Kansas State scored four runs in the seventh inning and five runs in the eighth inning to take a 13-9 lead, which they would hold on to for a comeback victory over Oklahoma State.
The Wildcats nine unanswered runs came after a power surge from the Cowboys that saw them hit five home runs in the afternoon, including three over the sixth and seventh innings.
“I thought our team played with urgency,” K-State head coach Pete Hughes said. “You could have a different mindset if there’s going to be a slugfest established early, but I thought our guys answered it phenomenally. They came back from a 4-0 deficit, from a two-run deficit and then from a five-run deficit.”
While the Wildcats ended up with the victory, the game didn’t start so great for the purple lineup as the first batter of the game, Alex Conover, hit a home run off of K-State left handed starter, Lincoln Sheffield. Two batters later, the Cowboys’ star Kollin Ritchie clocked a two-run homer, which gave Oklahoma State the lead 3-0 before K-State had even recorded an out.
Sheffield, who has been solid all year, was roughed up for one of the few times this season, giving up six runs in his near six innings of work. However, the big lefty had his strikeout stuff as he finished with nine punchouts.
“It was a difficult day to pitch, and Lincoln Sheffield showed how mature he was,” Hughes said. “You keep throwing the ball down the plate, and sometimes the fly ball is going to creep over the fence, and sometimes they’re going to hit a good pitch.”
After two home runs in the first, the Cowboys tacked on another run in the third to take a 4-0 lead. The Wildcats, as they have all year, answered quickly with their ability to score double-digit runs.
K-State’s answer came via two runs in the fourth and two runs in the fifth, which included home runs from AJ Evasco and Shintaro Inoue that tied the game at four.
In the sixth inning, the Cowboys answered with another two-home-run inning — both being solo shots — that gave the lead back to the Pokes, 6-4. In the top of the seventh inning, Oklahoma State extended that lead by smashing a three-run homer that looked to be an early nail in K-State’s coffin.
The Wildcats, however, didn’t quit as it was now their turn to answer, and that they did when Bear Madliak smacked his own three-run home run, bringing K-State within two again. The Wildcats weren’t done in the inning, though, as they got some clutch two-out hitting from Grant Gallagher that scored another and made the game 9-8.
“Had some great individual performances,” Hughes said. “Bear [Madliak] had some big hits, which you would expect out of your senior, and he did a great job. Really up and down the lineup, we had a lot of guys do some great things,”
With runners on first and second and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Ty Smolinski singled through the right side, attempting to score Evasco from second to tie the game. However, Oklahoma State made a perfect throw to the plate to throw out Evasco and preserve the lead, 9-8, which they took into the eighth inning.
While the Wildcats didn’t tie it in the seventh, they used the momentum from a shut-down top of the eighth to rally for five runs and take a 13-9 lead, completing the comeback over Oklahoma State.
Adam Arther pitched the eighth and ninth for K-State and was extremely effective, allowing no runs and striking out two batters to shut the door for the Wildcats and earn him the win for his effort.
“Adam Arther going back-to-back nights, it’s tough to do that,” Hughes said. “He was all over the strike zone and had a lively fastball. Great to win a series at home, and that’s what you’re supposed to do at home. Our guys did a great job today, showing up ready to go and seizing an opportunity.”
