Wildcats Win Friday Night Slugfest Over SIUE

Friday, March 6

Manhattan, Kan.

4 p.m.

Kansas State University

9-4

SIUE

5-9

SIUE

Kansas State

Mar 06, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MANHATTAN, Kan. – In a game that featured 23 hits, including seven home runs, K-State ran away with a 14-5 series-opening victory over SIUE Friday night at Tointon Family Stadium.

"Really good win in a difficult night for pitchers and pitching coaches," said eighth-year head coach Pete Hughes, following the team's third consecutive win. "Tonight was going to be offensive for a couple reasons. The wind was really strong out of the south and we know what that means at Tointon Family Stadium. We were also playing against a very, very veteran lineup who's been productive in the past, so that was scary. Those games scare me, but we're lucky. We had [James Guyette] out there and kept putting the ball in the zone."

K-State (9-4, 0-0 Big 12) pounded out 15 hits in the victory – the second-highest hit total of the season – highlighted by a grand slam from AJ Evasco and home runs by Ty Smolinski and Bear Madliak. Smolinski led all players with his first collegiate four-hit performance (4-for-4), falling a triple short of hitting for the cycle, while Madliak produced his first multi-home run game of the season.

"Our offense answered every time. They scored runs. They stayed greedy. They wanted to expand leads, and that's what really good teams do, and now our next challenge is to sustain our success and to build on the momentum we created tonight," Hughes added.

"We're glad we had a veteran guy on the mound who can handle a little barrel contact. When a guy gets hit, you worry about him coming undone a little bit, but we weren't worried about [Guyette]."

In his fourth Friday start of the season, Guyette picked up his second victory to improve to 2-1. The junior allowed five earned runs over six innings and capped his outing tying a career-high eight strikeouts with one walk.

Adam Arther earned his first save of the year, after firing three shutout innings with four strikeouts in relief of Guyette.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a shutout opening frame from Guyette, K-State exploded with a 4-0 lead as Evasco drilled a bases-clearing shot to right center. The sophomore from Lincoln, Nebraska shelled the first he faced from starter Jase Phillips for his first grand slam of the season – second of his career.

SIUE (5-9, 0-0 Ohio Valley), the OVC preseason favorites, responded in the top of the second with a two-run homer by Terrick Thompson-Allen.

Smolinski and Madliak immediately recovered the runs, as the duo roped back-to-back homers to left field to push the lead back to four. With two outs, Evasco and Shintaro Inoue each delivered an RBI double to make it a six-run ball game, 8-2.

The Cougars cut the deficit to four in the third, as Joshua Heyder belted a two-run blast – the fourth home run of the night.

K-State plated three runs over the third and fourth innings with doubles by Kyan Lodice and Smolinski, before putting the game away in the seventh with Madliak's three-run blast – a 402-foot shot to left field.

Arther set down the Cougars in order in the seventh and eighth in relief of Guyette, before allowing a hit in the ninth. The junior record back-to-back strikeouts before a grounder to short secured the win.

INSIDE THE BOX

K-State scored 14 runs on 15 hits with no errors committed and stranding just four runners on base, while SIUE plated five runs on eight hits with no errors and left seven on base.
Guyette (2-1) was awarded the victory, allowing five runs (earned) on seven hits over six innings. He recorded a career-high eight strikeouts with just one walk in the outing.
Arther earned the save in relief of Guyette, firing three shutout innings with four strikeouts.
All nine players in K-State's lineup produced a hit, with four recording multiple.
Smolinski led all players with his four-hit performance (4-for-4), tallying three RBI with two doubles and a home run.
Madliak homered twice while Evasco launched a grand slam in the opening frame.
Evasco led with a career-high five RBI, followed by Madliak with four.
Phillips (1-2) suffered the loss after allowing eight runs (earned) on seven hits over 1 2/3 innings.
Four pitchers made an appearance for SIUE in the nightcap, as relievers combined for six earned runs on eight hits with one strikeout and four walks.
K-State's offense recorded just two strikeouts.
Heyder and Thompson-Allen (2) each homered.
Thompson-Allen was the only Cougar to produce a two-hit game, both home runs.
K-State recorded 17 extra-base hits, while SIUE had five.

TEAM NOTES

Friday's contest marks the first-ever meeting between K-State and SIUE in the program's 126-year history.
K-State has registered three grand slams this season, which includes one at Tointon Family Stadium.
Smolinski and Madliak record the first back-to-back home run performance of the season and the program's first since May 2, 2025, at BYU. K-State had eight back-to-back home runs in 2025.
This season, K-State is 4-1 when producing 10 or more hits. The Cats' 15 hits are the second-most produced in a single-game this season (21, vs. Penn State on February 15).
The Wildcats recorded a season-high four home runs, marking the first game with four or more since April 8, 2025 (vs. Missouri State). The game marks the first four-home run contest since March 29, 2024, vs. Texas.
Five Wildcats have registered two or more home runs this season.
The pitching staff has recorded five games with 10+ strikeouts.

PLAYER NOTES

Evasco recorded his second collegiate grand slam and first of his sophomore campaign. He has homered twice in the last four games, while it was his seventh multi-hit and -RBI game – a team-best for both.
Madliak produced his second multi-home run game at K-State, and third of his four-year collegiate career after posting one in 2023 at Jacksonville State. He is the second Wildcat to produce a multi-home run effort joining shortstop Dee Kennedy (Feb. 15 vs. Penn State).
Smolinski was a triple short of hitting the cycle. He would have been the first Wildcat to hit the cycle since Kaelen Culpepper against LA Tech in the 2024 NCAA Fayetteville Regional.
In four starts, Guyette has recorded eight strikeouts in three games.
Centerfielder Robby Bolin has successfully reached base in 12 consecutive games, while Grant Gallagher, the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, stretched his hitting streak to a team-high six.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will face the Cougars on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while radio coverage is available on KMAN online at 1350kman.com. A free live audio is available at kstatesports.com/watch. Single-game tickets are available for purchase over the phone, by calling 1-800-221-CATS (2287), and in person, by 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.