K-State Meets Nebraska for Midweek Road Action

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State will round out its home-and-home series with Nebraska on Tuesday at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Neb. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.

K-State (26-18) currently sits sixth in the Big 12 Conference standings, after capturing its fifth conference series of the season. Nebraska enters the week with a 21-23 overall record.

The Wildcats will send redshirt sophomore Tanner Duke to the hill for his sixth midweek start while the Huskers will oppose him with sophomore right-hander Tucker Timmerman (0-1, 6:39 ERA).

Redshirt junior Bear Madliak was named to the Buster Posey Catcher of the Year Award Midseason Watch List.

Tuesday's game can be seen on the Big Ten Network with radio coverage available on KMAN. Live streaming audio is also available at K-StateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

Single-game tickets are now available for all K-State baseball games at Tointon Family Stadium 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 #45
K-STATE (26-18, 12-9 BIG 12) vs. NEBRASKA (21-23, 9-12 BIG TEN)
Tuesday, April 29 // 6 p.m. // Hawks Field
Projected Starters: RHP Tanner Duke (2-2, 4.39 ERA) vs. Tucker Timmerman (0-1, 6.39 ERA)
Watch: Big Ten Network
Radio: KMAN // Matt Walters
Listen Online: KStateSports.com/watch // 1350kman.com
Listen Online | Live Stats

A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State (26-18) captured its sixth series win over the weekend, taking two of three games against Big 12 foe Houston at Tointon Family Stadium … The Cats outscored the Cougars 24-21 in the series, hitting .227 with seven home runs … Keegan O'Connor and Shintaro Inoue each homered twice in the series, while Seth Dardar, Dee Kennedy and Sam Flores had one … Dardar blasted his first grand slam in the middle game, helping the Cats to their 14-5 series-clinching victory … The pitching staff notched a 4.33 ERA against the Cougars with a 1.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio … K-State ranks sixth in the league standings and is one of six conference members to boast an RPI of 50 or lower (43) ... Right-hander Tanner Duke will make his sixth midweek start Tuesday … In nine total outings, Duke boasts a 4.39 ERA with 27 strikeouts.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA
Nebraska (21-23) is coming of a Big Ten series win over Maryland, that included a 21-5 run-rule victory in the series finale … Gabe Swansen drove in a game-high seven runs in the finale, helping Nebraska to its first 20-plus run game since 2019 … As a team, the Huskers are hitting .274 with 85 doubles, four triples and 47 home runs … Six starters are hitting north of .300 led by Cayden Brumbaugh (.321) … Max Buettenback and Tyler Stone have each belted seven homers this season … Junior closer Luke Broderick was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List – an award that is given to the top relief pitcher in Division I baseball each season … Broderick leads the Big Ten with nine saves on the year, which is ninth in the Division I … Tucker Timmerman will get his second start of the year in the midweek … In five appearances, the right-hander owns a record of 0-1 with an 6.39 ERA and 15 strikeouts.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Tuesday's midweek marks the 295^th meeting between the two schools, with Nebraska leading the all-time series 176-118, dating back to 1898 … The Huskers lead 92-43 in games played in Lincoln … K-State Is 4-4 against the Cornhuskers under Hughes, with a current two-game winning streak … The Cats won the 2025 season-series against the Huskers, outscoring Nebraska 21-14 … K-State is 5-5 in the last 10 contests.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
L, 6-8 – April 26, 2022 (Lincoln)
L, 1-6 - April 4, 2023 (Manhattan)
L, 0-8 – May 1, 2024 (Lincoln)
W, 9-6 – March 2, 2025 (Frisco, Texas)
W, 12-8 – March 25, 2025 (Manhattan)

BIG BAT CATS
K-State ranks second in the Big 12 and 12^th in the nation with 77 home runs this season, with 28 coming in the month of April ... The Cats' 77 home runs ties third all-time in program history, alongside the 2023 squad … The Cats have hit multiple home runs in 23 contests this season (20-3) ... In total, 13 different players have hit at least one home run this season with 11 recording multiple home runs and three with 10 or more – Martin (12), O'Connor (12), Kennedy (11) … Five different players have each turned in multi-home run performances (Latest: Shintaro Inoue, Dee Kennedy vs. Wichita State, April 22) … K-State recorded a season-high six homers twice this year: vs. William & Mary (March 9), vs. Wichita State (April 22) … The Cats have generated seven back-to-back performances this season (Latest: Madliak and Flores, vs. Missouri State, April 8) … Martin and Evasco have each launched a grand slam this season … Since 2019, K-State's offense has turned in five of the top six seasons in terms of total home runs in program history, including a single-season record 89 in 2021.

ON THE ROAD, AGAIN
K-State looks to pick up its first road win since April 2 at Wichita State, after dropping its last eight road contests… When playing on the road this season, K-State is 10-16 that includes a 4-14 record in true road games … On the road, the Wildcat offense is slashing .244/.353/.393 with 29 home runs (1.12 per game) and 131 RBI ... K-State averages 5.8 runs per game on 8.2 hits while drawing 120 walks with 30 stolen bases ... The Wildcat pitching staff has a 5.88 ERA on the road with 244 strikeouts (9.4 per game) ... Dardar's .329 average leads the offense, that includes 13 extra-base hits (eight doubles, five home runs) … 11 players have sent one out on the road this season led by five from Dardar and Kennedy.

BIG BEAR ENERGY
K-State's Bear Madliak was named to the midseason watch list for the 2025 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, as announced by the Wichita Sports Commission … Madliak was one of 56 catchers, including five from the Big 12, nominated for the honor that is awarded annually to the top Division I collegiate catcher … In his first season at K-State after transferring from Jacksonville State, Madliak has played in 42 of the Wildcats' 44 games, starting in all but two behind the plate … A native of Carrollton, Georgia, the 5-foot-10 backstop has thrown out nine potential base stealers this season – third highest in the Big 12 … This season, Madliak has belted seven home runs while driving in 22 runs. He has recorded a season-high three hits twice, with 10 multi-hit efforts and six games with multiple RBI.

NUMBERS NUGGETS
K-State has a +62-run differential through 44 games this season ... The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 40-19 in the third inning alone ... K-State scored nine runs in the fifth inning against William & Mary - its largest run total in a single inning this season ... The Cats are 23-10 when hitting a home run and 20-3 when hitting multiple homers ... K-State has won nine of 13 games in which it has not committed an error while going 17-14 when committing at least one error ... When holding opponents to five or fewer runs, the Wildcats are 17-4 ... Conversely, K-State has a record of 6-16 when scoring five or fewer runs in a game and is 20-2 when scoring at least six runs ... K-State is 7-7 in games decided by two runs or fewer ... Home runs account for 135 of the 324 runs batted in on the season (41.7 percent) … K-State is hitting .313 on the season with runners in scoring position and .261 with two outs, driving in 102 runs with two away ... Last season, the Cats managed a .274 average with runners in scoring position while hitting .267 with two outs.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
West Virginia (37-5, 16-3 Big 12) sits atop the Big 12 standings, with an NCAA-leading winning percentage (.881) … KU is second in the league standings followed by a two-way tie between TCU and Arizona State, while Arizona rounds out the Top-5 … The Cats rank sixth in the conference standings … Arizona State's Matt King (player and newcomer) and Kansas' Dominic Voegele (pitcher) took home the Big 12 Baseball weekly awards for games ending April 27.

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Players Mentioned

Seth Dardar

Tanner Duke

Sam Flores

Shintaro Inoue

Dee Kennedy

Bear Madliak

Keegan O'Connor

Kansas State University Athletics