Patience proved key as K-State baseball opened fall ball scrimmages Monday afternoon, defeating the Mississauga Tigers 15-1.
K-State pitching had no trouble early, as sophomore Grady Westphal retired the Tigers in a 1-2-3 first inning. Fifth-year pitcher Jonah Reich, who returned from a season-ending injury last year, followed Westphal with a solid second inning, ending on a swinging strikeout.
The Wildcats offense came to life in the third inning, when Cape Cod League MVP Ty Smolinski knocked a 103 mph single into right field to score Jacob Harris.
Run production kicked into gear in the fifth inning, with three runs coming to the plate on five walks, a hit-by-pitch, and a hit from Wingate transfer Jalen Evans. The fifth inning was rolled after the Wildcats scored three runs and loaded the bases before recording an out.
K-State kept putting up crooked numbers in the sixth, as transfer Maddix Simpson and freshman Cordell Clinkingbeard hit back-to-back infield singles and scored one run. Manhattan native Kyler Horsman scored Clinkingbeard on a groundout to third base. Then, in the seventh, Maryland transfer Paul Jones II smashed a 110 mph line drive to score two more runs.
Pitching remained stellar, as five pitchers gave up a combined two hits over five innings. Between returners and transfers, the Wildcats consistently kept the Tigers in check, shutting them down and dominating on the mound.
Mississaugas’ lone run came in the ninth inning, when Cloud County Community College transfer Stocton Timbrook took the mound for the Wildcats. The Tigers hit a 96 mph fastball out of left-center field at 101 mph, one of their few bright spots in the game.
Even though K-State technically won 8-1, they batted in the bottom of the ninth and put up seven runs on four singles, three walks, a hit-by-pitch and a Mississauga error. After freshman catcher Jett Vindiola hit a two-RBI single that scored K-State’s sixth and seventh runs in the bottom of the ninth, the inning was rolled, sealing the Wildcats’ 15-1 victory.
K-State will continue its fall ball scrimmages against the Western Oklahoma Pioneers at 3 p.m. on Oct. 9.
