
K-State Breaks Strikeout Record, Falls Short in Extras
Apr 12, 2026 | Baseball
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With the loss, K-State moves to 23-13 overall, while OSU improved 22-13. Both teams boast a 7-8 record in Big 12 play.
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"Wasted opportunity for our club today," head coach Pete Hughes said. "Wasted a great bullpen effort. Tazwell Butler made one mistake in a dominating extended outing. We wouldn't be there in the ninth with a lead if it wasn't for Taz's outing."
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"It was a good fight to answer back and force extra innings. We were given three innings to win the game in our last at bats and we just couldn't get it done."
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Butler logged a game-high six innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters to become the second Wildcat to record 10 or more strikeouts in a single game this season. Butler took over for Robert Fortenberry, after the lefty struck out the side in the second and third.
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THE RUNDOWN
Oklahoma State built an early lead and outlasted Kansas State in a back-and-forth, extra-inning battle.
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The Cowboys scored four runs in the first inning and added another on Alex Conover's second home run of the game in the second to take a 5-0 lead.
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Kansas State sent 12 batters to the plate and responded with a six-run second inning surge to pull ahead. AJ Evasco led off with a single before consecutive walks loaded the bases. Chandler Murray drove in two runs with a double to right field, and Dee Kennedy followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to two. Nick English worked a bases-loaded walk to tie the game.
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Tied 5-5, Bear Madliak's sacrifice fly drove in his eighth RBI of the series, before Evasco capped the inning with an RBI single to give K-State one-run lead.
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Oklahoma State took back the lead in the sixth, but K-State answered in the next inning with an RBI single by Grant Gallagher and a sacrifice fly from Cadyn Karl to take an 8-7 lead.
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English added a run in the eighth, driving a 373-foot solo home run to left field to extend the Wildcats' lead to 9-7.
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The Cowboys responded in the ninth, as Garrett Shull delivered a go-ahead three-run home run to put OSU back in front. K-State forced extra innings when Ty Smolinski lifted a sacrifice fly to score Micah Kendrick, who doubled off the right field wall to lead off the bottom of the inning.
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After three scoreless extra frames, Oklahoma State broke through in the 13th on a solo home run by Brueggemann and an RBI single from TP Wentworth, before reliever Parker Jennings set down the Wildcats in order, securing the 12-10 win.
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INSIDE THE BOX
- OSU scored 12 runs on 16 hits, committed one error, and stranded 13 runners on base.
- K-State scored 10 runs on 14 hits with one error committed and left 11 runners on base.
- Eight Wildcats contributed hits, led by three-hit games from Evasco and Kendrick
- English and Murray each drove in a team-high two RBI.
- Brueggemann recorded the game-winning run with a solo shot in the 13th inning.
- Jennings (1-0) closed the game and earned the win in relief, allowing no runs over the final two innings.
- Five K-State pitchers combined for 23 strikeouts.
- Miles Smith (1-2) suffered the loss, surrendering the final two runs.
- English homered for K-State while three Cowboys had a home run.
- K-State was 5-for-16 (.313) with runners in scoring position, while OSU hit .211 (4-for-19) with runners in scoring position.
- Eight of OSU's runs came with two outs.
TEAM NOTES
- The pitching staff combined for a program record 23 strikeouts, surpassing the previous mark of 21 set on May 17, 2024, vs. BYU.
- Sunday marked the longest game since March 29, 2013, at Baylor (BU 10, K-State 8, 13 innings).
- K-State is 64-183 all-time vs. Oklahoma State, that includes a 24-59 mark in Big 12 play and 43-72 record at home.
PLAYER NOTES
- Butler became the second Wildcat to strikeout 10 or more this season, recording a career-high 11 over a career-high six innings.
- Fortenberry struck out a career-high six batters.
- Kendrick recorded his first three-hit game of the season, bringing his total to eight games with two or more hits.
ON DECK
K-State will host Omaha (11-17, 7-5 Summit) Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium. Tuesday's game is available on ESPN+ and the ESPN app while fans can also tune in on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). A free live stream audio is available at kstatesports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
– 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
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Parker Jennings (1-0)
L: Smith, Miles (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Alex Conover 1 ; Kollin Ritchie 1 ; Campbell Smithwick 1 ; Evan Saunders 1 ; Garrett Shull 1
HR: Alex Conover 2 ; Colin Brueggemann 1 ; Garrett Shull 1
RBI: Alex Conover 3 ; Aidan Meola 1 ; Campbell Smithwick 1 ; Colin Brueggemann 2 ; Evan Saunders 1 ; Garrett Shull 3 ; TP Wentworth 1
SH: Brock Thompson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Alex Conover 3 ; Brock Thompson 1 ; Kollin Ritchie 1 ; Aidan Meola 1 ; Ezra Essex 1 ; Colin Brueggemann 2 ; Evan Saunders 1 ; Garrett Shull 2
SB: Danny Wallace 1
HBP: Campbell Smithwick 1

Batting:
2B: English, Nick 1 ; Inoue, Shintaro 1 ; Madliak, Bear 1 ; Kendrick, Micah 1 ; Murray, Chandler 1
HR: English, Nick 1
RBI: Kennedy, Dee 1 ; English, Nick 2 ; Madliak, Bear 1 ; Evasco, AJ 1 ; Gallagher, Grant 1 ; Murray, Chandler 2 ; Karl, Cadyn 1 ; Smolinski, Ty 1
SH: Lodice, Kyan 1
SF: Madliak, Bear 1 ; Karl, Cadyn 1 ; Smolinski, Ty 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kennedy, Dee 1 ; English, Nick 1 ; Madliak, Bear 1 ; Evasco, AJ 2 ; Gallagher, Grant 1 ; Kendrick, Micah 2 ; Murray, Chandler 1 ; Karl, Cadyn 1
SB: Evasco, AJ 1 ; Kendrick, Micah 1
HBP: Karl, Cadyn 1


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