Kansas State University Athletics
Tuesday, April 8
Manhattan, Kan.
6 p.m.
Kansas State University
21-11
12
vs
2
Missouri State
16-15
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Missouri State
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
5
1
Kansas State
0
4
2
2
0
0
4
12
12
1
Madliak Homers Twice, Cats Cruise Past Bears
Apr 08, 2025 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State's five home runs, including two by Bear Madliak, powered the Wildcats to a 12-2 seven-inning victory over Missouri State at Tointon Family Stadium on Tuesday night.
"Just what the doctor ordered in a bounce-back game for our team – a high character win with a resilient group after a disappointing weekend," said Pete Hughes, now in his seventh season at the helm of the K-State baseball program. "We came up with energy, played a tough and scrappy team, and performed well in every phase of the game. More importantly, we played with energy and played fundamental baseball."
With the win, the Wildcats (21-11) extended their home winning streak to 11, marking the first 11-0 start at home since 2014. Missouri State, which had picked up consecutive midweek Power 4 wins over then-No. 2 Arkansas and Oklahoma State, moved to 16-15 on the year as it dropped its fifth straight game against K-State.
Four different Wildcats belted a home run led by Madliak, who became the fourth player to hit multiple in a game this season after blasting a no-doubter in the second and seventh. Sam Flores, Dee Kennedy and Cayden Phillips each homered, while Phillips delivered a two-run blast in the seventh to clinch the walk-off victory.
Flores, who earned his sixth start of the season, became the 13th player to homer for K-State this season.
"We got a great start from Tanner Duke against a super high-powered offense and got to play some guys that we need to play well to have depth in our program. So, top to bottom all around, it was a really good win. A win that will get us going and feeling good about ourselves heading into a conference weekend against UCF."
In his debut at Tointon Family Stadium, Tanner Duke retired 16 of the 22 batters he faced. He ended the night surrendering two earned runs on four hits and matched a season-high six strikeouts over five complete innings – his longest outing of the year.
K-State reliever JJ Slack took over for Duke and fired two scoreless innings, as the left-hander scattered one hit and struck out three in his seventh relief appearance.
On the year, K-State has registered a home run in 25 of its 32 games, that includes 18 games with two or more. In the second, Madliak and Flores turned in the team's seventh back-to-back home run performance.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless first, the Wildcats erupted for eight runs over a three-inning span, before clinching the run-rule victory with a four-run seventh inning.
Madliak, who served as the designated hitter, put K-State on the board with a solo shot into left center and was immediately followed with Flores' first homer at K-State. The Cats doubled their lead, 4-0, with a two-run double by Kennedy.
Missouri State closed the gap to two in the third with a pair of solo blasts.
The Wildcats recovered the runs handed over in the top of the inning, as AJ Evasco singled through the left side and advanced to third on a throwing error to first. With runners on first and third, Flores doubled into right field to stretch the Cats lead to four.
Leading 4-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth, Kennedy launched his seventh homer of the year to opposite field before Madliak delivered a two-out RBI double to left center.
The Wildcats put the game away in the seventh led by the Cats' fourth homer, as Madliak barreled his second no-doubter of the night to force the Bears to make their sixth call to the bullpen. Pinch hitter Micah Dean doubled into left field and came across the plate in the next at bat on Shintaro Inoue's single through the right side.
With two outs and Inoue on first, Phillips shelled a 3-1 pitch 396-feet over the left-field wall to secure the run-rule win.
INSIDE THE BOX
The Wildcats host UCF (18-14, 3-9 Big 12) for a three-game Big 12 series, starting Friday at 6 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium. The entire Big 12 series can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while radio coverage is available on KMAN. A free live audio can be found for all K-State baseball games at kstatesports.com/watch.
K-State baseball single-game tickets are available, and can be purchased by visiting KStateSports.com, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stopping 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.
"Just what the doctor ordered in a bounce-back game for our team – a high character win with a resilient group after a disappointing weekend," said Pete Hughes, now in his seventh season at the helm of the K-State baseball program. "We came up with energy, played a tough and scrappy team, and performed well in every phase of the game. More importantly, we played with energy and played fundamental baseball."
With the win, the Wildcats (21-11) extended their home winning streak to 11, marking the first 11-0 start at home since 2014. Missouri State, which had picked up consecutive midweek Power 4 wins over then-No. 2 Arkansas and Oklahoma State, moved to 16-15 on the year as it dropped its fifth straight game against K-State.
Four different Wildcats belted a home run led by Madliak, who became the fourth player to hit multiple in a game this season after blasting a no-doubter in the second and seventh. Sam Flores, Dee Kennedy and Cayden Phillips each homered, while Phillips delivered a two-run blast in the seventh to clinch the walk-off victory.
Flores, who earned his sixth start of the season, became the 13th player to homer for K-State this season.
"We got a great start from Tanner Duke against a super high-powered offense and got to play some guys that we need to play well to have depth in our program. So, top to bottom all around, it was a really good win. A win that will get us going and feeling good about ourselves heading into a conference weekend against UCF."
