Saturday, March 14
Houston, Texas
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
15-4, 2-0
16
at
1
Houston
11-7, 0-2
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Kansas State
0
0
2
2
3
5
4
16
17
1
Houston
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
3
1
Wildcats Win Ninth Straight, Clinch Big 12 Series
Mar 15, 2026 | Baseball
HOUSTON, Texas – Seventeen hits, including no-doubters from Micah Kendrick and Dee Kennedy, backed a complete game by Tanner Duke and led K-State to series-clinching, 16-1, victory over Houston Saturday night at Darryl and Lori Schroeder Park.
The Wildcats (15-4, 2-0 Big 12) clinched their first Big 12 series of the 2026 season with their ninth consecutive victory and third series win. With the victory, K-State is the first Big 12 team to 15 overall wins while Houston drops to 11-7 (0-2 Big 12).
"Great start by Tanner Duke," head coach Pete Hughes said. "He let us build our offense and gave our team confidence. He was awesome. They had trouble with Tanner tonight, that's for sure. Nine strikeouts in seven innings, I mean, that doesn't put any pressure on our defense. That lets our offense get settled in. We're obviously an offense that's playing with a lot of confidence right now. He was the story of the game, and our hot bats are getting hotter. You just don't mess with it. You just try to ride this thing out."
Duke turned in a dominant performance on the mound, firing a career-high seven complete innings to improve to 2-1 on the season. He carried a one-hitter into the sixth inning and allowed just one runner to reach scoring position before surrendering a run. Duke finished the night retiring 20 of the 25 batters he faced, scattering just three hits with a career-high nine strikeouts.
His outing marked the first three-hitter performance by a Wildcat since May 8, 2015, when Nate Griep accomplished the feat against Oklahoma.
"We have got some work to do, though. We have a ball game tomorrow, and at the end of the year they count how many Big 12 wins you have. They don't necessarily talk about series wins. So, we have another opportunity to get a Big 12 win tomorrow," added Hughes.
After two scoreless frames, the Wildcats erupted for 16 runs over five consecutive innings, as 10 different players contributed a hit in the victory, including multiple from five. Shintaro Inoue and Carlos Vasquez each turned in three-hit performances, going 3-for-5, while Vasquez drove in a game-leading four RBI.
K-State recorded its fourth run-rule victory of the year, tying the program's single-season record. It also marks the first time in program history that the Wildcats have recorded two run-rule victories over a conference opponent in the same series.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Duke settled in early, as the right-hander retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced, including striking out the side in order in the opening frame.
After two scoreless innings, the Wildcats broke through led by back-to-back hits from catcher Shea McGahan and third baseman Grant Gallagher. McGahan scored on a sacrifice fly from Micah Kendrick before Gallagher came around the bases on a shot through the right side by Inoue – his sixth hit of the series.
The Wildcats expanded their lead, 4-0, in the fourth with a hit down the right field line by Cadyn Karl.
Kendrick cranked a 2-2 pitch 363-feet into opposite field for his fourth home run of the season to lead off the Cats' three-run fifth. Inoue laced a hit up the middle and scored in the next at bat, as Kennedy belted his ninth no-doubter to push the lead to seven, 7-0.
The Wildcats slammed the door shut and added nine runs to the board to clinch the conference series.
INSIDE THE BOX
K-State will look to complete the series sweep Sunday, with the finale scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. Sunday's contest 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.
The Wildcats (15-4, 2-0 Big 12) clinched their first Big 12 series of the 2026 season with their ninth consecutive victory and third series win. With the victory, K-State is the first Big 12 team to 15 overall wins while Houston drops to 11-7 (0-2 Big 12).
"Great start by Tanner Duke," head coach Pete Hughes said. "He let us build our offense and gave our team confidence. He was awesome. They had trouble with Tanner tonight, that's for sure. Nine strikeouts in seven innings, I mean, that doesn't put any pressure on our defense. That lets our offense get settled in. We're obviously an offense that's playing with a lot of confidence right now. He was the story of the game, and our hot bats are getting hotter. You just don't mess with it. You just try to ride this thing out."
Duke turned in a dominant performance on the mound, firing a career-high seven complete innings to improve to 2-1 on the season. He carried a one-hitter into the sixth inning and allowed just one runner to reach scoring position before surrendering a run. Duke finished the night retiring 20 of the 25 batters he faced, scattering just three hits with a career-high nine strikeouts.
His outing marked the first three-hitter performance by a Wildcat since May 8, 2015, when Nate Griep accomplished the feat against Oklahoma.
"We have got some work to do, though. We have a ball game tomorrow, and at the end of the year they count how many Big 12 wins you have. They don't necessarily talk about series wins. So, we have another opportunity to get a Big 12 win tomorrow," added Hughes.
After two scoreless frames, the Wildcats erupted for 16 runs over five consecutive innings, as 10 different players contributed a hit in the victory, including multiple from five. Shintaro Inoue and Carlos Vasquez each turned in three-hit performances, going 3-for-5, while Vasquez drove in a game-leading four RBI.
