Wednesday, May 21
Arlington, Texas
8 p.m.
Kansas State University
31-24
2
vs
9
Houston
30-24
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 1 |
| Kansas State | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
Houston Stifles K-State in Opening Round
May 22, 2025 | Baseball
ARLINGTON, Texas – Three Houston relievers combined for eight scoreless innings Wednesday night, as the 11th-seeded Cougars defeated No. 6 seed K-State, 9-2, ending the Wildcats run at the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at Globe Life Field.
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Houston, which earned its first Big 12 Conference tournament win, improves to 30-24 on the year and will face third-seeded TCU Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU. K-State (31-24) will learn its NCAA Tournament fate on Monday, May 26 at 11 a.m. via the 2025 NCAA Selection Show, which can be seen on ESPN2.
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"We come to these tournaments to try and win them and play well," head coach Pete Hughes commented. "We got off to a really good start, and obviously, we couldn't build on anything from there."
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"We had the chance to answer a five-run inning in the second, and we started building an inning that allows you to get back into the game with a hit by pitch and a walk and we ran the bases poorly. So, we squandered a great opportunity to get back in, and that kind of set the tone for the game,' Hughes added.
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Cougars' starter Paul Schmitz surrendered two runs in the opening frame and scattered two hits before handing the ball over to Andres Perez. The right-handed reliever held the Cats to just two hits in his four innings of work with four strikeouts on his way to earning the win (3-1), while Brady Fuller was credited the save. Â
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Left-hander Jacob Frost was tagged for the loss, dropping his record to 1-4, as the St. Louis, Mo., product was spotted for five runs in the second.
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Five different players recorded a hit for K-State, with Dee Kennedy driving in both runs in the first.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
After holding the Cougars in the top half of the first  inning, K-State jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind a two-run single by Kennedy.
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Maximus Martin was issued a walk before a single from Keegan O'Connor and hit by pitch loaded the bases to bring Kennedy to the plate. The Cats' third baseman flared a 2-2 pitch into center field to spot Schmitz for the runs.
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Houston immediately answered with five runs in the second, leading K-State to make a call to the pen and bring James Guyette to the hill. The right-hander forced a grounder to second to stop the damage. Â
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After two scoreless innings, the Cougars scored four runs over a three-inning stretch to put the game away, leveling the season series with the Wildcats, 2-2.
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INSIDE THE BOX
– k-statesports.com –
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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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Houston, which earned its first Big 12 Conference tournament win, improves to 30-24 on the year and will face third-seeded TCU Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU. K-State (31-24) will learn its NCAA Tournament fate on Monday, May 26 at 11 a.m. via the 2025 NCAA Selection Show, which can be seen on ESPN2.
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"We come to these tournaments to try and win them and play well," head coach Pete Hughes commented. "We got off to a really good start, and obviously, we couldn't build on anything from there."
Â
"We had the chance to answer a five-run inning in the second, and we started building an inning that allows you to get back into the game with a hit by pitch and a walk and we ran the bases poorly. So, we squandered a great opportunity to get back in, and that kind of set the tone for the game,' Hughes added.
Â
Cougars' starter Paul Schmitz surrendered two runs in the opening frame and scattered two hits before handing the ball over to Andres Perez. The right-handed reliever held the Cats to just two hits in his four innings of work with four strikeouts on his way to earning the win (3-1), while Brady Fuller was credited the save. Â
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Left-hander Jacob Frost was tagged for the loss, dropping his record to 1-4, as the St. Louis, Mo., product was spotted for five runs in the second.
Â
Five different players recorded a hit for K-State, with Dee Kennedy driving in both runs in the first.
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
After holding the Cougars in the top half of the first  inning, K-State jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind a two-run single by Kennedy.
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Maximus Martin was issued a walk before a single from Keegan O'Connor and hit by pitch loaded the bases to bring Kennedy to the plate. The Cats' third baseman flared a 2-2 pitch into center field to spot Schmitz for the runs.
Â
Houston immediately answered with five runs in the second, leading K-State to make a call to the pen and bring James Guyette to the hill. The right-hander forced a grounder to second to stop the damage. Â
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After two scoreless innings, the Cougars scored four runs over a three-inning stretch to put the game away, leveling the season series with the Wildcats, 2-2.
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INSIDE THE BOX
- Houston scored nine runs on 11 hits, committed one error, and stranded nine runners on base.
- K-State scored two runs on five hits with two errors and leaving eight runners on base..
- Frost was tagged for the loss after allowing five runs, all earned, in 1 2/3 innings of work.
- Five different Wildcats had a hit. Â
- Perez (3-1) picked up the win in relief, limiting K-State to two hits over four scoreless innings.
- Fuller earned the save after firing three scoreless innings. Â Â
- Houston utilized four pitchers in the victory.
- K-State hit .200 (3-for-15) with runners on base and .143 (1-for-7) with men in scoring position while Houston was 7-for-25 (.280) with runners on and 6-for-14 (.429) in scoring position.
- Houston drove in three runs with two outs, while K-State had two.
- The Cats are 22-29 when playing in the Big 12 Tournament, and 8-11 under Hughes.
- K-State leads the all-time series, 7-4, with a 5-3 edge in games played in Texas.
- Wednesday's contest marked the first meeting between the two teams in postseason play.Â
– k-statesports.com –
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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.
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
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C
/ BaseballTeam Stats
Pitching:
W: Perez, Andres (3-1)
L: Frost, Jacob (1-4)
S: Fuller, Brady (1)
Batting:
2B: McGinnis, Connor 2 ; Cox, Tyler 1 ; Bishop, Brandon 1
3B: Perez, Xavier 1
RBI: Jimenez, Kenneth 1 ; McGinnis, Connor 2 ; Perez, Xavier 2 ; Bishop, Brandon 1 ; Haeger, Evan 2 ; Lott, Malachi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Broussard, Tre 1 ; Jimenez, Kenneth 1 ; McGinnis, Connor 2 ; Perez, Xavier 1 ; DeJesus, Coby 1 ; Cox, Tyler 1 ; Bishop, Brandon 1 ; Lott, Malachi 1
SB: Broussard, Tre 1 ; Perez, Xavier 2 ; DeJesus, Coby 1 ; Lott, Malachi 1
HBP: Jimenez, Kenneth 1
Batting:
RBI: Kennedy, Dee 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Martin, Maximus 1 ; O'Connor, Keegan 1
HBP: Evasco, AJ 1 ; Madliak, Bear 1
PO: Madliak, Bear 1
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