K-State Outlasts William & Mary in Home Opener

Friday, March 7

Manhattan, Kan.

3 p.m.

Kansas State University

7-5

William & Mary

4-9

William & Mary

Kansas State

Mar 07, 2025 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Right-handers Ty Ruhl and Blake Dean combined for five scoreless innings to help lead K-State to a 4-2 victory over William & Mary in its home opener Friday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium.

"Good win, a sloppy win, but we don't apologize for wins in this program they're too hard to come by," commented head coach Pete Hughes. "But we know that's not our standard as far as how we run our offense. We squandered a lot of opportunities today."

Ruhl (1-1) picked up the win in relief of starter Jacob Frost, scattering just one hit over 2 2/3 innings before handing the ball over to Blake Dean, who fired a scoreless eighth and ninth with three strikeouts to earn the save.

"I thought we did a really good job early on against a competitive, talented arm, but like I said, we squandered too many opportunities, and we can't play like that if we want to win in the Big 12. Good thing we got solid pitching today, especially out of our bullpen. Ty Ruhl was great, as was Blake Dean. Good enough to really stop any offensive momentum from William & Mary," Hughes added.

"So back at it tomorrow. We got to get better on offense and try to win a series."

The Wildcats (7-5) scored three of their four runs in the first and second innings,, highlighted by a leadoff solo home run from Maximus Martin. The Big 12 Player of the Week homered for the second consecutive game and became the first player to send out a leadoff home run to open a game since Brendan Jones in 2024.

K-State's starter Jacob Frost held William & Mary (4-9), a team that entered Friday's contest averaging 10.3 runs per game, to two earned runs on three hits in his four innings of work. The senior left-hander finished his third start of the year with five strikeouts and walked two.

Offensively, the Wildcats registered seven hits in the opener led by a two-hit day from Kyan Lodice while Dee Kennedy drove in a game-leading two runs batted in.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats plated two runs in the opening frame, led by a 411-foot leadoff homer by Martin. Kyan Lodice followed with a single through the left side before stealing second and scoring on a pair of groundouts.

Sam Flores drove in a run for the Cats in the second to make it a 3-0 ball game, until WM cut K-State's lead to one with back-to-back doubles by Anthony Greco and Christian Rush.

Ruhl relieved Frost in the fifth and retired the Tribe in order with the help of a classic 4-6-3 double play.

Leading 3-2 in the seventh, Kennedy tacked on the final run of the game after driving in pinch runner Rohan Putz from third with a grounder to second.

INSIDE THE BOX

K-State scored four runs on seven hits, while committing three errors and leaving seven on base.
WM scored two runs on four hits, committed one error and left nine on base.
Lodice led the offense going 2-for-2 with a run scored and walk, while Kennedy drove in a game-high two RBI.
Frost logged four innings in his third start, surrendering two earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts.
Ruhl and Dean combined for five scoreless innings.
Ruhl (1-1) allowed just one hit in 2 2/3 innings of work to pick up the win.
Dean fired a 2 1/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

NOTES

Friday's contest marks the first-ever meeting between the two squads.
K-State is 9-3 all-time against teams from the Coastal Athletic Conference.
The Wildcats move to 2-2 when playing on Friday, and
The win stretched K-State's win streak to three.
Martin hit the first leadoff homer for a game since Brendan Jones vs. TCU (April 27, 2024).

UP NEXT
Game two against the Tribe is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday at Tointon Family Stadium. The entire non-conference series can be seen 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.