Kansas State University Athletics
Wednesday, March 19
Stephenville, Texas
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
13-7
7
at
6
Tarleton State
9-13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Kansas State
2
0
0
1
2
0
0
2
0
7
8
1
Tarleton State
1
2
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
6
8
0
K-State Holds Off Tarleton State Wednesday Night
Mar 19, 2025 | Baseball
STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tanner Duke fired 2 1/3 scoreless innings and Keegan O'Connor's go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth lifted K-State to a 7-6 victory over Tarleton State on Wednesday night at the Tarleton Baseball Complex.
Tied 5-5 in the eighth, O'Connor laced the game-winning homer to opposite field, handing the Wildcats (13-7, 3-0 Big 12) their fourth consecutive win.
"Overall, a really great team win," commented head coach Pete Hughes. "We had guys picking each other up all night long."
"Tanner Duke was great coming out of the bullpen and Keegan O'Connor got a big two-run homer late. I thought Tazwell Butler was awesome in his outing, and was dominant to secure that lead, but overall, a gritty midweek win. We need to keep that momentum going for the weekend," Hughes added.
K-State utilized five pitchers in the win against Tarleton State (9-13), with Duke striking out a game-high four batters. The right-hander fired 2 1/3 scoreless inning in his third relief outing of the season.
Blake Dean (2-1) picked up the victory in relief of Duke for the Wildcats, with the Acworth, Ga, native surrendering one earned run on one hit with two strikeouts. Butler was credited with his first save at K-State, scattering one hit in his two innings of work.
Seven players earned a hit, led by Dee Kennedy, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored. In addition to O'Connor, Maximus Martin belted his own two-run homer, as the duo combined for four of the Cats' six RBI.
K-State hit .375 (3-for-8) with runners in scoring position and .364 (4-for-11) with two outs with four two-out RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
K-State jumped on the board with a pair of runs in the opening frame, led by Kennedy's double into right center. The sophomore advanced to third on Kyan Lodice's 14-pitch at bat before back-to-back doubles from AJ Evasco and Seth Dardar handed the Cats a 2-0 lead.
The Texans plated a run in the first and second to knot the score at 2-all before taking a one-run lead on a wild pitch.
In the fourth, K-State capitalized on a wild pitch to level the score. Tied 3-3, a solo homer put Tarleton State back on top.
Duke relieved Ty Ruhl in the bottom of the inning, inheriting a runner on second. The right-hander retired five consecutive batters before issuing a walk in the sixth.
Trailing 4-3, Lodice walked on four pitches to bring Martin up to the plate with one out. The junior shortstop blasted his ninth homer of the season into the wind in left field but was answered with a game-tying grounder to short.
With the score tied at 5-all in the eighth, O'Connor delivered the game-winning hit with a two-out, two-run homer to right field.
INSIDE THE BOX
The Wildcats return to Big 12 play this weekend, facing the Baylor Bears (15-5, 1-2 Big 12). The three-game conference series gets underway Friday, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. All entire series will broadcast on ESPN+, while radio coverage is available on KMAN online with Matt Walters calling all the action. A free live streaming audio available for all games at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app. Season and single-game tickets are now available. To purchase tickets, fans can visit KStateSports.com, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stop by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.
– 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.
Tied 5-5 in the eighth, O'Connor laced the game-winning homer to opposite field, handing the Wildcats (13-7, 3-0 Big 12) their fourth consecutive win.
"Overall, a really great team win," commented head coach Pete Hughes. "We had guys picking each other up all night long."
"Tanner Duke was great coming out of the bullpen and Keegan O'Connor got a big two-run homer late. I thought Tazwell Butler was awesome in his outing, and was dominant to secure that lead, but overall, a gritty midweek win. We need to keep that momentum going for the weekend," Hughes added.
K-State utilized five pitchers in the win against Tarleton State (9-13), with Duke striking out a game-high four batters. The right-hander fired 2 1/3 scoreless inning in his third relief outing of the season.
Blake Dean (2-1) picked up the victory in relief of Duke for the Wildcats, with the Acworth, Ga, native surrendering one earned run on one hit with two strikeouts. Butler was credited with his first save at K-State, scattering one hit in his two innings of work.
Seven players earned a hit, led by Dee Kennedy, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored. In addition to O'Connor, Maximus Martin belted his own two-run homer, as the duo combined for four of the Cats' six RBI.
