run (one earned) on one hit in 1 1/3 innings of work with three strikeouts.
K-State (31-23) held a 7-5 advantage in hits led by three-hit days from Kaelen Culpepper and David Bishop. Culpepper, who went 3-for-4, drove in the Cats' only run in the fifth to tie the game.
The Sunflower Showdown rivals met for the second consecutive year in the Conference tournament.
THE RUNDOWN
The two squads mirrored each other with two hits heading into the fourth until KU jumped on the board in the top of the inning with a solo shot to left center by junior first baseman Ben Hartl.
K-State responded in the bottom of the fifth, as Chuck Ingram was issued a six-pitch walk to lead off the inning, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Brendan Jones. With Ingram on second, Culpepper laced a 2-2 pitch into left field to even the score.
The Cats best chance to take the lead came in the seventh when Culpepper and English each singled to land in scoring position, but relief pitcher Cooper Moore punched out the final batter to hold off K-State.
Tied 1-1, Lenny Ashby started off the ninth inning with a triple off the left field wall before a lifted a fly ball into center to take the go-ahead lead.
INSIDE THE BOX
- K-State scored one run on seven hits, committed one error, and left 10 runners on base.
- KU scored two runs on five hits, committed no errors, and stranded six runners on base.
- Three different Wildcats turned in a hit Tuesday, led by three-hit days from Culpepper and Bishop.
- Culpepper drove in the Cats lone run in the fifth inning.
- Neighbors (1-2) suffered the loss after allowing the deciding run in the ninth.
- The pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts.
- Wisenbaker logged three scoreless innings, scattering three hits.
- Cain (1-2) earned the victory in relief, while Cranton was credited with his seventh save.
- K-State hit 2-for-13 (.154) with runners on and 1-for-7 (.143) in scoring position while KU was 0-for-7 with runners on and 0-3 in scoring position.
- K-State leads the all-time series 193-109, including a 6-4 edge in the conference tournament.
- The Cats are 21-25 when playing in the Big 12 Tournament, and 7-8 under Hughes.
- In neutral games, K-State is 2-2 while holding an overall 11-15 record on the road.
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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cain, Tegan (1-2)
L: Neighbors, Tyson (1-2)
S: Cranton, Hunter (7)
.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
Batting:
2B: Cranford, Collier 1
3B: Ashby, Lenny 1
HR: Hartl, Ben 1
RBI: Hartl, Ben 1 ; Cranford, Collier 1
SH: Koszewski, Mike 1
SF: Cranford, Collier 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hartl, Ben 1 ; Hunt, Sam 1
Batting:
2B: Bishop, David 1
RBI: Culpepper, Kaelen 1
SH: Jones, Brendan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ingram, Chuck 1
SB: Culpepper, Kaelen 1 ; English, Nick 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballK-State Baseball | Fall Ball Recap 2025
Tuesday, November 11
K-State BSB | Postgame Press Conference vs Texas
Sunday, June 01
K-State Baseball | Game Highlights vs Houston Christian (Austin Regional)
Sunday, June 01
K-State BSB | Game Highlights vs Houston Christian (Austin Regional)
Saturday, May 31