From K-State Athletics
K-State junior Will Brennan produced three hits, drove in four runs and tossed seven innings on the mound to propel the Wildcats to a series victory over San Francisco Saturday afternoon at Lupton Stadium, 11-5.
Brennan’s four RBI and seven innings pitched each marked career highs for the Cats’ two-way player, as his three-run double in the sixth inning opened a nine-run lead for K-State (5-6). Cameron Thompson turned in a three-hit day with a pair of doubles for the first series win of the year for the Wildcats.
“You preach winning series and we treated today like a Sunday game trying to win a series,” head coach Pete Hughes said. “A character-type win for us that we can build on. You’ve got to win series, you’ve got to. So to bounce back like we did after a split yesterday was big.”
Brennan allowed just three earned runs and scattered four hits with five strikeouts in earning his first win on the mound this season. The Stilwell product held the Dons (5-5) hitless through the first three innings and tossed four perfect frames in the quality outing.
“Will was dominant on the mound for us, best he’s been all year,” Hughes said of Brennan. “He was a strike-throwing machine and really got into a rhythm. You’ve got to lean on your best player to win a series like this, and then he delivered the big hit to really extend the lead and seal it.”
K-State plated 10 unanswered runs over the middle third of the game, including back-to-back four-run innings in the fifth and sixth innings. The Cats produced season highs in runs and total hits with 15, including six extra-base hits.
Zach Kokoska got the scoring started with a leadoff home run in the third off USF starter Grant Young. The solo shot was Kokoska’s first in a K-State uniform and the sophomore is the seventh different Wildcat to hit his first career home run this season.
San Francisco put two on the board in the top half of the fourth on three hits, highlighted by an RBI double by shortstop Jack Winkler. Brennan had held USF hitless prior to the Dons’ two-run third.
K-State retook the lead in the home half of the fourth with a pair of runs following three straight hits. Brennan singled, Thompson doubled and Terrence Spurlin’s RBI single leveled the game, 2-2, before Jordan Maxson lifted a sacrifice fly to score Thompson for a 3-2 lead.
K-State’s four-run fifth extended the lead to five runs at 7-2. The Cats went 4-for-5 with two outs in the inning with RBI doubles from Caleb Littlejim, Thompson and Maxson in the inning.
K-State finished with five two-out RBI in hitting .455 (5-for-11) with two outs. The Cats were also 7-for-11 (.636) with runners in scoring position while holding USF to 2-for-11 (.182) with two gone.
Brennan helped his own cause with a bases-clearing double in the sixth. After Brennan came home on Spurlin’s second RBI single, the Cats held an 11-2 lead after six innings.
Spurlin finished the game 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI while Kokoska was 2-for-4. Rainer Ausmus went 2-for-3 with two runs scored as five Wildcats had multi-hit games.
USF’s Brandon Greim, who entered as a defensive replacement, had two hits for the Dons including a double. Catcher Robert Emery hit a solo home run in the seventh inning.
Young suffered the loss, giving up three earned runs on six hits over 3 1/3 innings. K-State tagged reliever Julian Washburn for four earned runs on four hits in an inning and a third.
