Shortstop Dee Kennedy crushed his 17th home run of the season to break the junior single-season program record and help lead Kansas State to a weekday victory over Grand Canyon in the desert.
The home run by Kennedy tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth inning and gave the Wildcats momentum moving forward, which ended up helping them steal the road victory.
“We’re excited for Dee [Kennedy],” K-State head coach Pete Hughes said. “He came to K-State to help us sustain our success and to be one of the best to wear the purple, and that’s exactly what he’s doing — with a lot more baseball to play.”
The Wildcats trailed early on 2-0 after the Lopes hit a two-run home run in the first inning off of K-State opener Austin Haley. Haley gave up another run in the bottom of the second and departed the game after completing his two innings of work.
Oftentimes this season, Haley has come into the game to put the fire out for the Wildcats, but this time it was the rest of the bullpens’ turn to pick him up. The arms of Cohen Feser, Adam Arther and Miles Smith combined for seven scoreless innings, only allowing four hits over that span.
“Proud of our guys finishing up a tough road trip at this part of the season,” Hughes said. “For us to win three out of four and still play with energy in hot and uncomfortable conditions was impressive. We played with great energy today in our fourth game, which was awesome.”
K-State scored one run in each of the second, third and fifth innings, which included a home run from Cadyn Karl in the second to get the Wildcats on the board and the aforementioned Kennedy home run that tied the game in the fifth.
However, it was in the sixth inning where K-State’s offense broke out in a big way and scored five runs, none of which came via the home run ball. The five-run inning included RBIs from Kennedy and Karl to improve on their already impressive days.
The Wildcats will now return home from the long trip in Arizona and face their rival, No. 16 Kansas, which is currently leading the conference by two games. Not only will K-State have a chance to earn some quality wins for its resume, but it will have a chance to spoil a great season so far for the Jayhawks.
The first game at Tointon Family Stadium is scheduled for Friday, April 24, with first pitch at 6 p.m.
