Kansas State University Athletics
Sunday, February 23
Arlington, Texas
3 p.m.
Kansas State University
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Sheffield Twirls Gem, Cats Down #22 TCU
Feb 23, 2025 | Baseball
ARLINGTON, Texas – K-State scored nine runs in a three-inning span Sunday, backing Lincoln Sheffield's quality start and clinching the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series title with a 10-2 defeat over No. 22 TCU at Globe Life Stadium.
"Our mindset was to treat this four-team tournament like a regional," said head coach Pete Hughes. "Proud of how our boys embraced that mindset."
The Wildcats (4-4) announced their presence on a national scale, defeating three teams featured in the national polls – No. 5 Arkansas (D1Baseball), No. 25 Michigan (Baseball America), No. 22 TCU (D1Baseball) – in a three-game stretch.
Sheffield (1-1), who was named the FloSports Player of the Game, tossed seven complete innings and allowed just one run in his first quality start in a K-State uniform. The left-hander, who carried a two-hitter into the seventh, allowed just four runners to reach base. Sheffield ended his second outing of the season with a season-high eight strikeouts, scattering five hits with one walk.
"Lincoln set the tone for the entire game immediately. It was as efficient as an outing can be at our level. His tempo and command were the keys in keeping a potent TCU offense at bay," Hughes added.
K-State pounded out a tournament-high 12 hits, while Sunday's win marked the Wildcats' second largest margin of victory in the all-time series against the Horned Frogs (5-2).
Five Wildcats registered a hit in the victory, all with multi-hit efforts. Maximus Martin and Shintaro Inoue led the way with three-hit days and combining for four runs batted in and three runs scored. Martin drove in a game-leading three RBI followed by Micah Dean, who was 2-for-5, with two.
"It's always nice when you can support a really good start from your pitcher with a big offensive night. We were good with runners on base and great with two outs."
Six of K-State's 12 runs came with two outs while the Wildcats hit .355 (11-for-31) with men in scoring position.
During the three-day event, K-State outscored opponents 18-5 with 26 hits and no errors committed. The pitching staff posted an incredible 1.67 era, holding opponents to a .186 average and combing for 30 strikeouts over 27 innings.
"You always give yourself a chance to win when you don't make errors, especially over a weekend. That's the level of defense we are capable of playing all the time, so that was fun to see," Hughes added on the Cats' error-free weekend.
"It was a good three days and a long year ahead of us to improve in a lot of areas."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sheffield struck out the side to set the tone early in the opening frame. The left-hander allowed a leadoff double in the second but quickly settled in and retired nine consecutive batters.
Shintaro Inoue and Bear Madliak each singled in the second to put the first runner in scoring position until starter Trevor Baumler walked David Bishop to load the bases. The freshman righty got out of the jam with a fly out to center field.
After three scoreless innings, Madliak delivered a two-out double down the left field line and scored in the next at bat as Maximus Martin drove a 2-1 pitch through the left side.
K-State sent 10 batters to the plate in the fourth, scoring four runs on four hits.
Micah Dean singled in the fifth to register his second hit of the tournament and lead off the Wildcats four-run inning. Seth Dardar was hit by a pitch to force TCU to make its first call to the bullpen. Trey Newmann took over for Baumler and punched out the first batter he faced, but a throwing error from behind the plate turned a double steal into a Wildcat run.
Leading 2-0 with a runner on third, Nick English laced a two-out single into opposite field to score Dardar. The Wildcats loaded the bases for the second time with Martin coming back to the plate. Martin shelled a two-RBI double into left center to expand the Cats' lead to 5-0.
A sacrifice fly to left ended the shutout bid in the sixth, but Sheffield came right back and struck out the final batter to end the threat.
K-State immediately pushed its lead back out to five in the seventh when English and Inoue teamed up with a pair of doubles that led to the Wildcats' explosive five-run seventh inning, helping secure the weekend sweep.
INSIDE THE BOX
UP NEXT
K-State will return to Texas to compete in the Frisco Classic and face No. 3 LSU, Sam Houston and No. 24 Nebraska. The three-day event begins Friday, February 28 against the Tigers and can be seen exclusively on D1Baseball.com. A free live streaming audio is available for the Frisco Classic at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app with Wade Gertsner calling all the action.
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
"Our mindset was to treat this four-team tournament like a regional," said head coach Pete Hughes. "Proud of how our boys embraced that mindset."
The Wildcats (4-4) announced their presence on a national scale, defeating three teams featured in the national polls – No. 5 Arkansas (D1Baseball), No. 25 Michigan (Baseball America), No. 22 TCU (D1Baseball) – in a three-game stretch.
Sheffield (1-1), who was named the FloSports Player of the Game, tossed seven complete innings and allowed just one run in his first quality start in a K-State uniform. The left-hander, who carried a two-hitter into the seventh, allowed just four runners to reach base. Sheffield ended his second outing of the season with a season-high eight strikeouts, scattering five hits with one walk.
"Lincoln set the tone for the entire game immediately. It was as efficient as an outing can be at our level. His tempo and command were the keys in keeping a potent TCU offense at bay," Hughes added.
K-State pounded out a tournament-high 12 hits, while Sunday's win marked the Wildcats' second largest margin of victory in the all-time series against the Horned Frogs (5-2).
Five Wildcats registered a hit in the victory, all with multi-hit efforts. Maximus Martin and Shintaro Inoue led the way with three-hit days and combining for four runs batted in and three runs scored. Martin drove in a game-leading three RBI followed by Micah Dean, who was 2-for-5, with two.
