English, Sheffield Spark K-State’s 11-1 Rout of Arizona

Saturday, April 18

Tucson, Ariz.

8 p.m.

Kansas State University

25-14, 9-8

Arizona

14-24, 5-12

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Kansas State	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	8	11	9	1
Arizona	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4	0

English, Sheffield Spark K-State’s 11-1 Rout of Arizona

Apr 19, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

TUCSON, Ariz. – Nick English's go-ahead three-run home run off the bench and Lincoln Sheffield's career-high 10 strikeouts fueled K-State to an 11-1, eight-inning victory over Arizona Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field.

Entering as pinch hitter in the seventh, English's 411-foot blast erased a one-run deficit and sparked the Wildcats' late surge. K-State (25-14, 9-8 Big 12) piled on in the eighth with an eight-run inning, highlighted by Dee Kennedy's grand slam to secure the team's eighth run-rule victory of the season and clinch the Big 12 road series.

"Ebbs and flows of college baseball – that was as good a pitching duel as you'll see and at this level for six innings," said head coach Pete Hughes. "We get a big pinch-hit off the bench from an unselfish kid, Nick English, the ultimate team player. If you saw in last night's game, when [Bear Madliak] made that great block and feed to [Miles Smith], he was the first guy off the bench to congratulate Bear. That mindset puts him in a good situation to come through for his team, and he changed the course of the game."

"Can't say enough good things about Lincoln [Sheffield]. That was as good a pitching performance as we've had against us since I've been the coach at Kansas State. Lincoln was able to match that performance to allow our offense to stay in it and break through in the seventh and eighth innings," Hughes added.

In his third quality start of the season, Sheffield (6-1) limited Arizona to one earned run on four hits over eight innings. The senior from Flowood, Mississippi, retired 25 of the 29 batters he faced and struck out a career-high 10. He finished his second complete game of the season, scattering four hits with no walks to earn his conference-leading sixth victory.

Arizona's Smith Bailey delivered a dominant start, firing six scoreless innings of one-hit ball while striking out a career-high 15 of 21 batters faced. Bailey's 15 strikeouts are the most by an Arizona pitcher in more than 12 years.

"But tonight doesn't happen without an unselfish player, Nick English and a great, great performance from Lincoln."

With his grand slam in the eighth, Kennedy became the fifth Wildcat in school history to reach 16 home runs in a single season, tying the junior single-season record and is one short of matching the all-time single-season record.

"Dee is an elite player, and you know he doesn't stay in ruts very long now," Hughes said. "People are really stingy with him right now. He's seeing everything, so he's earning everything that comes his way, and he's still having success. Not only does he get the big grand slam, but he's hitting home runs and stealing bases for us, and he's as dynamic a defender as you'll see in college baseball."

THE RUNDOWN
Each team stranded a pair of runners in the opening frame, as the starting hurlers locked in and kept the game scoreless early.

Bailey, who garnered three Freshman All-American honors last season, struck out the side in three consecutive innings. Sheffield, meanwhile, scattered just two hits over four innings, retiring 13 of the first 15 batters he faced.

Arizona's Carson McEntire ended the drought in the fifth, launching a 405-foot solo home run over the left field wall.

The Wildcats responded in the seventh, taking advantage of a pitching change after Bailey's dominant outing. Madliak singled to welcome reliever Patrick Morris into the game, before Ty Smolinski reached on a fielder's choice and advance to second on a wild pitch. Cadyn Karl walked to put two runners on first and second, setting up English.

With two outs, the junior from Olathe, Kansas, delivered a towering pinch-hit 411-foot three-run blast, handing K-State the go-ahead 3-1 lead.

After Sheffield set down Arizona in order, K-State put the game away in the eighth, sending 12 batters to the plate and erupting for eight unanswered runs. Kennedy and AJ Evasco strung together a pair of hits before Madliak delivered an RBI double to down the left field line to extend the lead.

Leading 5-1, Karl lined a 3-1 pitch through the right side to drive in a pair of runs. English and Shintaro Inoue each walked before Kennedy capped the inning with a 417-foot grand slam – his 16th home run of the season – to push K-State into double figures and secure the run-rule victory.

INSIDE THE BOX

K-State scored 11 runs on nine hits with one error committed and five left on base, while limiting Arizona to one run on four hits, no errors and five men stranded.
Five different players contributed a hit for K-State.
Evasco led all players with three hits, while Kennedy and Madliak each had two.
Kennedy produced a game-high four RBI followed by English with three, as the duo each homered.
Three players recorded a hit for Arizona, led by two from Beau Sylvester.
Sheffield (6-1) was awarded the victory, firing eight innings of one-run ball with a career-high 10 strikeouts. He completed the game, allowing four hits with no walks.
Bailey finished the night with a career-high 15 strikeouts over his six-inning start, scattering just one hit with one walk and hit by pitch.
Morris (1-2) suffered the loss, surrendering three runs on two hits in his 2/3 inning relief of Bailey.

TEAM NOTES

With the win, K-State tied the all-time series 2-2, while taking a 2-0 lead in Big 12 games.
K-State has scored three or more runs in 35 innings this season and hit through the order in 28 innings.
The win marked the eighth run-rule victory of the season, expanding the school record. It is the 19^th run-rule victory under Hughes – the most by any K-State head coach in school history.
K-State remains undefeated in Arizona this season, expanding its winning streak in the state to six.
Arizona's pitching staff struck out a season-high 18 batters, marking just the ninth game this season K-State struck out 10 or more times.
The Wildcats improve to 25-15 against Big 12 newcomers since the league expansion in 2024.
K-State has scored double-digit runs in 20 of 39 games this season, averaging 9.4 runs per game.
The team's 63 home runs tie seventh all-time in school history. In the Hughes era, K-State has recorded six of the top seven season in terms of home run production.

PLAYER NOTES

Sheffield recorded his eighth quality start of his K-State career and third of the season.
In 10 appearances (10 starts) this season, Sheffield has allowed just 10 walks against 56 strikeouts.
English recorded his second pinch-hit home run of the season. He recorded his first against Arizona State on March 21.
Kennedy became the fifth Wildcat in school history to belt 16 home runs in a single-season, tying the junior single-season record set by Heath Schesser in 1997. He is one short of tying the all-time single-season record, set by Keegan O'Connor in 2025.
Now with 27 career home runs, Kennedy ranks 10^th all-time in career home runs, surpassing first-rounder Kaelen Culpepper's 26 (2022-24).
Inoue has reached base in 25 consecutive games, dating back to March 7 vs. SIUE.

ON DECK
Sunday's series finale is slated for a 2 p.m. CT first pitch and can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while radio coverage is available 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 –

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.