Despite the weather changing from cold and rainy during game one to sunny and breezy during game two, the competition and winning mindset remained the same for Kansas State.
Lincoln Sheffield was the starting pitcher for the Wildcats, getting an easy three up-three down to start the game. Sheffield would go 5.1 innings, allowing five runs on six hits, walking two batters and striking out six.
Momentum rippled from game one as the K-State lineup was able to go on a scoring run and put the first runs on the board. Facing TCU’s Lane Davis, a patient Shintaro Inoue walked to begin the first. Batting second was Dee Kennedy, who tripled to left center, scoring Inoue and putting the Wildcats up 1-0.
Following suit, Bear Madliak found a gap in left center as well, doubling and sending Kennedy home. Even though AJ Evasco grounded out to second base, he would advance Madliak to third. Carlos Vasquez then sealed K-Sate’s 3-0 lead, hitting a sacrifice fly to right-center and allowing Madliak to score.
The Horned Frogs closed the Wildcats’ half of the inning as Micah Kendrick grounded out to first base.
Trying to get TCU’s bats going, Chase Brunson hit a solo homer to deep left field on a 1-2 count, which put the Horned Frogs within two, 3-1. Even with their best efforts, though, Sheffield would do his duty — striking out two batters and getting the third to ground out.
In the second, the Bat Cats would make contact with pitches, but not enough to cause damage or score runs. This would also follow into the third and fourth innings for both teams, as neither team scored any runs.
Finding a groove, the Horned Frogs collected two runs on four hits during the fifth inning, tying the game 3-3, which would remain into the sixth inning.
During the sixth inning, K-State replaced Sheffield with Austin Haley to try to provide some relief after TCU loaded the bases. The Horned Frogs would grind across three batters, scoring four runs in the sixth. The first batter hit an RBI single, the second walked to bring in a run and the third hit a two-RBI double.
After TCU’s scoring run, the Wildcats were able to conclude the inning, but trailed 7-3.
The scoring difficulties for K-State, however, weren’t from a lack of base runners, specifically in the bottom of the seventh. The bases were loaded before the Horned Frogs’ coaching staff replaced Davis with Walter Quinn. As Kennedy battled at the plate, he grounded out to third base on a 2-2 count, leaving three runners on base, which the Wildcats could’ve transformed into some much-needed runs.
“They got a big hit with the bases loaded, and we didn’t,” K-State head coach Pete Hughes said. “That was the difference in the game.”
While the seventh and eighth innings remained quiet for both sides, two different TCU players homered in the ninth, extending the Horned Frogs’ lead, 9-3. Going up to the plate in one last effort, the Wildcats needed a seven-run comeback, but instead went quietly into the night.
“To win in Big 12 games, you have to score in more than one frame, and we scored in the first inning and then shut our offense down,” Hughes said. “To win in the Big 12, you have to damage control innings, and we had a chance to do that in the sixth inning when we needed to, but we were unable to do that.”
TCU taking game two means much more pressure for K-State in game three and the need for a series win. The Wildcats move to 20-11 overall and 5-6 in Big 12 play. The final matchup of the series is set for tomorrow at 1 p.m.
