Kansas State University Athletics
Sunday, March 2
Frisco, Texas
11 a.m.
Kansas State University
9
vs
6
Nebraska
Sheffield’s Quality Start, Three Home Runs Lift Cats to 9-6 Win
Mar 02, 2025 | Baseball
FRISCO, Texas – K-State's three home runs paired with Lincoln Sheffield's quality start in the Wildcats' 9-6 win over Nebraska in the weekend finale of the Frisco Classic at Riders Field.
For the second consecutive day, K-State (6-5) had three players blast a home run led by freshman AJ Evasco's first collegiate homer in the fourth. Keegan O'Connor immediately followed with a 480-foot no-doubter, while Maximus Martin sent out a solo shot in the eighth.
"Good day, solid weekend for our program," said seventh-year head coach Pete Hughes. "Again, it begins and ends with quality starting pitching, and I thought Lincoln was awesome again for the second straight outing and keeping a pretty offensive team at bay in a super offensive setting."
Sheffield (2-1) turned in his second consecutive quality start in a Wildcat uniform, as the Flowood, Miss., product held the Cornhuskers to two runs in his 6 1/3 inning start. The lefty ended the day with seven strikeouts and scattered six hits, while he retired the Huskers in order in the third and fifth.
"I thought we got some timely hitting. We spread it throughout the lineup and had good balance. Overall, it was a really good day for our offense, but it all stems off the great start that we got from Lincoln," Hughes added.
Sheffield, the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week, threw 57 of his 79 pitches for strikes, generating a 72.3 strike percentage. K-State's pitching staff of Sheffield and relievers James Guyette and Blake Dean faced 39 batters without allowing a walk on Sunday.
Six different players contributed a hit in K-State's victory, with Martin and Seth Dardar leading the way with three hits each. The duo, joined by Evasco, each drove in two RBI while Nick English scored a game-high three runs.
Nebraska (4-5), the defending Big Ten Champion, was led offensively by Dylan Carey. The shortstop was 3-for-4 on the day with a home run, two RBI and one run scored. Huskers' starter Jackson Brockett (0-1) was credited with the loss, surrendering two earned runs on three hits with two walks and four punch outs in his two innings.
The Wildcats finished the 2025 Frisco Classic 2-1, outscoring opponents 28-17 and out-hitting opponents 33-25 led by Martin, who went 6-for-12 (.500) with five RBI and five runs scored. The pitching staff boasted a 4.82 ERA against opponents 7.39, with 31 strikeouts and 11 walks.
K-State launched eight home runs over the three-day event, with multi-home runs efforts in each game including three on Saturday and Sunday's contests. The Cats have generated multi-home run games in four of its last five games – all including back-to-back efforts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Martin led off Sunday's match up with a double into left center and advanced to third on a grounder to first. With two outs, Dardar laced a double down the left field line to open scoring for K-State.
Nebraska answered with a pair of hits in the bottom of the inning, but left runners stranded in scoring position as Sheffield worked out of a jam and picked up two consecutive outs.
Brockett issued walks to English and Kyan Lodice before Martin singled into center field to double the Cats lead until Nebraska took advantage of a wild pitch to bring the score back within one, 2-1.
After surrendering one run in the second, Sheffield retired 13 of the next 14 batters he faced.
K-State broke it open in the fourth as Evasco and O'Connor teamed up for back-to-back homers to stretch the Cats lead to four, 5-1.
Evasco belted his first collegiate home run to left field to tack two runs on to the board for K-State before O'Connor, who homered for the second consecutive day, launched his second homer of the season 480-feet out of the park.
The Wildcats continued to stretch their lead to 9-2, as Lodice, Dardar and Bear Madliak each drove in a run before Martin launched the Cats third homer of the day.
Nebraska clawed at the Cats lead, scoring four runs in the final two innings, but the Cats' defense held off the rally to secure the win.
INSIDE THE BOX
The Wildcats will take on Creighton (5-4) in the home opener on Wednesday, March 5 at Tointon Family Stadium, starting at 3 p.m. Season and single-game tickets are now available. To purchase season tickets, fans can visit KStateSports.com, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stop by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum. The home opener against the Bluejays will be broadcast on ESPN+, while 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 season tickets, fans can visit KStateSports.com, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stop by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.
For the second consecutive day, K-State (6-5) had three players blast a home run led by freshman AJ Evasco's first collegiate homer in the fourth. Keegan O'Connor immediately followed with a 480-foot no-doubter, while Maximus Martin sent out a solo shot in the eighth.
"Good day, solid weekend for our program," said seventh-year head coach Pete Hughes. "Again, it begins and ends with quality starting pitching, and I thought Lincoln was awesome again for the second straight outing and keeping a pretty offensive team at bay in a super offensive setting."