K-State hit .375 (3-for-8) with runners in scoring position and .364 (4-for-11) with two outs with four two-out RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
K-State jumped on the board with a pair of runs in the opening frame, led by Kennedy's double into right center. The sophomore advanced to third on Kyan Lodice's 14-pitch at bat before back-to-back doubles from AJ Evasco and Seth Dardar handed the Cats a 2-0 lead.
The Texans plated a run in the first and second to knot the score at 2-all before taking a one-run lead on a wild pitch.
In the fourth, K-State capitalized on a wild pitch to level the score. Tied 3-3, a solo homer put Tarleton State back on top.
Duke relieved Ty Ruhl in the bottom of the inning, inheriting a runner on second. The right-hander retired five consecutive batters before issuing a walk in the sixth.
Trailing 4-3, Lodice walked on four pitches to bring Martin up to the plate with one out. The junior shortstop blasted his ninth homer of the season into the wind in left field but was answered with a game-tying grounder to short.
With the score tied at 5-all in the eighth, O'Connor delivered the game-winning hit with a two-out, two-run homer to right field.
INSIDE THE BOX
- K-State scored seven runs on eight hits, committed one error and left four runners on base.
- TSU played six runs on eight hits without committing an error and stranding six men on base.
- Seven different Wildcats produced a hit, led by Kennedy (2-for-4).
- Martin and O'Connor each belted two-run homers, combining for four of the Cats' six RBI.
- O'Connor delivered the game-winner with his two-run homer in the eighth.
- Five pitchers made an appearance Wednesday. Dean (2-1) was awarded the victory while Butler picked up his first save at K-State.
- Duke fired 2 1/3 scoreless inning in relief, striking out four of the eight batters he faced.
- K-State hit .375 (3-for-8) with runners in scoring position and .364 (4-for-11) with two outs with four two-out RBI.
- TSU went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, while hitting .100 (1-for-10) with two outs and .071 (1-for-14) with runners on base.
- Eight different pitchers made an appearance for the Texans, with Beaird (0-3) credited with the loss.
- Wednesday marked the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the diamond.
- K-State has homered in 15 games this season, going 10-4.
- The Cats are 10-1 when hitting 2+ homers in a game.
- This season, K-State is 10-7 in non-conference contests, while moving to 8-2 overall in its last 10 games.
- Martin launched his team-leading ninth homer of the season – ranks second in the Big 12.
- Evasco stretched his hitting and on-base streak to 11 with a double in the first.
- O'Connor blasted his sixth homer of the season, expanding his on-base streak to 10.
- Kennedy has recorded multiple hits in five of his last seven games.
The Wildcats return to Big 12 play this weekend, facing the Baylor Bears (15-5, 1-2 Big 12). The three-game conference series gets underway Friday, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. All entire series will broadcast on ESPN+, while radio coverage is available on KMAN online with Matt Walters calling all the action. A free live streaming audio available for all games at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app. Season and single-game tickets are now available. To purchase tickets, fans can visit KStateSports.com, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stop by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.
– 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: Dean, Blake (2-1)
L: Beaird, Ryan (0-3)
S: Butler, Tazwell (1)
Batting:
2B: Kennedy, Dee 1 ; Evasco, AJ 1 ; Dardar, Seth 1
HR: Martin, Maximus 1 ; O'Connor, Keegan 1
RBI: Martin, Maximus 2 ; Evasco, AJ 1 ; Dardar, Seth 1 ; O'Connor, Keegan 2
SH: Inoue, Shintaro 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kennedy, Dee 1 ; Lodice, Kyan 1 ; Martin, Maximus 2 ; Evasco, AJ 1 ; Dardar, Seth 1 ; O'Connor, Keegan 1
CS: Kennedy, Dee 1
HBP: O'Connor, Keegan 1
Batting:
2B: Heinrich, Rayner 1
HR: Gostisha, Braden 1
RBI: Perez, Jaime 1 ; Morrison, Trace 1 ; Gostisha, Braden 1 ; Heinrich, Rayner 2
SF: Morrison, Trace 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Drake, Tyson 1 ; Lorch, Carson 1 ; Gostisha, Braden 3 ; Heinrich, Rayner 1
SB: Drake, Tyson 1 ; Lorch, Carson 1 ; Gostisha, Braden 1
HBP: Perez, Jaime 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
RHP
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