Jared King blasted a three-run homer in the first inning, his fifth of the season, and K-State swept the season series from rival Wichita State with a 4-1 victory on Tuesday night at Eck Stadium in the Air Capital. Shane Conlon would add an RBI single in the fourth, and that was enough offense for the Cats.
Four pitchers combined to hold the Shockers to just two hits on the night. Jake Doller did not allow a hit in three innings of work, but walked four with two strikeouts. Hayden Nixon (1-0) and Gerardo Esquivel pitched the next five innings for K-State, and combined to give up just a pair of hits and a walk. A Wichita State leadoff double produced the only Shocker run on a Casey Gillaspie RBI ground out. Freshman right hander Jake Matthys pitched a perfect ninth to earn his third save.
K-State (27-11) did miss out on some opportunities at the plate as they pounded out 13 hits and left 13 runners on base. Jon Davis and Austin Fisher had three hits each, and Conlon chipped in a pair. Kris Gardner (1-5) surrendered King’s homer, and left after just 2/3 of an inning as he took the loss for Wichita State (21-17).
The Cats are second place in the Big 12 at 6-3, one game behind Oklahoma, and will return to league play this weekend at Oklahoma State. First pitch on Friday night at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater will be at 7:00pm. The BD4 Distributing pregame show starts at 6:30 on SportsRadio 1350 KMAN.
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