K-State Takes on Creighton, Omaha in Midweek Action

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Coming off a series sweep over William & Mary, K-State will hit the road for a pair of midweek matchups at Creighton and Omaha, starting Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field. Wednesday's contest between the Wildcats (9-5) and Mavericks (4-10) is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Tal Anderson Field in Omaha, Neb.

Left-hander JJ Slack (0-1) will get the start against Creighton (7-4), which is 2-0 at home this season, and face righty Ian Koosman (0-2). Wednesday's starter will be announced at a later date.

Junior Maximus Martin was chosen as the Golden Spikes Award Player of the Week by USA Baseball on Monday, as the shortstop becomes the first player in school history to garner the weekly award. In addition to the national honor, Martin was voted the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week, as announced by the league offices.

Following the games in Nebraska, the Cats will open Big 12 play at home for the second consecutive season with a three-game series against Utah (11-3) at Tointon Family Stadium. The series gets underway on Friday, March 14 at 6 p.m.

Season and single-game tickets are now available and can be purchased online at KStateSports.com, or by calling 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stopping by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.

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.

GAME #15
K-STATE (9-5, 0-0 Big 12) vs. CREIGHTON (7-4, 0-0 Big East)
Tuesday, March 11 // 6 PM CT // Charles Schwab Field
Projected Starters: LHP JJ Slack (0-1) vs. RHP Ian Koosman (0-2)
Watch: FloSports.com
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller, Mike Clark
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch
Live Stats

GAME #16
K-STATE (6-5, 0-0 Big 12) vs. OMAHA (4-10, 0-0 Summit League)
Wednesday, March 12 // 5 PM CT // Tal Anderson Field
Projected Starters: TBA vs. TBA
Watch: OMavs.com
Radio: KMAN // Brian Smoller
Listen Online: kstatesports.com/watch
Live Stats

THE MATCHUP
Coming off a series sweep over William & Mary, K-State will hit the road for a pair of midweek matchups at Creighton and Omaha, starting Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field … Wednesday's contest between the Wildcats (9-5) and Mavericks (4-10) is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Tal Anderson Field in Omaha, Neb. … Left-hander JJ Slack (0-1) will get the start against Creighton (7-4), which is 2-0 at home this season, and face righty Ian Koosman (0-2). Wednesday's starter will be announced at a later date.

A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State moved to an overall 9-5 record after sweeping William & Mary, expanding to a five-game winning streak … On the weekend, K-State finished the series hitting .400 with a .492 on-base percentage and slugging .800 with nine doubles and 12 home runs, while outscoring WM 41-13 … Eleven players finished with a batting average over .300, led by Maximus Martin's .667 average … Martin ended the weekend with 12 RBI, seven runs scored and eight hits, that included one double and five home runs … For his efforts, Martin was chosen as the Golden Spikes Award Player of the Week by USA Baseball on Monday, as the shortstop becomes the first player in school history to garner the weekly award. In addition to the national honor, Martin was voted the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week, as announced by the league offices … Sunday marked the K-State's first six-home run game since 2021 (Last: March 9, 2021, vs. South Dakota State) … Martin has homered in four consecutive games, including a homer in the first inning in the las three games … K-State has registered a home run in six straight games, totaling 20 in the stretch with Martin accounting for six of them followed by O'Connor with four.

SCOUTING CREIGHTON
Creighton enters Tuesday's contest 7-4 overall with a three-game winning streak and a 2-0 home record at Charles Schwab Field … The Bluejays opened the 2025 season with a 2-1 loss at UNC Greensboro … Creighton has won seven of its last nine games, including series wins over Portland, College of Charleston and UC Davis … After the series opener was canceled, Creighton took both games of the series, that was highlighted by a 4-0 shutout in the series finale … The Bluejays offense is hitting .263 as a team with a .366 on-base percentage and .384 slugging percentage wth 13 doubles, two triples and nine home runs … Nolan Sailors' .444 average leads Creighton while the outfielder has hit a team-leading three doubles with a home run … Nate McHugh and Will MacLean each have blasted three home runs this season … The pitching staff boasts a 4.55 ERA (47 ER, 93 IP) with 92 strikeouts …

INSIDE THE SERIES
K-State leads the all-time series 55-44-1, including a 15-23 record in games played in Omaha … Tuesday marks the first meeting between the two squads since 2023, where K-State recorded a pair of shutout victories in the home-and-home series … In the last 10 meetings, the two squads are 5-5 while K-State looks to extend its win streak out to four … Under Hughes, K-State is 4-1 against Creighton.

