Kansas State baseball looked for its fourth straight win over a top 25 opponent, facing its toughest test yet in No. 2 LSU. The Wildcats battled into extra innings, but LSU’s three unanswered runs in the 10th inning led the Tigers to an 8-5 victory Friday afternoon in the Frisco Classic opener.
Tied at 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning, K-State had the potential winning run on in speedy sophomore Dee Kennedy. Transfer Seth Dardar laced a double into left field as Kennedy rounded third to come home and win the game for the Wildcats but was thrown out on a bang-bang play at the plate.
“You can talk a lot about how cruel the game can be,” seventh-year head coach Pete Hughes said to K-State Athletics. “A lot of stuff didn’t go our way, but we also were not productive in situational baseball, which cost us three or four runs that we left out there just by not being able to situationally hit and fundamentally get our bunts down. We didn’t even play catch to our standard.”
LSU capitalized on a Wildcat error in the 10th inning, and with the bases loaded and two outs, hit a two-run single to cap off a three-run inning. In the bottom of the 10th, the Wildcats had the tying run up to the plate but didn’t convert.
While the loss stings, K-State competed with one of the top teams in the country for the fourth straight game, proving the Wildcats can compete against anyone.
K-State committed three errors in the game, which came back to hurt the Wildcats in the end. Last weekend, the Wildcats won its tournament without committing an error, so getting back to that play will be vital this weekend.
“Throw it all out the window if we played fundamental baseball, then bad luck doesn’t come into play,” Hughes said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t. But I’m proud of our guys. We had a good fight today, and our guys love a good fight.”
LSU got out to an early 2-0 lead in the third inning with its top-tier top of the order, starting with freshman Derek Curiel, who is ranked as the No.1 Freshman in America. Batting second is All-American Jared Jones, who is projected to be a top pick in the MLB Draft this summer.
K-State starter Jacob Frost did well holding that potent lineup to just two runs in his 4 2/3 innings of work.
Frost holding down LSU allowed K-State to get back into the game, which it did in the bottom of the sixth with a Kennedy home run. Dardar wanted to get in on the action, and he went deep as well to tie the game up.
“As a coach, you just want to see your kids thrive in pressure situations and really embrace pressure situations and that’s the group I have,” Hughes said.
The back-to-back home runs by Kennedy and Dardar are the second time this season that duo has completed the feat.
The tie game didn’t last long, however, as the third hitter in the LSU lineup, Daniel Dickinson, blasted a three-run home run to give the Tigers the lead back. Dickinson had a huge day at the plate with six RBI, including the two-run single in the 10th.
K-State was resilient and scored three runs right back to tie the game again. K-State had a chance to take the lead with the bases loaded and just one out, but it didn’t come through.
The loss moves K-State to 4-5 on the season, but it has a chance to get back on the winning track Saturday against Sam Houston State. The first pitch is scheduled for noon, with Michael Quevedo scheduled to start.
