Trailing 3-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, Kansas State rallied for five runs to grab a commanding lead, which they held onto in the ninth for a 7-3 victory over Connecticut.
The Wildcats’ rally began with their nine-hole hitter, who was hit by a pitch, which set things up for the top of the order. After a wild pitch, leadoff hitter Robby Bolin bunted to advance the runner, but the ball was thrown down the first base line, allowing the tying run to score and Bolin to advance all the way to third on the error.
Next at the plate, third baseman Grant Gallagher walked and stole second, setting the table for AJ Evasco to be the hero and put the ‘Cats on top. The freshman all-American, like so many times last season, came through, lining a ball into the gap for a triple. Gallagher, more importantly, plated the go-ahead and eventual winning run.
For the second game in a row, K-State scored in the first inning to take an early lead. However, UCONN scored three runs over the second and third innings, chasing Wildcats starter Donte Lewis from the game.
Coming in for relief of Lewis was Carson Liggett, who missed all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery. The 6’2 right-hander was tasked with the job of keeping the game close until the K-State offense found its rhythm.
Liggett came in and retired the first seven batters he faced before allowing a hit, but that was all the Huskies could get off of him. The returning redshirt senior went five innings, allowing no runs, and putting the Wildcats in position to win late.
“It was great to have one of those wins early in the season,” K-State head coach Pete Hughes said. “To come back and chip away and have some veteran guys on the mound allowed us to do that.”
After Liggett’s spectacular outing, Cohen Feser replaced him and capped off the final two innings smoothly, earning him the win. The Wildcats have now won their second straight game to open the season, and look to keep things rolling in the MLB Desert Invitational.
“Cohen [Feser] was awesome down the stretch,” Hughes said. “He allowed our guys to get big hits and play in big moments. We got the big hit by AJ [Evasco], but that doesn’t happen without the efforts of Liggett and Feser.”
