*Courtesy of K-State Sports Information*
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Tyler Wolfe hit a pair of home runs, turning in the first multi-home run game by a Wildcat since 2013, and Mitch Zubradt and Colton Kalmus quieted Grand Canyon over the final six innings as K-State beat the Antelopes, 10-6, on Wednesday at Tointon Family Stadium.
Wolfe, who had one career home run entering the night, hit a three-run home run in the first and a solo shot in the seventh to help lead the Wildcats (19-22) to their third consecutive win. The senior also had a career-high five RBI.
“(Wolfe) swung the bat great,” said K-State head coach Brad Hill. “(He also had) great defensive plays. Just a really good overall night by him.”
K-State had three home runs to the two by Grand Canyon (19-19-1) – both by Preston Pavlica – with Quintin Crandall hitting his first career homer in the fourth. The Wildcats have hit a home run in four straight games, totaling seven over the stretch.
While the offense had five extra-base hits and 10 hits total, the bullpen duo of Zubradt and Kalmus limited the Lopes to two hits over the final six innings. Zubradt faced the minimum in his two innings while Kalmus notched his second save of the season with four scoreless frames.
“Zubradt was outstanding,” said Hill. “He comes in, bases loaded and no outs (in the fourth) and he gave up one run. That’s a great inning by him. Kalmus was sharper than he’s been and was able to take it to the house for us. He really minimized his pitch count.”
K-State opened a 5-1 advantage with a four-run first and two Grand Canyon errors in the third resulting in a run, but the Antelopes evened the score at 5-5 with three hits and three walks in the fourth. Wildcat starting pitcher Logan Wiley started the inning, but three straight hits, including an RBI single by Tyler Wyatt, followed by a walk chased the right-hander from the game. After fellow freshman Brogan Heinen walked both the batters he faced with the bases loaded to drive in two more runs, Zubradt was summoned. The right-hander, inheriting the bases full and no outs, ended the frame allowing just one run on a fielder’s choice. He also struck out two.
The Wildcats bounced back, though, when Crandall hit his roundtripper off Josh Andrews to return the advantage, 6-5, back to K-State. The junior became the 11th different Wildcat to hit a homer this year.
K-State then added to its lead in the fifth when Wolfe had a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and Serratore hit a two-run triple to drive in Tyler Moore and Jake Scudder.
The triple by Serratore was one of two by the Wildcats as Clayton Dalrymple had a three-base hit to lead off the first. K-State’s five extra-base hits are among its 16 over its winning streak.
Jake Wodtke, who drove in Dalrymple in the first with a single, joined Wolfe and Serratore as the three Wildcats with multi-hit games.
Andrews took the loss for Grand Canyon as the southpaw surrendered five runs, four earned, on four hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings. He also struck out four.
K-State will now head to Iowa for a three-game series against the Hawkeyes this weekend. Game one of the series is on Friday at 6 p.m.