Kansas State baseball struggled against in-state rival Kansas during the Sunflower Showdown, falling by way of a sweep 5-3, 6-3 and 6-5 at Lawrence.
K-State (23-17, 10-8 Big 12) saw the best conference start in program history, standing at 19-8 overall and 8-1 in conference at its peak on April 1. Since then, the Wildcats have gone 4-9 overall and 2-7 in Big 12 play.
“The only positive is we’ll find out what we are truly made of in the next month,” head coach Pete Hughes said to K-State Athletics. “We are at that time where you figure it out or you don’t. I’m betting on our guys.”
In Game 1 of a Saturday doubleheader, due to anticipated rain on Sunday, K-State sent Lincoln Sheffield to the mound, who is the Wildcats usual Sunday starter. Game 2 was pitched by Saturday starter Michael Quevedo.
K-State took the early lead as it did in each game of the series. This time it was on a solo home run by designated hitter Sam Flores. Flores has been one of the best hitters in conference play for the Wildcats and kept it up with the solo shot in the second inning.
However KU, who possesses the best offense in the Big 12, answered quickly with a run in the bottom of the second to tie the game. In the top of the third, the ‘Cats loaded the bases with no outs and scored two runs to take a 3-1 lead, although they might’ve hoped for a bigger inning.
With K-State not taking more advantage of the opportunity provided, KU gained a run back in the third and then scored four unanswered runs in the next two innings to take a 6-3 lead. The Jayhawks capitalized on three Wildcat errors in the game.
Those Kansas runs ended up being the last runs of the game as Kansas starter Cooper Moore was dominant, going eight innings and striking out eight batters. After the Wildcats roughed Moore up in the third, he was excellent, keeping the ‘Cats hitters off balance.
In Game 2 of the doubleheader, one of the Jayhawks’ best hitters, Brady Ballinger, opened up the scoring with a solo home run in the first. The home run by Ballinger was the conference-leading 80th home run hit by KU batters this season.
The Wildcats, looking to avoid getting swept, answered quickly with three runs in the top of the third and once again held an early 3-1 lead. But KU continued to be a thorn in the side of the Wildcats as every time the ‘Cats scored, scoring three runs in the fourth to take a 6-4 lead.
K-State’s offense sputtered out again in the middle innings. In the ninth inning, K-State tried to get a rally going but ended up falling short by one run, leaving Lawrence with a bad taste in their mouth and a 6-5 loss.
On Friday night, K-State may have had its best chance to win, but it slipped away thanks to some clutch hitting by the Jayhawks.
K-State sent left-handed starter Jacob Frost to the mound while KU sent the Big 12 Preseason Pitcher of the Year to the mound in Dominic Voegele.
K-State kicked off the scoring with a two-out double by Donte Lewis in the second inning. The Wildcats grabbed another run in the third inning to take an early 3-0 lead.
With the lead, Frost attacked Jayhawk hitters, and it worked well as Frost went 6 2/3 innings and struck out a career high 10 batters in the game.
However, with the heart of the KU order coming up and Frost well over 100 pitches, K-State went to the bullpen to closer James Guyette, who has been solid for the Wildcats all year.
With two outs, Guyette faced Ballinger when he singled to the opposite field and drove home the first run of the game for the Jayhawks, making it a 3-1 game. Up next was Jackson Hauge, who found a pitch he liked and crushed a three-run home run to give the Jayhawks the lead in the seventh inning
“[Guyette] should hold his head high because he has bailed us out of many situations and won us a lot of games,” Hughes said. “It should never come down to one swing. We had ample time to build on our lead and we didn’t.”
Hauge, one of the best home run hitters in the country, is tied for the third most in the nation. When the Jayhawks needed him most, he came through. In the eighth, KU scored an insurance run and went to their best bullpen guys to close out the game.
“Devastating loss,” Hughes said. “Jacob Frost was awesome tonight. When you are up 3-0 with seven outs to go with your go-to guy on the mound, you feel great about your game plan, but it didn’t go our way tonight.”
The sweep dropped K-State to sixth in the Big 12 standings, where it stood in first place just three weeks ago. The Wildcats will have a chance to get back in the win column Tuesday night at home against Wichita State. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
