Kansas State baseball had a perfect ending to Senior Day at Tointon Family Stadium, as a 14-9 win secured the series and handed No. 12 West Virginia its first road series loss of the season.
“I told our team, ‘That’s one of the biggest home series wins,’” head coach Pete Hughes said to K-State Athletics. “To me, it’s the biggest one since I’ve been here…Tough teams bounce back, and our team showed unbelievable toughness.”
Graduate student Seth Dardar’s grand slam capped off a seven-run eighth-inning rally that propelled the Wildcats to the triumph over the Mountaineers in the series’ rubber match. The long ball was K-State’s program-record-breaking 90th home run of the season.
K-State moved to 30-21 and 16-11 Big 12, while receiving a sizable RPI boost from No. 44 to No. 36, helping its postseason stock.
The seven-run eighth inning came on the heels of West Virginia (40-10, 19-6 Big 12) erasing the Wildcats’ 7-3 lead with five runs in the sixth and seventh.
“I love the way we did it,” Hughes said. “We played from behind early. We took a three-run lead and lost it late, but you know tough teams bounce back when those things happen…Great team win,” Hughes added.
After surrendering a run in the ninth, left-handed reliever JJ Slack (2-3) settled in and slammed the door shut on the Mountaineer offense, striking out the final three batters on his way to earning the victory.
Ten different Wildcats contributed to K-State’s 17-hit day, the most allowed by West Virginia this season, with five players producing multiple hits.
Dardar, who hit in the three-spot, ended the game going 3-for-5 with a season-high five RBI, while freshman AJ Evasco also turned in a three-hit day (3-for-4). Shintaro Inoue drove in a pair of runs with his ninth homer of the year.
WVU scored three runs over a two-inning stretch, highlighted by a two-out, two-run double from catcher Logan Sauve in the third.
The Wildcats responded as David Bishop led off the inning with a single through the right side, bringing Inoue to the plate. The junior shortstop launched the team’s 89th home run over the left field wall to make it a one-run ball game.
K-State knotted the score at three-all with three consecutive hits in the next frame from Maximus Martin, Evasco and Bear Madliak before taking the lead with a ground ball to second from Bishop.
With a 4-3 advantage, Dee Kennedy walked to start the fifth and came around the bases as K-State strung together three straight hits. A deep fly ball to left field by Martin tacked on the third run of the inning, stretching the Cats’ lead.
WVU rallied for five runs in the sixth and seventh to take an 8-7 lead with the help of a three-run blast by designated hitter Sam White.
After eight consecutive batters were retired for K-State, Sam Flores was hit by a pitch to ignite the Wildcats’ eighth-inning rally. Martin doubled down the left field line to position the duo on second and third until a single through the left side by Evasco plated the tying run.
Madliak followed with his second hit of the day to take back the lead. The Wildcats stretched the lead out to two, 10-8, with an RBI-single from Kennedy.
With one out and the bases loaded, Dardar belted the first pitch he faced from WVU reliever Carson Estridge and cleared the bases as he sent his 11th homer of the year 359 feet over the left field wall.
K-State will venture to Ohio for the final three games of the regular season, as the Wildcats take on Cincinnati in a three-game Big 12 set at UC Baseball Stadium, starting Thursday at 5 p.m.
