Cincinnati Outlasts K-State Friday Night, 4-2

Friday, May 8

Manhattan, Kan.

6 p.m.

Kansas State University

26-23, 9-16

Cincinnati

34-17, 14-11

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

K-State Baseball vs Cincinnati, Friday, May 8, 2026, Tointon Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS, Final Score: KSU 2, Cincinnati 4

May 08, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State erased an early two-run deficit but could not complete the comeback Friday night, dropping a 4-2 decision to Cincinnati at Tointon Family Stadium.

Trailing 2-0, K-State (26-23, 9-16 Big 12) drove in the tying-run with back-to-back hits from Ty Smolinski and Grant Gallagher. After four consecutive scoreless frames from right-hander Tazwell Butler, Cincinnati (34-17, 14-11 Big 12) broke through with the go-ahead run in the seventh to break the tie before holding off the Wildcats to hand them their eighth consecutive loss.

"I thought we played a good game," said head coach Pete Hughes, who is in his eighth season at the helm. "Tazwell Butler pitched well enough to win and it was good to see Ty Smolinski and Grant Gallagher produce a couple of two-out RBIs. It's something we can build on."

After surrendering two runs in the first two innings, Butler (0-4) retired 12 of the next 14 batters he faced before Cincinnati regained the lead in the seventh. The right-hander turned in the first quality start of his K-State career, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks over seven innings.

"I'll take the blame for the unsuccessful squeeze. Tried to ignite things around here with a momentum play that could've put us up two heading into the seventh inning at home. Unfortunately, it didn't go that way, but we will continue to play to win despite the results," Hughes added.

THE RUNDOWN
The Bearcats struck first in the opening inning, capitalizing on a two-out single and fielding error to take a 1-0 lead. Cincinnati added to the advantage in the second on Enzo Infelise's solo home run to right field.

K-State answered in the fourth inning, as Smolinski lined a run-scoring double into right-center before Gallagher followed with an RBI single to left.

The Wildcats threatened again in the sixth after consecutive singles from Bear Madliak and AJ Evasco put two on with no outs, but Cincinnati escaped the inning with a key pickoff on the attempted squeeze play to preserve the tie.

Cincinnati regained the lead in the seventh when Ryan Tyranski delivered a two-out RBI single to left, scoring Jackson Smith from second after a leadoff walk and stolen base.

The Bearcats added an insurance run in the ninth on Quinton Coats' RBI groundout, stretching the lead, 4-2.

K-State brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth after Gallagher walked and Nick English reached on a pinch-hit walk, but Cincinnati recorded the final out on a fly ball to left to seal the win.

INSIDE THE BOX

Cincinnati scored four runs on six hits with one error committed and nine runners left on base, while K-State was held to two runs and seven hits.
K-State committed one error and stranded eight on base.
Six different players recorded a hit for Cincinnati.
K-State had six players with a hit led by a game-high two from Shintaro Inoue.
Butler (0-4) suffered the loss, surrendering three runs (two earned) on five hits over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out five and issued three walks.
Dominic Mauro (2-3) was awarded the victory in relief of Nathan Taylor, who held the Wildcats to two earned runs over his five innings.
Mauro fired 2 1/3 shutout innings and allowed three hits.

TEAM NOTES

Cincinnati leads the series 4-3, that includes a 2-2 record in Manhattan.
With the loss, K-State dropped its eighth consecutive game, marking the longest losing streak since 2018.

PLAYER NOTES

Inoue recorded his 16^th game with two or more hits.
Butler turned in his first quality start at K-State – the team's 11^th overall.

ON DECK
Game two between the Wildcats and Bearcats is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT on Saturday 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 for K-State baseball games at kstatesports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

Single-game tickets are available for all Wildcat home games at Tointon Family Stadium, fans can visit kstatesports.com/tickets call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stop 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.