Wildcats Top Utes, Advance in Big 12 Tournament

Tuesday, May 19

10 p.m.

Kansas State University

29-26

Utah

26-25

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Kansas State	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	4	0	9	13	1
Utah	0	0	0	0	3	0	2	0	0	5	10	1

K-State Baseball vs Utah, Tuesday, May 20, 2026, Surprise Stadium, Surprise, AZ Final Score: KSU 9, Utah 5

May 20, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

SURPRISE, Ariz. – Four Wildcats produced multi-hit performances Tuesday night as 11th-seeded K-State rallied past 10th-seeded Utah, 9-5, to open the 2026 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Surprise Stadium.

Trailing 3-0, AJ Evasco delivered a two-run blast to trim the deficit in the sixth, before K-State (29-26) took the lead in the next inning. Utah (26-25) answered and tied the game at 5-5, but the Wildcats scored four unanswered runs in the eighth to pull away with the win.

"It was a good game," said head coach Pete Hughes, who is in his eighth season at the helm. "Utah was in a tough spot. It was a bullpen night, and there's no greater mind and bullpen coach in the country than Coach [Gary] Henderson, when it comes to pitching and handling the pitching staff. So, I know that really didn't give us an edge with him calling the shots.

"Proud of our guys, we've had a disappointing year, and we battled through a lot. We could have shut it down after going down three runs early, but we got right back in and answered and kept answering. Then, we built the lead, sustained the lead, and won a ball game," Hughes added.

Right-hander James Guyette recorded his 100th strikeout of the season, becoming the fifth pitcher in school history to reach the milestone. He allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits over five innings while striking out six. Guyette now ranks fourth all-time in single-season strikeouts at K-State.

Left-hander Lincoln Sheffield (8-3) earned the win in relief with 2 2/3 shutout innings, retiring eight of the nine batters he faced. His eight victories are the most ever by a K-State senior pitcher.

"We had some gutty performances, and Lincoln Sheffield, coming off three days' rest and finished that game, and an extended outing out of the pen showed his toughness and grit. James Guyette wasn't great, but he was certainly good enough to keep a talented offense at bay. Those guys can hit, they hit over .300 for the entire year, they're a dangerous offense. So good team win, we needed it, we got to get some momentum going."

THE RUNDOWN
Nine runners were stranded through the first five innings as the game remained scoreless entering the bottom of the fifth.

Utah broke through in the fifth after Derek Smith battled through a nine-pitch at-bat that sparked three consecutive hits and a 2-0 lead. The Utes added another run on an RBI single from Cal Miller.

Evasco trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in the sixth with a 411-foot, two-run homer over the right-field wall — his eighth home run of the season and K-State's 86th of the year.

In the seventh, Shintaro Inoue drew a five-pitch walk and scored on a triple from Dee Kennedy, who earned All-Big 12 First Team honors earlier in the day. Kennedy came home in the next at-bat when Kyan Lodice lined the first pitch he saw from reliever Cameron Nielson into right field, giving K-State a 4-3 lead.

Ty Smolinski followed with another hit before a wild pitch moved runners to first and third with one out. Bear Madliak added a sacrifice fly to left, extending the Wildcats' lead to 5-3.

Utah answered in the bottom half of the inning behind a solo home run from Luke Jacobs to tie the game at 5-5.

Carlos Vasquez opened the eighth with a double to left and moved to third on a deep fly ball to center from Grant Gallagher. K-State regained the lead when the Utes committed a throwing error on a failed pickoff attempt at third base. Kennedy added insurance with a two-out RBI single through the left side, stretching the lead to 7-5.

The Wildcats broke it open in the next at-bat, as Smolinski drove a two-run double into right field to cap the scoring and put the game away.

INSIDE THE BOX

K-State scored nine runs on 13 hits with one error and left eight on base.
Utah scored five runs on 10 hits, committed one error and stranded seven baserunners.
Kennedy led K-State with three hits, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Evasco homered in the sixth, K-State's first home run of the tournament and his eighth of the year.
Kennedy was a home run short of the cycle.
Kyan Lodice, Smolinski and Evasco each allied a pair of hits..
Eight of nine starters registered at least one hit, as K-State in three different frames.
Guyette scattered eight hits and three runs (two earned) over his five-inning start, with six strikeouts and one walk.
Sheffield (8-3) retired eight of nine batters he faced in relief, earning the win.
Eight pitchers made an appearance for the Utes, with Ryan Kittredge suffering the loss.
Kittredge allowed two earned runs over one inning.
K-State went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position while Utah was 2-for-11.

TEAM NOTES

The matchup marked the first in the Big 12 Championship between K-State and Utah.
K-State leads the all-time series with Utah, 5-2.
The Cats are 23-29 all-time at the Big 12 Championships, including an 9-11 at the tournament under Hughes.
The team's 86 home runs rank third overall in K-State history. All five top seasons in terms of home run production are in the Hughes era.
K-State has recorded a home run in 40 of 55 games this season.
Away from home this season K-State is 17-13, that includes a 7-1 record in neutral-site contests.

PLAYER NOTES

With a strikeout the opening frame, Guyette became the fifth player in K-State history to strikeout out 100+ in a season and third under pitching coach Rudy Darrow (Jackson Wentworth (2024) – 115; Owen Boerema (2024) – 110).
Guyette's 100 strikeouts ties the junior single-season record alongside former Wildcat AJ Morris (2009).
In his last three outings, Guyette has held opponents to four earned runs over 14 2/3 innings.
Evasco has homered in three of his last four games, while stretching his hitting streak to seven.
Kennedy recorded his 40^th extra-base hit of the season, becoming the second player in school history to reach the feat.
Sheffield made just his second relief appearance at K-State in the nightcap.
Sheffield recorded his eighth win of the season, marking the most victories by a senior in K-State history.
He becomes the 13^th pitcher in K-State history to reach 15 career wins and is the 11^th to register eight or more in a single season.

UP NEXT
K-State faces seventh-seeded TCU on Wednesday at 10 p.m. CT, featuring a matchup between right-handers Tazwell Butler and Tommy LaPour. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Radio coverage can be heard on the K-State Sports Radio Network with live audio streaming at kstatesports.com/watch.

– k-statesports.com –

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