Wildcats Blank Jackrabbits Wednesday, 9-0

Wednesday, March 11

Manhattan, Kan.

6 p.m.

Kansas State University

13-4

South Dakota State

5-11

South Dakota State

Kansas State

Mar 11, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MANHATTAN, Kan. – In the final tuneup before Big 12 play, K-State earned its seventh consecutive victory after shutting out South Dakota State, 9-0, Wednesday night at Tointon Family Stadium.

The Wildcats head into conference action with an overall record of 13-4, tying the best 17-game start under eighth-year head coach Pete Hughes and ranking third in the league standings.

"It was a good win for a lot of reasons," Hughes said. "It's tough to play five games in six days and back-to-back midweeks. You have to use your entire pitching staff. A lot of guys pitched great, which improves our depth and assures our depth at that position, especially in our bullpen. I thought it was outstanding."

K-State produced seven hits in the shutout, that included multi-hit performances from catcher Bear Madliak and third baseman Grant Gallagher. Shintaro Inoue and Dee Kennedy each registered a pair of RBI, while the Wildcats drew a season-high 12 walks.

"We had to manufacture a little bit. Conditions were not offensive at all. The wind was blowing in, and it was cold. It's a good toughness day for our program and our kids answered the call. They embraced it, which good teams do," Hughes added.

"But the story of the game was Austin Haley, a kid who has not been out there in a long time, but his head's always been in there for every single second, every pitch, even if he's not in the game. And that attitude and that approach makes a guy ready for the moment when his number gets called, and he was more than ready."

In his first start at K-State, the Howe, Texas product earned the win after firing five scoreless innings with a season-high five strikeouts. A transfer from Murray State College, Haley retired 14 of the 17 batters he faced, holding the Jackrabbits (5-11) to just two hits in the outing.

"That was one of the easiest decisions we've made all year is giving him the ball and giving him the start in the situation. He's everybody's favorite teammate. Team first guys always win whether they get the result or not. Team first guys always win. Phenomenal kid, phenomenal outing. I mean, 62 pitches and five innings is as efficient as it gets, and that's exactly what we needed on game five in this six-day stretch."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Haley retired all eight of the first batters he faced before allowing a single in the third. The runner was left stranded as the righty quickly forced a grounder to short to bring the Cats to the plate.

After two scoreless innings, the Wildcats capitalized on a fielding error to plate to opening run before erupting for four runs in the fourth, highlighted by Kennedy's RBI single.

The Wildcats added the final four runs to the board in the seventh without recording a hit.

INSIDE THE BOX

K-State scored nine runs on seven hits with no errors committed and leaving 10 runners stranded on base.
SDSU registered five hits, committed one error and stranded five on base.
Four Wildcats register a hit – all singles – led by two from Madliak and Gallagher.
Inoue and Kennedy each recorded a pair of RBI.
SDSU issued 12 walks, including five in the seventh inning.
Five different players recorded a hit for SDSU.
Haley (1-0) earned the victory, throwing five shutout innings with five strikeouts and one walk. Haley scattered just two hits in the outing.
Arnold, Longoria and Smith combined for four scoreless innings in relief of Haley.
SDSU walked in four runs and hit two batters that plated five runs.
SDSU's Kaden Rylance suffered the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits with four walks.
Seven different pitchers made an appearance on the mound for the Jackrabbits.

TEAM NOTES

K-State leads the all-time series 14-1, including a five-game winning streak against the Jackrabbits.
The Wildcats recorded their seventh consecutive win on Wednesday, while K-State recorded its first shutout victory since March 8, 2024, vs. Cincinnati.
The shutout marks the 14^th under Hughes.
It is the second time K-State has started 13-4 (2021, 2026).
The Wildcats improve to 8-1 when out-hitting an opponent.
Wednesday's contest ended a five-game streak with home runs.
It marked the team's third game of the year with 10+ walks.

PLAYER NOTES

Madliak and Kennedy each stretched their hitting streaks to five, while Robby Bolin extended his on-base streak to a team-leading 16.
Gallagher recorded his fourth multi-hit game and Madliak earned his third of the season.

ON DECK
K-State will open Big 12 play Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT at Houston (11-5) at Schroeder Park. The three-game series will air on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

– k-statesports.com –

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