With the weather feeling like a true spring evening, Kansas State had a competitive battle with the No. 24 Nebraska Huskers during a mid-week matchup on Tuesday.
Nebraska got the game started by scoring two runs on three hits in the first inning off of K-State starter Cohen Feser to take the lead 2-0. The Cornhuskers’ hot start was followed by silent bats from K-State in a three-up, three-down bottom half.
The right-hander Feser was back on the mound for the Wildcats in the second, but this time didn’t allow any Nebraska runs, shutting down three Huskers to prevent the red-and-white from stacking on more runs.
K-State took care of business during the bottom of the second, scoring two runs to answer Nebraska.
The first run came as right fielder AJ Evasco grounded out to the right side of the infield, scoring Ty Smolinski from third base and advancing third baseman Grant Gallagher from second to third. As centerfielder Cadyn Karl waited in the batter’s box, Nebraska’s starter, Pryce Bender, balked, sending Gallagher home on two outs and scoring K-State’s second run to tie the game, 2-2.
The Wildcats made a pitching change as Robert Fortenberry replaced Feser in the top of the third, but he only remained on the mound for 0.2 innings. Fortenberry allowed two hits and four runs.
After some struggles on the mound, Aaron Arnold, the righty, came in for relief. Already having two outs on the board, Arnold finished the inning after facing two Nebraska batters. With the added runs from the Huskers, they led 6-2 going into the bottom half of the inning.
With one out on the board, Nebraska made a pitching change, replacing Bender with Braxton Stewart. Even though there were two Wildcats on base, Stewart wasn’t fazed, striking out the next two K-State batters. The purple-and-white weren’t able to add any runs and left two batters on base.
Going into the fourth inning, the Wildcats knew they had to cause damage, and they did.
It was a concise top of the fourth for Nebraska as Arnold didn’t allow any runs on one hit. The Huskers had two runners on base, but left them stranded.
The Wildcats found some fire, batting all the way through the lineup in the bottom of the fourth. Smolinski started the run, making contact with the first pitch he saw and doubling to right field.
In the number six hole, Gallagher found himself in a 3-1 count and walked. As Evasco stepped up to the plate, he connected on a 0-1 count, singling through the left side of the infield. The hit scored Smolinski from second base and advanced Gallagher from first to third.
After K-State’s success, the Huskers made a pitching change, replacing Colin Nowaczyk with Kevin Mannell. This wouldn’t faze the ‘Cats, however, as Kyan Lodice singled to right center, also getting two RBIs. The workflow would continue, as Dee Kennedy doubled down left field, sending Shea McGahan home and advancing Lodice from first to third.
As K-State kept chipping away, Nebraska would commit another balk, scoring McGahan. Struggling to stop the Wildcats’ run, a wild pitch from the Huskers would send Kennedy home, giving K-State an 8-6 lead.
“Key point in the game was the top of the fifth,” K-State head coach Pete Hughes said. “We did a great job in the bottom of the fourth, building a big inning with six runs. It is critical to have a shutdown inning when we go back on defense and keep the momentum of the game on our side. We were unable to do that. It was the turning point in the game.”
The inning ended after Smolinski battled on the plate — seeing eight pitches — but flew out to left field. The Wildcats were able to score six runs on four hits and left one on base.
While K-State had the lead, it wouldn’t last long as Nebraska went to work and had another successful inning in the fifth, scoring an additional five runs to take the lead back, 11-8.
Halfway through the top of the fifth, the Wildcats made a pitching change, replacing Aaron with Billy Eich. Across one inning, Eich gave up three runs on four hits and struck out one.
Over the next four and a half innings, the Wildcats were quiet at the plate until the last inning, when they scored one run. The Huskers, on the other hand, added a few more runs, with one coming in the sixth and two more in the eighth.
Even though the Wildcats battled back early, they fell short, 14-9, to No. 24 Nebraska.
K-State is now 17-8 overall and 3-3 in conference play. The Wildcats will be on the road to Utah for a three-game series, starting on Friday, March 27, with the first pitch set for 7 p.m.
