Sunday, March 15
Houston, Texas
1 p.m.
Kansas State University
15-5, 2-1
6
at
16
Houston
12-7, 1-2
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Kansas State
4
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
6
7
1
Houston
0
3
0
0
1
1
0
11
16
15
1
Cougars Salvage Sunday Finale with 11-Run Eighth
Mar 15, 2026 | Baseball
HOUSTON, Texas – Dylan Maxcey's go-ahead two-run double in the eighth inning broke a 6-6 tie and highlighted an 11-run frame, handing Houston a 16-6 victory in Sunday's series finale at Darryl and Lori Schroeder Park.
After registering back-to-back run-rule victories to start off Big 12 play, K-State (15-5, 2-1 Big 12) surrendered season-highs in both runs and hits allowed on Sunday. The Cougars (12-7, 1-2 Big 12) erased a one-run deficit and erupted for 11 runs on seven hits in the eighth to snap the Wildcats season-high nine-game winning streak.
"Thought we were really good all weekend offensively, but not so much today," head coach Pete Hughes said. "Have to give credit to Houston's bullpen. [Ryne Rodriguez] came in to the game in to the game in the second inning and shut us down. Other than that, we played just sloppy enough to lose the game, especially late. Disappointed with today's outcome, but proud of our guys grabbing a conference series win on the road."
Rodriguez held the Wildcats to three hits and one run across six innings in relief of starter Connor Udland, finishing with a game-high five strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats immediately picked up where they left off Saturday night, as senior Carlos Vasquez barreled a two-out, 429-foot grand slam to left field – the fourth grand slam of the season for K-State.
Houston's Jackson LaLima launched a three-run homer in the second to pull the game within one, 4-3. The Cougars threatened again in the third, putting runners on the corners with a pair of hits, but were left stranded, as Lincoln Sheffield struck out the batter on three pitches.
In the fourth, K-State capitalized on a failed pickoff attempt by the catcher that scored the runner from first.
Miles Smith relieved Sheffield in the fourth, inheriting runners on second and third. The right-hander forced a fly out to center to preserve the two-run lead, 5-3.
The Cougars erased the deficit over the next two frames with a sacrifice fly in the fifth and solo shot by shortstop Tyler Cox.
Tied 5-5 headed into the eighth, Dee Kennedy led off the inning with a nine-pitch walk and moved into scoring position on a groundout to second before stealing his 12th base of the season. Vasquez laced his second hit of the day to centerfield to score the Wildcats' final run.
Houston responded in the bottom of the inning, exploding for 11 runs on seven hits, highlighted by Maxcey's go-ahead two-run double and walk-off two-run homer from Tre Broussard.
INSIDE THE BOX
K-State will head to Waco to conclude its trip in Texas Tuesday with a matchup at Baylor (11-7, 1-1 Big 12), starting at 6:30 p.m. CT at Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark. The midweek game can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
– 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.
After registering back-to-back run-rule victories to start off Big 12 play, K-State (15-5, 2-1 Big 12) surrendered season-highs in both runs and hits allowed on Sunday. The Cougars (12-7, 1-2 Big 12) erased a one-run deficit and erupted for 11 runs on seven hits in the eighth to snap the Wildcats season-high nine-game winning streak.
"Thought we were really good all weekend offensively, but not so much today," head coach Pete Hughes said. "Have to give credit to Houston's bullpen. [Ryne Rodriguez] came in to the game in to the game in the second inning and shut us down. Other than that, we played just sloppy enough to lose the game, especially late. Disappointed with today's outcome, but proud of our guys grabbing a conference series win on the road."
Rodriguez held the Wildcats to three hits and one run across six innings in relief of starter Connor Udland, finishing with a game-high five strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats immediately picked up where they left off Saturday night, as senior Carlos Vasquez barreled a two-out, 429-foot grand slam to left field – the fourth grand slam of the season for K-State.
Houston's Jackson LaLima launched a three-run homer in the second to pull the game within one, 4-3. The Cougars threatened again in the third, putting runners on the corners with a pair of hits, but were left stranded, as Lincoln Sheffield struck out the batter on three pitches.
In the fourth, K-State capitalized on a failed pickoff attempt by the catcher that scored the runner from first.
Miles Smith relieved Sheffield in the fourth, inheriting runners on second and third. The right-hander forced a fly out to center to preserve the two-run lead, 5-3.
