K-State 26-22 (9-12)
Kansas State has plenty of work to do if they want any chance of reaching the NCAA tournament for a third straight year. The Wildcats canceled their two mid-week games due to potential inclement weather rolling through the Midwest this week. While those games were against inferior opponents and wouldn’t have helped K-State’s Rating Percentage Index, the Wildcats are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, and those could have been key games to get them back on track.
James Guyette has been the Friday night starter all year, but last week, K-State pitched him on April 28 at Nebraska and in the series finale on May 3 against West Virginia. While the Wildcats were unable to win either game, getting creative to send your best pitcher out to try and steal a victory was not a bad idea. With no mid-week games this week, Guyette should project to slide back into his Friday night starter role.
Shortstop Dee Kennedy hasn’t slowed down at all in his second year with the Wildcats. The junior is jumping up draft boards and should be an early-round pick at the MLB draft this July. Kennedy already has the single-season home run record for K-State this year and should have plenty more accolades coming his way after one of the best seasons in K-State history.
Cincinnati 33-17 (13-11)
Cincinnati has won five straight contests and is playing its best ball all season, while the Wildcats are playing just about their worst. The Bearcats have two straight series wins, including a sweep against Houston last weekend and a close series win over West Virginia the week before. Cincinnati has a powerful offense and will show it off at hitter-friendly Tointon Family Stadium.
Quinton Coats for Cincinnati has hit the third-most home runs in the conference this year with 23. The sophomore slugger is a Kansas native and will be looking to show out in a big way back in his home state. Coats has been struggling lately, with one home run and four RBIs in his last eight games. K-State will look to keep him quiet for at least one more weekend.
Nathan Taylor has big-time strikeout stuff and is the ace that spearheads a good but not great staff. Taylor has given up nine home runs in his 12 starts this year, so K-State’s power could take advantage of that. However, putting the bat on the ball against a right-hander isn’t easy, so K-State will need to stay ahead in the count to get their pitch.