Last Five Meetings
4/6/2019             W            9-2         Omaha, Neb.
4/7/2019             L             1-11      Omaha, Neb.
4/5/2022             W            7-5         Manhattan, Kan.
3/15/2023          W            3-0         Omaha, Neb.
4/10/2023          W            10-0 (7)  Manhattan, Kan.

SCOUTING OMAHA
Omaha, who heads into Wednesday's game 4-10, stunned college baseball with an upset over then-No. 3 LSU before collecting its second Power 4 victory over KU last weekend … the Mavericks are 1-4 in their last five outings, after picking up a 9-4 win in the series finale against SIUE on Sunday … As a team, Omaha is hitting .237 with two players with batting averages above .300 … Henry Zipay leads the way with a .360 average and a team-leading 18 hits … Jackson Trout has the second-best average (.314) while he has driven in a season-high 14 runs – the only player with double figure RBI … In 14 games, Omaha has belted six home runs with 20 doubles and two triples … The Mavs pitchers have a 7.08 ERA with opponents hitting .264 against them, while posting a 1.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio with 110 strikeouts this season.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Wednesday's contest marks the 21^st meeting between the two programs, with K-State leading the all-time series 17-3 after claiming a 6-4 victory in Manhattan last season … The Mavs overcame a 6-1 deficit in the last matchup against the Cats in Omaha, winning 7-6 … In the Hughes era, K-State is 5-1 against Omaha, outscoring the Mavs 40-20 during the span.

Last Five Meetings
4/23/2019          W            9-2         Papillion, Neb.
3/152022            W            8-4         Omaha, Neb.
4/19/2022          W            11-3      Manhattan, Kan.
2/28/2023          L             6-7         Omaha, Neb.
4/23/2024          W            6-4         Manhattan, Kan.

STREAKING
K-State brings a five-game winning streak into midweek action … The Cats are slashing .360/.465/.737 in the stretch with five starters hitting above .350 … In five games, K-State has hit 12 doubles and 18 home runs, led by six blasts from Martin … Wildcats have outscored opponents 64-22, averaging 12.6 hits per game … The pitching staff boasts a 4.61 ERA, surrendering 4.2 runs per game while limiting opponents to a .229 average … The Cats pitchers have struck out 51 batters and issued 13 walks, accumulating a 3.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

LAST TIME OUT
K-State scored a season-high 20 runs on a season-high 20 hits with one error committed and six left on base … Four different Wildcats homered – Martin (2), O'Connor (2), Inoue, Phillips … K-State scored in each inning, that included a season-high nine in the fifth … 11 players registered a hit with five recording multiple hits and RBI … Inoue drove in a game-leading four RBI, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate … Martin went 5-for-5 with two home runs, a double and single. He drove in three RBI and scored four runs … K-State drove in a season-high 18 RBI … Sheffield (3-1) earned the win, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits in his 4 1/3 inning start … Butler and Slack combined for 1 2/3 scoreless innings … K-State hit .480 (12-for-25) with runners on base and went 8-for-17 with men in scoring position while WM was 4-for-14 (.286) with runners on and 2-for-11 (.182) in scoring position … K-State hit .500 (8-for-16) with two-outs, driving in seven two-out RBI. Cats scored a season-high nine runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by a three home runs … The 20 total runs by the Wildcats were their most in a game in two years since April 16, 2023, vs. Kansas (21) … Sunday marked the first time reaching 20 hits since March 2, 2024, against UMass Lowell (20).

AT THE PLATE
Offensively, the Wildcats lead opponents with a slash line of .303/.415/.527 with 30 doubles and 26 homers … K-State has out-hit opponents in 10 of its 14 games this season (9-1), that included a season-high 20 hits with a season-high 18 RBI at home against William & Mary (March 9) … K-State has recorded 10+ hits in eight games, including six in the last seven outings … Six starters are hitting over .300, led by Martin with an incredible .524 … Martin is 13-for-20 (.650) in his last five games with two doubles and six home runs, driving in a team-leading 17 RBI with 11 runs scored … Evasco's .414 average is second on the team, while Dardar is second on the team in extra-base hits (11).