Sheffield (2-1) turned in his second consecutive quality start in a Wildcat uniform, as the Flowood, Miss., product held the Cornhuskers to two runs in his 6 1/3 inning start. The lefty ended the day with seven strikeouts and scattered six hits, while he retired the Huskers in order in the third and fifth.
"I thought we got some timely hitting. We spread it throughout the lineup and had good balance. Overall, it was a really good day for our offense, but it all stems off the great start that we got from Lincoln," Hughes added.
Sheffield, the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week, threw 57 of his 79 pitches for strikes, generating a 72.3 strike percentage. K-State's pitching staff of Sheffield and relievers James Guyette and Blake Dean faced 39 batters without allowing a walk on Sunday.
Six different players contributed a hit in K-State's victory, with Martin and Seth Dardar leading the way with three hits each. The duo, joined by Evasco, each drove in two RBI while Nick English scored a game-high three runs.
Nebraska (4-5), the defending Big Ten Champion, was led offensively by Dylan Carey. The shortstop was 3-for-4 on the day with a home run, two RBI and one run scored. Huskers' starter Jackson Brockett (0-1) was credited with the loss, surrendering two earned runs on three hits with two walks and four punch outs in his two innings.
The Wildcats finished the 2025 Frisco Classic 2-1, outscoring opponents 28-17 and out-hitting opponents 33-25 led by Martin, who went 6-for-12 (.500) with five RBI and five runs scored. The pitching staff boasted a 4.82 ERA against opponents 7.39, with 31 strikeouts and 11 walks.
K-State launched eight home runs over the three-day event, with multi-home runs efforts in each game including three on Saturday and Sunday's contests. The Cats have generated multi-home run games in four of its last five games – all including back-to-back efforts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Martin led off Sunday's match up with a double into left center and advanced to third on a grounder to first. With two outs, Dardar laced a double down the left field line to open scoring for K-State.
Nebraska answered with a pair of hits in the bottom of the inning, but left runners stranded in scoring position as Sheffield worked out of a jam and picked up two consecutive outs.
Brockett issued walks to English and Kyan Lodice before Martin singled into center field to double the Cats lead until Nebraska took advantage of a wild pitch to bring the score back within one, 2-1.
After surrendering one run in the second, Sheffield retired 13 of the next 14 batters he faced.
K-State broke it open in the fourth as Evasco and O'Connor teamed up for back-to-back homers to stretch the Cats lead to four, 5-1.
Evasco belted his first collegiate home run to left field to tack two runs on to the board for K-State before O'Connor, who homered for the second consecutive day, launched his second homer of the season 480-feet out of the park.
The Wildcats continued to stretch their lead to 9-2, as Lodice, Dardar and Bear Madliak each drove in a run before Martin launched the Cats third homer of the day.
Nebraska clawed at the Cats lead, scoring four runs in the final two innings, but the Cats' defense held off the rally to secure the win.
INSIDE THE BOX
- K-State scored nine runs with 10 hits, one error committed and seven left on base.
- UNL scored six runs on nine hits, committed one error and stranded six on base.
- Sheffield (2-1) picked up the win, surrendering two runs (both earned) on six hits with seven strikeouts in his 6 1/3 innings of work.
- Evasco, O'Connor and Martin each homered.
- Six different players contributed a hit led by Martin and Dardar, who had three-hit days.
- Six different Wildcats had an RBI led by two from Martin, Dardar, and Evasco.
- English scored a game-high three runs with two walks.
- Guyette and Dean combined for four runs on three hits in 2 2/3 innings with four strikeouts.
- Brockett (0-1) earned the loss, allowing two earned runs on three hits in his two-inning start.
- K-State hit .300 (6-for-20) with runners on base and .333 (4-for-12) in scoring position, while UNL was 5-for-16 (.313) with runners and 1-for-8 (.125) with men in scoring position.
- Nebraska leads the all-time series 176-117, including a 4-2 edge in neutral contests.
- K-State is 3-4 against UNL in the Hughes era, while Sunday's win snaps a three-game losing streak against the Huskers.
- K-State has recorded multi-home run games in four of its last five outings, all with back-to-back performances.
- The Cats sent out three homers for the second consecutive game.
- The Wildcats finished the 2025 Frisco Classic 2-1, outscoring opponents 28-17 and out-hitting opponents 33-25.
- The pitching staff boasted a 4.82 ERA against opponents 7.39, with 31 strikeouts and 11 walks.
The Wildcats will take on Creighton (5-4) in the home opener on Wednesday, March 5 at Tointon Family Stadium, starting at 3 p.m. Season and single-game tickets are now available. To purchase season tickets, fans can visit KStateSports.com, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stop by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum. The home opener against the Bluejays will be broadcast on ESPN+, while 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 season 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.
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.
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