K-State recorded its fourth run-rule victory of the year, tying the program's single-season record. It also marks the first time in program history that the Wildcats have recorded two run-rule victories over a conference opponent in the same series.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Duke settled in early, as the right-hander retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced, including striking out the side in order in the opening frame.
After two scoreless innings, the Wildcats broke through led by back-to-back hits from catcher Shea McGahan and third baseman Grant Gallagher. McGahan scored on a sacrifice fly from Micah Kendrick before Gallagher came around the bases on a shot through the right side by Inoue – his sixth hit of the series.
The Wildcats expanded their lead, 4-0, in the fourth with a hit down the right field line by Cadyn Karl.
Kendrick cranked a 2-2 pitch 363-feet into opposite field for his fourth home run of the season to lead off the Cats' three-run fifth. Inoue laced a hit up the middle and scored in the next at bat, as Kennedy belted his ninth no-doubter to push the lead to seven, 7-0.
The Wildcats slammed the door shut and added nine runs to the board to clinch the conference series.
INSIDE THE BOX
- K-State scored 16 runs on 17 hits, committed one error and stranded seven on base, while Houston was held to one run on three hits with one error and leaving three on base.
- Duke (2-1) was awarded the victory, firing a complete seven-inning, three-hit game with a career-high nine strikeouts and no walks. He allowed one unearned run in the outing.
- Houston's Kendall Hoffman (1-1) suffered the loss, allowing seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with five strikeouts.
- Relievers Jackson Baker and Harrison Boushele were spotted for nine combined runs (earned).
- Ten different Wildcats produced a hit with multi-hit efforts from five.
- Vasquez and Inoue each recorded a game-high three hits, while Vasquez led all players with four RBI.
- In addition to Vasquez, five other players drove in multiple RBI.
- The Wildcats hit .667 (8-for-12) with runners in scoring position while the Cougars were 1-for-5 (.200).
- The Wildcats lead the all-time series 9-4, that includes a 7-2 advantage in games played in Houston and a five-game winning streak on the Cougars home turf.
- In 19 games this season, K-State has homered in 13, including multiple in seven.
- K-State has scored first in 11 games this season, posting a 10-1 record.
- The Wildcats have homered in seven of the last eight games, totaling 18 in the stretch.
- It's the first road series win since 2025 at BYU. K-State finished 2-3 in road series last season.
- The Wildcats have won three consecutive Big 12 opening-weekend series: Cincinnati (2024, 2-1), Utah (2025, 3-0), Houston (2026, 2-0).
- With the win, K-State recorded two run-rule victories over a Big 12 opponent for the first time in school history.
- Over the last seven games, K-State has scored 94 runs on 97 hits.
- The Wildcats' 36 runs and 37 hits in the series with Houston are the most by any Big 12 team over the conference opening-weekend this season.
- The 2026 roster is the 12th team to generate a nine-game winning streak in school history, while it ties the second-longest streak in the Hughes era (10 in 2024).
- Duke is the first player since Nate Griep in 2015 to throw a three-hitter (May 8 vs. Oklahoma). He recorded a career-high nine strikeouts over a career-long seven-inning outing.
- He threw the first complete game since Lincoln Sheffield against Utah on March 16, 2025.
- Kennedy launched his team-leading ninth home run of the season, while Kendrick added his fourth.
- Inoue has recorded eight hits in the series, going 8-for-11 (.727) with eight RBI with the help of his three-hit, two-RBI effort Saturday.
- Vasquez produced his fifth game with two or more RBI, and sixth multi-hit performance.
- AJ Evasco leads the team with 11 multi-hit performances, while Kennedy has recorded a team-high 10 multi-RBI games.
- Ty Smolinski has successfully reached base in 11 consecutive games – the second-longest streak by a Wildcat this season (Robby Bolin, 16).
K-State will look to complete the series sweep Sunday, with the finale scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. Sunday's contest 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: Duke, Tanner (2-1)
L: Hoffman, Kendall (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Karl, Cadyn 1 ; Vasquez, Carlos 1 ; Gallagher, Grant 1
HR: Kennedy, Dee 1 ; Kendrick, Micah 1
RBI: Kennedy, Dee 2 ; Karl, Cadyn 2 ; Vasquez, Carlos 4 ; Inoue, Shintaro 2 ; Evasco, AJ 1 ; Kendrick, Micah 2 ; Murray, Chandler 2
SF: Kendrick, Micah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kennedy, Dee 3 ; Vasquez, Carlos 3 ; Inoue, Shintaro 2 ; Gallagher, Grant 2 ; Evasco, AJ 1 ; English, Nick 1 ; Lodice, Kyan 1 ; Kendrick, Micah 1 ; McGahan, Shea 1 ; Smolinski, Ty 1
SB: Karl, Cadyn 1 ; Vasquez, Carlos 1 ; Smolinski, Ty 1
HBP: Smolinski, Ty 2
Batting:
RBI: Dickens, Peyton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cox, Tyler 1
CS: Perez, Xavier 1
HBP: Jackson, Riley 1 ; Fields, Blake 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
4
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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