Kansas State baseball was at Globe Life Field for the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, where the ‘Cats won two games but also suffered their first loss of the season.
Vs. Auburn
K-State’s loss was to the No. 9-ranked Auburn Tigers, who beat the Wildcats 5-1. The Tigers started left-handed pitcher Jake Marciano, and for the first time all season, the bats of the K-State offense were quieted. Marciano went six innings and struck out eight batters, allowing just two hits.
On the mound for the Wildcats was right-handed pitcher James Guyette, who went six innings and allowed two runs on six hits. Guyette, while charged with the loss, pitched well and kept K-State in the game against the highly ranked Auburn.
“I thought [James Guyette] had a really good outing and definitely pitched well enough for us to give him support and win that game, but we didn’t,” K-State head coach Pete Hughes said.
The Wildcats’ lone run came in the eighth inning when pinch-hitter Micah Kendrick doubled to score Shintaro Inoue. His hit was one of just four K-State had in the game, as Auburn pitchers kept the Wildcat batters off balance.
Outfielder AJ Evasco had two of the other hits for K-State as he continued his hot start to the season. The returning sophomore is hitting .414 with two triples and three doubles in his seven games started.
Vs. Nebraska
In game two, the Wildcats quickly bounced back, getting a big win over Nebraska, 5-3. K-State was once again held to just four hits, but was patient at the plate, taking seven walks and capitalizing on the Huskers’ mistakes.
Senior transfer Carlos Vasquez led the offense with three hits and four RBIs in the contest, carrying the Wildcats to victory. While the offense as a whole would like more production top to bottom, finding ways to win is a sign of a good team.
“A good win for our program,” Hughes said. “I love the fact that we bounced back after a tough loss. It’s a sign of a winning program and a winning dugout.”
K-State also used only two pitchers on the night as right-handed pitcher Donte Lewis started the game and went four and two-thirds innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs.
However, it was Carson Liggett for the second straight weekend that stole the show on the mound. The senior transfer pitched the rest of the four and one-third innings and allowed no runs on just one hit.
Liggett has now pitched nine and one-third innings total this year and has allowed no runs on just three hits. The right-hander from Overland Park has been dominant so far for K-State and has quickly become an arm Hughes can trust out of the pen.
“It’s a calming presence to have a competitive veteran, quality pitcher like Carson Liggett to finish things for us,” Hughes said. “I love the fact that our team loves to play in these tight ball games, and they embrace those moments in the seventh, and the eighth, and ninth innings.”
In the eighth inning, the game was tied 3-3, but shortstop Dee Kennedy came through with a sacrifice fly, and Vasquez singled another run home to push K-State’s lead to 5-3. The Wildcats would hold that lead the rest of the game, getting a big win over former Big 12 foe Nebraska.
Vs. Michigan
The final game of the series was against another Big 10 opponent, the Michigan Wolverines. K-State was finally able to break through on offense in this one, scoring 10 runs on nine hits to get the victory 10-6.
On the mound for the Wildcats was left-handed pitcher Lincoln Sheffield, who went six and two-thirds innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits. Sheffield gave up two early unearned runs in the second inning, but the K-State offense quickly erased that in the bottom of the inning, answering with five runs.
“Credit Lincoln Sheffield for picking up his teammates,” Hughes said. “We didn’t play the best defense for him tonight, but veteran guys settle in there and pick up their teammates. Lincoln always does that.”
Kendrick started the five-run inning with a double down the line to score two runs. The inning was capped off by Dee Kennedy hitting his fourth home run of the season.
Over the third and fourth innings, the Wildcats scored four more runs and had an early 9-3 lead over Michigan. However, the Wolverines didn’t quit and answered with three runs in the seventh inning, putting the game within three, 9-6.
Vasquez, as he did the day before, came through again, but this time with the long ball as his solo home run gave K-State an insurance run. However, that run wasn’t needed as relief pitcher Cohen Feser pitched the final two and one-third innings and allowed no runs on just one hit.
The Wildcats left the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series with a 6-1 record, their best start to a season since 2010. K-State has outscored its opponents 73-36 so far this season and has scored 10 runs in four of its seven games.
