Next game:
against LSU
02/24/2023 | 2pm
Baseball D1
KMAN extension
February 24th (Fri) / 2pm
against LSU
History
BEAUMONT, Texas – K-State’s streak ended Wednesday night after trailing in a 4-3 thriller to Lamar at Vincent-Beck Stadium to give the Wildcats their first loss of the season. The Wildcats move to 4-1 during preseason action as Lamar extends his hitting streak to five. The Cardinals’ Jeremy Rivera (1-0) was awarded the win with Daniel Cole receiving his first save while German Fajardo (0-1) was credited with the loss. “Tonight was a disappointing match, but the credit goes to Lamar,” said Pete Hughes. “They were more disciplined tonight. They kept the ball out of the air and made their bunts and made all the big plays and pitches. When you win in those areas, you usually end up on the right side of a run games,” Mason Buss is was really good tonight, as were Tyson Neighbors and Shay Hartis. They came in and pitched well enough for us to come back and win. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the big hit.”
HOW DID IT HAPPEN
For the first time on the season, the Cats fell behind early after Lamar took a 2–0 lead in the second. Kevin Bermudez singled through the hole 5-6 to score the game’s first run on the board until a high ball to center doubled the Cardinals’ lead. K-State finished in third with back-to-back hits by Raphael Pelletier and Cash Rugely. Pelletier, a product of Quebec, Canada, led off the inning with a double into right field before Rugely found the green with a ball across the left side to put runners on first and third. With no outs, Brendan Jones put one deep in center to bring in Pelletier. Lamar answered immediately in the second half of the inning after posting two runs to make it a 4-1 ball game. Leading hitter Ryan Snell landed at second with a ball hit hard into left center until the youngster came in with a single to right field. With the bases loaded, the Cardinals led the final run on a hard short hit, but the Cats’ sixth double play of the season ended the threat. After a scoreless quarter, Roberto Pena opened with a right-footed shot to right-footed Antonio Escano before climbing 90 feet on a cleared ball to land in scoring position. The senior crossed the plate with a single through left side by Pelletier to extend the Cardinals lead, 4-2. Pelletier would come on big for a third run of the night as the redshirt sophomore hit his first home run of the season deep and out in right field to make it a one-run game. Unable to tie the score, K-State would eventually fall 4-3 in the non-conference contest.
IN THE BOX
- K-State had three earned runs on nine hits with two walks and seven strikeouts
- Five pitchers saw time on the mound for the Wildcats with newcomer Trae Robertson making his K-State debut in the third
- Freshman Mason Buss led the bullpen with 3.2 shutout innings with four hits, three strikeouts, and a walk
- Pelletier produced three game and career hits going 3 for 4 at the plate with two RBI
- Launch
- The bottom half of the Wildcats’ order was responsible for five of the team’s nine hits
NOTES
- Lamar had his fourth all-time series win, snapping five-game K-States hitting streak with the Cats leading 6-4
- Wildcats continue to lead Big 12 in homeruns with 11 that ranks fifth nationally
- Pelletier recorded his first multi-hit game of the season and third overall at K-State
NEXT
The Wildcats will wrap up their Texas preseason road trip at the Karbach Round Rock Classic February 24-26 at Dell Diamond Stadium in Round Rock. K-State will go up against #2 LSU. 1 nationally ranked No. 1 player on Friday at 2:00 PM CT before facing Sam Houston on Saturday, followed by a Sunday matinee game against Iowa. The Karbach Round Rock Classic will be streamed exclusively on D1Baseball.com (for a fee), while fans can also listen to live audio at kstatesports.com/watch.
