WICHITA, Kan. (K-State Athletics) – Highlighted by five runs batted in and two home runs by Dee Kennedy, K-State outlasted Wichita State, 13-10, Wednesday night at Eck Stadium.
“Big night offensively, you always like to get your bats going heading into conference play,” commented head coach Pete Hughes, following his team’s fifth consecutive win. “Great efforts by Dee Kennedy and Maximus Martin, once again. Obliviously it got a little sloppy late in the game, and we know there is room to improve, but our program is never going to apologize for winning.”
The No. 22 Wildcats (20-8) carried a substantial lead heading into the bottom of the seventh, until the Shockers (10-18) rallied for nine runs over the final three innings.
Kennedy, a product of Fort Worth, Texas, drove in a season-high five RBI with the help of his first multi-home run game. The sophomore third baseman belted a three-run homer in the fourth before launching a two-run blast in the seventh to become the third Cat to send out two in a single game.
K-State starter Tanner Duke surrendered just one run in his second midweek start of the season, scattering two hits in four innings of work with four strikeouts before handing the ball over to Adam Arther. The left-hander fired a scoreless fifth and sixth inning to pick up the victory (2-0).
In addition to Kennedy, Keegan O’Connor, Maximus Martin and Donte Lewis each turned in multiple hits. Martin went 3-for-4, that included his 12th homer of the year.
The Wildcats hit .350 (7-for-20) with runners on base and .429 (6-for-14) with two outs, while driving in seven runs with two outs.
K-State has homered in 12 straight games, totaling 23 in the stretch and 52 overall on the year.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Shockers plated the opening run after taking advantage of two-out walk and hit by pitch, before Camden Johnson singled up the middle to hand the Shockers the 1-0 lead.
After three scoreless innings, the Wildcats sent 12 batters to the plate and exploded for seven runs, all coming with two outs. With runners on first and second, Martin laced a single into left field to load the bases until catcher Bear Madliak was issued a walk to knot the score at 1-1 with two outs.
The Wildcats immediately took the lead in the next at bat, as Lewis hit a liner into right field that was misplayed and allowed three runs to cross the plate. Kennedy followed up by belting the Wildcats 50th home run into left-center to expand the lead to six, 7-1.
Duke kept momentum in the first base dugout, as the right-hander retired the Shockers in order to cap his outing.
Martin led off the fifth with his 12th blast of the year in the fifth, becoming the first Cat since 2023 to reach the milestone.
Leading 8-1 headed into the seventh, the Wildcats took advantage of a fielding error and scored four runs, highlighted by Kennedy’s second blast of the night.
The Shockers chipped away at the Cats’ lead, bringing the score within three, but reliever James Guyette forced a grounder to second to get out of the jam and preserve the win.
INSIDE THE BOX
- K-State scored 13 runs on 11 hits, committed four errors and stranded 10 runners on base.
- WSU scored 10 runs on 13 hits, with three errors committed and 15 left on base.
- Six Wildcats produced a hit, with four contributing multiple.
- Kennedy and Martin homered, with Kennedy sending two out.
- Duke was spotted for one run in his four-inning start, allowing two hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
- Arther (2-0) picked up the win in relief of Duke, firing two scoreless innings and allowing two hits.
- Ten pitchers made an appearance for WSU, with Dobbs (0-2) suffering the loss in relief after allowing seven unearned runs.
- Dean, Smith and Guyette combined for nine runs (six earned) on nine hits in three innings.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State is 47-58 all-time against Wichita State, that includes a 19-37 record in games played in Wichita.
- Hughes is 6-5 against the Shockers during his time at K-State.
- K-State has 52 homers – second-most in the Big 12.
- The Cats recorded their 11th game with 10+ runs and 13th game with 10 or more hits.
PLAYER NOTES
- With a single in the second, O’Connor has successfully reached base in 20 consecutive games.
- Martin launched his 12th homer of the season; first player to hit 12 in a year since 2023.
- Kennedy turned in his first multi-home run game.
- Evasco has reached base in 19 straight games, followed by Inoue with the third-longest streak (8).
UP NEXT
K-State will head to Stillwater, Oklahoma for a three-game conference series at Oklahoma State (12-14, 1-6 Big 12), starting Friday at 6 p.m. at O’Brate Stadium. The entire Big 12 series can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while radio coverage is available on News Radio KMAN.