MARTIN MASH
Rising to the second-best slugging percentage (1.143) and third-best batting average (.524) in Division I, Martin is coming off a monstrous offensive weekend at Tointon Family Stadium … Martin turned in an incredible 2.714 OPS, after launching five home runs and tallying 12 RBI … He now leads the Big 12 with a season 1.735 OPS … Became the first player since 2018 to drive in eight RBI in a single game, while achieving the first multi-homer game this season for K-State with his first-inning grand slam and three-run homer in the second on Saturday … Homered in his fourth consecutive game on Sunday with another two-homer game, which marked the third straight game with a home run in the first inning. He finished 5-for-5 on the day, falling short of a triple of completing the cycle and became the first K-State player and fourth from the Big 12 to turn in a five-hit day.

FRESHMAN POWER
AJ Evasco continues his breakout season as the true freshman is slashing .414/.500/.759 with four doubles and two home runs … Evasco's .414 average and .759 slugging percentage is second-best on the team, as he has generated a hit in each of the 12 games he's appeared in … A product of Lincoln, Nebraska, is 10^th in the league in batting average.

BIG BAT CATS
Twelve Wildcats have sent one out this season, as K-State totals 26 on the year with 12 coming in the last three games … Six different players have recorded multiple home runs this season led by Martin with seven … Martin and Keegan O'Connor have each turned in a two-run home run game this season … K-State has turned in seven multi-home run games, including a season-high six homers on Sunday against William & Marry … The Cats have generated five back-to-back performances this season (Latest: Shintaro Inoue and Cayden Phillips, vs. William & Mary, March 9) … Since 2019, K-State's offense has turned in four of the top five seasons in terms of total home runs in program history, including a single-season record 89 in 2021 … The 89 bombs ranked 11th in the nation and shattered the previous record of 75 set in 1997.

ON THE MOUND
The 2025 K-State pitching staff boasts a 5.03 ERA (67 ER, 120 IP), with four players throwing at least 10 innings on the year … Five different players have picked up a win while James Guyette an Blake Dean each own a save … Opponents are hitting .241 against K-State … K-State pitchers rank fourth in the Big 12 and 38^th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.5 … K-State has struck out 140 batters this season and issued 56 walks for a 2.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio … Sheffield has struck out a season-high 26 batters with just two walks for a 13.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio, ranking 14^th overall in the nation.

FROM THE PEN
K-State's bullpen has now thrown six more innings than its starters (63-57) ... The bullpen has just two more strikeouts than its starting rotation (71-69), for a 10.1 K/9 rate ... Conversely, starters have lower walk rate, averaging 3.9 walks per nine innings while non-starters have a rate of 4.4 ... Opponents are hitting .208 against Wildcat relievers while hitting .273 against starters ... Junior Tazwell Butler and Blake Dean each lead the team with six relief outings... Three players have recorded a victory out of the pen this season.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
K-State has a season +35 run differential through 14 games averaging 8.2 runs on 10.4 hits per game ... Cats are undefeated (8-0) when leading after the sixth and 1-2 when tied after six ... K-State is 7-1 when committing one or no errors ... When scoring first, K-State is are 7-2 and 5-2 when scoring in the first inning … K-State has outhit opponents in 10 of 14 games this season (9-1) and is 6-0 when limiting opponents to five or less runs … 10 of 14 games have been against right-handed starters (7-3), while K-State is 2-2 against lefty starters.

AROUND THE BIG 12
Arizona State's Ben Jacobs (pitcher) and Jack Martinez (co-newcomer), Houston's Xavier Perez (player) and Kansas State's Maximus Martin (co-newcomer) were named the recipients of the Big 12 baseball weekly awards for the fourth week of the season.

UP NEXT
Following the games in Nebraska, the Cats will open Big 12 play at home for the second consecutive season with a three-game series against Utah (11-3) at Tointon Family Stadium. The series gets underway on Friday, March 14 at 6 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tazwell Butler

Blake Dean

AJ Evasco

James Guyette

Shintaro Inoue

Maximus Martin

Keegan O'Connor

Cayden Phillips

JJ Slack

Kansas State University Athletics