In his debut at Tointon Family Stadium, Tanner Duke retired 16 of the 22 batters he faced. He ended the night surrendering two earned runs on four hits and matched a season-high six strikeouts over five complete innings – his longest outing of the year.
K-State reliever JJ Slack took over for Duke and fired two scoreless innings, as the left-hander scattered one hit and struck out three in his seventh relief appearance.
On the year, K-State has registered a home run in 25 of its 32 games, that includes 18 games with two or more. In the second, Madliak and Flores turned in the team's seventh back-to-back home run performance.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless first, the Wildcats erupted for eight runs over a three-inning span, before clinching the run-rule victory with a four-run seventh inning.
Madliak, who served as the designated hitter, put K-State on the board with a solo shot into left center and was immediately followed with Flores' first homer at K-State. The Cats doubled their lead, 4-0, with a two-run double by Kennedy.
Missouri State closed the gap to two in the third with a pair of solo blasts.
The Wildcats recovered the runs handed over in the top of the inning, as AJ Evasco singled through the left side and advanced to third on a throwing error to first. With runners on first and third, Flores doubled into right field to stretch the Cats lead to four.
Leading 4-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth, Kennedy launched his seventh homer of the year to opposite field before Madliak delivered a two-out RBI double to left center.
The Wildcats put the game away in the seventh led by the Cats' fourth homer, as Madliak barreled his second no-doubter of the night to force the Bears to make their sixth call to the bullpen. Pinch hitter Micah Dean doubled into left field and came across the plate in the next at bat on Shintaro Inoue's single through the right side.
With two outs and Inoue on first, Phillips shelled a 3-1 pitch 396-feet over the left-field wall to secure the run-rule win.
INSIDE THE BOX
- K-State scored 12 runs on 12 hits, committed one error and stranded four on base.
- MoState scored two runs on five hits with one error and leaving six runners on base.
- Four different Wildcats homered – Madliak (2), Flores, Kennedy, Phillips.
- Phillips delivered a walk-off two-run homer in the seventh.
- Duke (1-1) picked up his first win, surrendering two earned runs on four hits and matching a season-high six strikeouts.
- Slack fired two scoreless innings in relief of Duke.
- Smith (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing four earned runs in the second on four hits.
- Madliak went 3-for-4 with three RBI – matching a season-best in both categories. He finished with a double and his first multi-home run game.
- Four players had multi-hit efforts – Madliak (3), Flores (2), Kennedy (2), Phillips (2).
- Flores drove in a season-high three RBI on two hits.
- The Cats went 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position and 4-for-9 with two outs, driving in four RBIs with two-outs.
- MoState was 1-for-10 with men on base and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
- K-State remains undefeated at home with a perfect 11-0 record – marking the first 11-0 home start since 2014.
- K-State leads the all-time series 19-11, including a 12-4 advantage in games played in Manhattan while extending its winning streak to five.
- The Cats have won six of the last seven contests played in Manhattan.
- Madliak became the fourth player to produce a multi-home run game.
- Phillips delivered a two-run walk-off homer to capture the Cats' fifth walk-off of the season – third by a home run.
- Flores became the 13th Wildcat to homer this season.
- K-State has homered in 25 of 35 games, including 18 with two or more (17-1).
- Madliak and Flores turned in the team's seventh back-to-back home run effort.
- In three starts, Duke has surrendered four runs and scattered nine hits over 13 innings.
The Wildcats host UCF (18-14, 3-9 Big 12) for a three-game Big 12 series, starting Friday at 6 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium. The entire Big 12 series can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while radio coverage is available on KMAN. A free live audio can be found for all K-State baseball games at kstatesports.com/watch.
K-State baseball single-game tickets are available, and can be purchased by visiting KStateSports.com, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stopping 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: Duke, Tanner (1-1)
L: Smith,Gabe (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Bogenpohl,Caden 1 ; Rodriguez,Nick 1
RBI: Bogenpohl,Caden 1 ; Rodriguez,Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bogenpohl,Caden 1 ; Rodriguez,Nick 1
SB: Robertson,Dylan 1
Batting:
2B: Kennedy, Dee 1 ; Madliak, Bear 1 ; Vasquez, Carlos 1 ; Quetschenbach, Jack 1 ; Arnold, Aaron 1
HR: Kennedy, Dee 1 ; Madliak, Bear 2 ; Vasquez, Carlos 1 ; Arnold, Aaron 1
RBI: Kennedy, Dee 3 ; Madliak, Bear 3 ; Vasquez, Carlos 3 ; Inoue, Shintaro 1 ; Arnold, Aaron 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Kennedy, Dee 1 ; Bolin, Robby 1 ; Evasco, AJ 1 ; Madliak, Bear 3 ; Vasquez, Carlos 1 ; Quetschenbach, Jack 1 ; Inoue, Shintaro 2 ; Arnold, Aaron 2
CS: Evasco, AJ 1 ; Karl, Cadyn 1
HBP: Bolin, Robby 1 ; Inoue, Shintaro 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
UTL
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
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