The Cougars erased the deficit over the next two frames with a sacrifice fly in the fifth and solo shot by shortstop Tyler Cox.
Tied 5-5 headed into the eighth, Dee Kennedy led off the inning with a nine-pitch walk and moved into scoring position on a groundout to second before stealing his 12th base of the season. Vasquez laced his second hit of the day to centerfield to score the Wildcats' final run.
Houston responded in the bottom of the inning, exploding for 11 runs on seven hits, highlighted by Maxcey's go-ahead two-run double and walk-off two-run homer from Tre Broussard.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Houston scored 16 runs on 15 hits with one error committed and stranding eight on base.
- K-State plated six runs on seven hits, committed one error and left five runners on base.
- Five Wildcats produced a hit, led by multi-hit efforts from Vasquez and Inoue.
- Butler (0-1) took the loss after allowing five runs (earned) on three hits in his one inning in relief.
- Vasquez knocked a grand slam in the opening frame, while three players homered for Houston – LaLima, Broussard, Cox.
- Tyler Bryan (1-1) earned the win in relief of Rodriguez, surrendering one earned run and scattering one hit in the final inning.
- Rodriguez fired six innings of three-hit, one run ball in relief of starter Connor Udland. Rodriguez recorded a game-high five strikeouts.
- Houston scored 11 runs in the eighth.
- The Wildcats lead the all-time series 9-5, that includes a 7-3 advantage in games played in Houston.
- The Wildcats 15-4 start marks the best season start since 2010, when K-State opened its campaign 17-3 through the first 20 games.
- The loss snapped K-State's nine-game winning streak, which tied the fifth-longest streak in program history.
- K-State is 10-2 when scoring first, that includes a 7-1 record when scoring in the first inning.
- The Cats have homered in eight of the last nine games, totaling 19 in the stretch.
- Vasquez became the third Wildcat to launch a grand slam this season, while it was the fourth overall for K-State. He finished the game with his seventh multi-hit performance and sixth game with multiple RBI.
- Inoue capped the series going 10-for-14 (.714) with eight RBI and 1.000 slugging percentage.
- Kennedy match his career-high with his 12th stolen base of the season.
K-State will head to Waco to conclude its trip in Texas Tuesday with a matchup at Baylor (11-7, 1-1 Big 12), starting at 6:30 p.m. CT at Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark. The midweek game can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
– 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: Bryan, Tyler (1-1)
L: Butler, Tazwell (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Kendrick, Micah 1 ; Smolinski, Ty 1
HR: Vasquez, Carlos 1
RBI: Vasquez, Carlos 5
SH: Kendrick, Micah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kennedy, Dee 2 ; Vasquez, Carlos 1 ; Gallagher, Grant 1 ; Kendrick, Micah 1 ; Smolinski, Ty 1
SB: Kennedy, Dee 1 ; Lewis, Donte 1
CS: Gallagher, Grant 1
HBP: Karl, Cadyn 1 ; Smolinski, Ty 1
Batting:
2B: Broussard, Tre 1 ; Perez, Xavier 1 ; Maxcey, Dylan 1
HR: LaLima, Jackson 1 ; Broussard, Tre 1 ; Cox, Tyler 1
RBI: LaLima, Jackson 4 ; Broussard, Tre 2 ; Cox, Tyler 2 ; Perez, Xavier 2 ; Savattere, Antonelli 2 ; Helton, McClane 1 ; Maxcey, Dylan 2 ; Fields, Blake 1
SH: Cox, Tyler 1 ; Perez, Xavier 1 ; Maxcey, Dylan 1
SF: LaLima, Jackson 1 ; Fields, Blake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LaLima, Jackson 1 ; Broussard, Tre 3 ; Cox, Tyler 3 ; Perez, Xavier 1 ; Savattere, Antonelli 2 ; Helton, McClane 2 ; Maxcey, Dylan 1 ; Van Wie, Will 1 ; Fields, Blake 2
SB: Helton, McClane 1
HBP: Cox, Tyler 1 ; Jackson, Riley 1 ; Savattere, Antonelli 2 ; Fields, Blake 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
5
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballK-State Baseball | Game Highlights vs South Dakota State
Thursday, March 12
K-State Baseball | Game Highlights vs Wichita State
Wednesday, March 11
K-State Baseball | Series Recap vs SIUE
Monday, March 09
K-State Baseball | Game Highlights vs SIUE - Game 3
Sunday, March 08
