K-State baseball fell to JUCO school Western Oklahoma State College, 6-4, in a 10-inning bout on Friday, as a big third inning for the Pioneers created a hole the Wildcats couldn’t climb out of.
Pitchers Grady Westphal and Noah Gartner started strong for K-State, throwing two shutout innings. WOSC’s pitcher came out firing, consistently throwing his fastball at 95 mph.
K-State got on the board in the second inning when catcher Connor Capece hit a single, which Cadyn Karl followed with a single of his own to put Capece on third. Infielder Maddix Simpson then stepped up and hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Capece and putting the Wildcats up 1-0.
Everything fell apart in the third inning for K-State, though, when Cordell Clinkingbeard took the mound. The freshman fireballer lit up the radar gun, with multiple pitches hitting 97 mph, but his fastball location wasn’t sharp, and he walked four batters while giving up three RBI singles. Though the inning ended early, the Pioneers did their damage, scoring four runs on three singles and four walks without K-State ever recording an out.
The Wildcats responded in the fourth with a Karl leadoff homer, a line drive to center field off a 104 mph pitch that traveled 418 feet. Simpson followed the bomb with a walk, seemingly starting a comeback for K-State. However, the Pioneers recorded two straight outs before throwing Simpson out at second to end the fourth inning and limit K-State’s damage.
Pitching was solid for both teams afterward, as both teams’ pitchers handled runners on base well, with no real traffic until the seventh inning.
With senior Adam Arther on the mound, the Pioneers had a runner on third and threatened to score again. Arther threw a wild pitch that deflected off the catcher and rolled toward the K-State dugout. The runner on third bolted for home plate when the catcher ran to the ball, picked it up and threw it at Arther, who used all of his 6’3” frame to reach out and tag the runner out at home and keep the Pioneers from scoring.
Arther’s play gave K-State momentum, as in the bottom of the seventh, the Wildcats strung together a couple of walks and hits to start coming back. Capece and Clinkingbeard both walked before Barton Community College transfer Kyler Horsman lined an RBI single to center field, scoring Capece and bringing the score to 6-3.
Defense starred again in the top of the ninth inning, when WOSC threatened another run with a runner in scoring position after a walk and a stolen base. The Pioneers hit a single to right field before a perfect 7-4-2 relay throw caught the runner trying to go from second to home, ending the top of the ninth inning.
K-State continued to build on its momentum in the bottom of the ninth, with Simpson hitting a line-drive home run to lead off the inning. Once again, though, the Wildcats couldn’t capitalize, as Horsman walked but WOSC caught him stealing to end the inning.
In the 10th inning, two quick outs left the Wildcats little hope, and a Zander Bratspis flyout to center ended the inning and gave the Pioneers the win, 6-4.
The Wildcats will finish their fall scrimmages with a game against Kansas at 3 p.m. on Oct. 17 at Tointon Family Stadium.