"It's always nice when you can support a really good start from your pitcher with a big offensive night. We were good with runners on base and great with two outs."
Six of K-State's 12 runs came with two outs while the Wildcats hit .355 (11-for-31) with men in scoring position.
During the three-day event, K-State outscored opponents 18-5 with 26 hits and no errors committed. The pitching staff posted an incredible 1.67 era, holding opponents to a .186 average and combing for 30 strikeouts over 27 innings.
"You always give yourself a chance to win when you don't make errors, especially over a weekend. That's the level of defense we are capable of playing all the time, so that was fun to see," Hughes added on the Cats' error-free weekend.
"It was a good three days and a long year ahead of us to improve in a lot of areas."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sheffield struck out the side to set the tone early in the opening frame. The left-hander allowed a leadoff double in the second but quickly settled in and retired nine consecutive batters.
Shintaro Inoue and Bear Madliak each singled in the second to put the first runner in scoring position until starter Trevor Baumler walked David Bishop to load the bases. The freshman righty got out of the jam with a fly out to center field.
After three scoreless innings, Madliak delivered a two-out double down the left field line and scored in the next at bat as Maximus Martin drove a 2-1 pitch through the left side.
K-State sent 10 batters to the plate in the fourth, scoring four runs on four hits.
Micah Dean singled in the fifth to register his second hit of the tournament and lead off the Wildcats four-run inning. Seth Dardar was hit by a pitch to force TCU to make its first call to the bullpen. Trey Newmann took over for Baumler and punched out the first batter he faced, but a throwing error from behind the plate turned a double steal into a Wildcat run.
Leading 2-0 with a runner on third, Nick English laced a two-out single into opposite field to score Dardar. The Wildcats loaded the bases for the second time with Martin coming back to the plate. Martin shelled a two-RBI double into left center to expand the Cats' lead to 5-0.
A sacrifice fly to left ended the shutout bid in the sixth, but Sheffield came right back and struck out the final batter to end the threat.
K-State immediately pushed its lead back out to five in the seventh when English and Inoue teamed up with a pair of doubles that led to the Wildcats' explosive five-run seventh inning, helping secure the weekend sweep.
INSIDE THE BOX
- K-State plated 10 runs on 12 hits, committed no errors, and left 10 runners on base.
- TCU scored two runs with six hits, two errors and stranded six on base.
- Lincoln (1-1) picked up his first quality start, allowing one earned run on five hits with a season-high eight strikeouts.
- Butler tossed a scoreless ninth inning.
- Inoue and Martin each went 3-for-5, combining for three runs scored and four RBI.
- Martin drove in a game-leading three RBI.
- Five Wildcats turned in multi-hit efforts while Maritn and Dean drove in multiple RBI.
- Baumler (1-1) was credited the loss, allowing three earned runs on five hits.
- Three Horned Frogs registered a hit, led by two from Cadena.
- K-State hit .311 (14-for-45) with runners on base and went 11-for-31 (.355) with men in scoring position while TCU was 5-for-42 (.119) with runners on and 1-for-21 (.048) in scoring position.
- Six of K-State's 10 runs came with two outs, led by three from Martin.
- K-State moves to 15-33 all-time against TCU, including a 5-10 record in non-conference games. Under Hughes, the Cats are 8-14 against the Frogs.
- K-State's 12 hits Sunday was the most in a single-game by tournament team.
- K-State ended the College Baseball Series 3-0, all Top 25 wins, to claim the tournament title.
- Dardar has reached safely in all eight games this season.
- First time scored 10 against TCU since May 22, 2021 (K-State 11, TCU 8).
- Second largest margin of victory in the series history – 10-run win on April 10, 2015 (K-State 14, TCU 4).
- First time K-State has won by more than three runs against TCU since April 12, 2015 (K-State 6, TCU 2).
- Over the weekend, K-State outscored opponents 18-5 with 26 hits and no errors committed. The pitching staff posted an incredible 1.67 era, holding opponents to a .186 average and combing for 30 strikeouts over 27 innings.
UP NEXT
K-State will return to Texas to compete in the Frisco Classic and face No. 3 LSU, Sam Houston and No. 24 Nebraska. The three-day event begins Friday, February 28 against the Tigers and can be seen exclusively on D1Baseball.com. A free live streaming audio is available for the Frisco Classic at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app with Wade Gertsner calling all the action.
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sheffield, Lincoln (1-1)
L: Baumler, Trever (1-1)
Batting:
2B: English, Nick 1 ; Inoue, Shintaro 1 ; Madliak, Bear 1 ; Bolin, Robby 1
RBI: Quetschenbach, Jack 2 ; English, Nick 1 ; Inoue, Shintaro 1 ; Bolin, Robby 3 ; Bishop, David 1
SH: Bishop, David 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Quetschenbach, Jack 1 ; Haley, Austin 1 ; English, Nick 2 ; Inoue, Shintaro 2 ; Madliak, Bear 2 ; Bolin, Robby 1 ; Bishop, David 1
SB: Quetschenbach, Jack 2 ; Haley, Austin 1
HBP: Quetschenbach, Jack 1 ; Haley, Austin 1
Batting:
2B: Cramer, Cole 1
3B: Cadena, Isaac 1
RBI: Brunson, Chase 1
SF: Brunson, Chase 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gamster, Preston 1 ; Cadena, Isaac 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
2b/ss
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
cf/lf
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
UTL
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
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