Kansas State University

On By Vaseline

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Seven solid innings of Owen Boerema and a leading RBI single through Nick English led K-State to a 3-2 win over rival Kansas in game one of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown Friday night at Tointon Family Stadium.

“That was your classic Big 12 game on Friday night,” the K-State head coach said Pete Hughes. “Two really good teams, two great starting pitching performances, home runs, big hits, pressure throws being made, that’s what it’s all about.

“Every kid in that dugout, every coach on our staff, that’s what we signed up for, to participate in meaningful, high-pressure games, and we love seeing our kids compete in high-pressure situations,” said Hughes.

Trailing 2-1, K-State (27-18, 11-11 Big 12) tied the game with a two-out double from Kaelen Culpepper until English hit the first pitch up the middle to score the decisive run.

The Jayhawks (26-16, 12-10 Big 12) challenged the lead in the final frame as three straight walks loaded the bases with no outs against K-State closer Tyson Neighbors.

“There’s only one guy in our program who can throw himself out, and that was the guy on the mound.”

After talking to his defense, Neighbors settled down and struck out the next batter before the third baseman Jaden Parsons stopped a liner from KU’s hot hitter Jake English, older brother of Nick Englishto take out the second one.

Now with two outs and bases loaded, Neighbors faced the 2023 Co-Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Kodey Shojinaga. Neighbors worked his way out of a full count as he painted the outside corner to call Shojinaga to secure the Big 12 victory and pick up his fifth save of the season.

“The last at-bat was with one of their best hitters and honestly one of the hardest guys in their program to strike out and it’s 3-2 and then you throw a second pitch with 100% conviction. We got the strikeout , but only one guy can make those pitches in our program.”

Boerema provided his third quality start of the season, as he held the Jayhawks to two earned runs on eight hits in his seven innings. After giving up two runs on solo home runs, the Litchfield, Minnesota graduate retired 10 of the next 15 batters he faced, finishing the game with eight strikeouts and one walk.

At 12e come-from-behind win of the season, the Wildcats extended their winning streak to seven against the Jayhawks, while also snapping KU’s season-long seven-game win streak.

Now that the Wildcats have the second-longest win streak against the Jayhawks, they are one win away from tying the program’s eight-game win streak, which ran from April 23, 2006 to May 15, 2009.

Blake Dean recorded a shutout inning in relief of Boerema and recorded a pair of strikeouts. Neighbors has recorded a save in his last three appearances for a total of 16 in his career, which ranks fourth all-time in school history.

Three Wildcats delivered multi-hit efforts led by Daniel Rivera, who went 3-for-3 with a walk. Culpepper and English each had two goal days and drove in a run, while Parsons scored two runs.

KU’s Reece Dutton (7-3) took the loss, giving up three runs (all earned) on 10 hits with four walks in his 7 2/3 inning start.

THE REPORT

The Wildcats pushed their first run across the plate in the opening frame, ending a 13-inning scoreless drought. After Dutton walked Parsons, the Cats’ third baseman stole second base and advanced to third on an infield single by Culpepper.

Culpepper tried to steal second and started a rundown that allowed Parsons to score.

Two solo home runs from KU’s Ty Wisdom and Ben Hartl in the third and fourth inning gave the Jayhawks the one-run lead, 2-1.

The Jayhawks recorded a pair of hits in the seventh to make it a first and third situation, but a 4-6-3 double play ended the threat and kept the game within one.

After six scoreless innings, the Wildcats broke through with the tying run when Culpepper delivered a two-out RBI double to left center and Parsons scored from first base.

Brady Day was walked intentionally to tie the score at first and second before K-State got the decisive run in the next at bat, with Engels driving the bases down the middle.

IN THE BOX

  • K-State scored three runs on 10 hits without an error and seven stayed on base.

  • KU scored two runs on eight hits with no errors and 10 on base.

  • Boerema produced his third quality start of the season (7 IP, 2 ER) and struckout eight.

  • Neighbors collected his fifth of the season.

  • With a scoreless inning, Neighbors’ scoreless streak spanned 7 1/3 innings (four appearances).

  • Dean recorded a shutout inning in relief of Boerema and struckout two.

  • Culpepper doubled for K-State’s only extra base hit.

  • Three players posted multi-hit games led by Rivera, who went 3-for-3 with a walk.

  • English drove in the decisive run with an RBI single in the eighth.

  • K-State went 6-for-12 (.500) with runners on base and hit .375 (3-for-8) with runners in scoring position.

  • KU hit .063 (1-for-16) with runners and was 1-for-10 with men in scoring position.

  • The Cats scored two RBI with two outs in the eighth.

COMMENTS

  • K-State has a 192-188-1 edge in the all-time series, including a 56-36 record in Big 12 action.

  • With the win, the Cats extended their win streak against the Jayhawks to seven, dating back to May 7, 2022.

  • The Cats snapped KU’s season-long seven-game winning streak.

  • In the Hughes era, K-State is 8-7 against the Jayhawks.

  • K-State has 12 come-from-behind victories this season.

  • The Wildcats are 3-0 against in-state rivals this season, including a home-and-home sweep of Wichita State.

ON DECK

Game two between the Wildcats and Jayhawks is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium. Saturday’s game features an expected matchup between right-handers Jackson Wentworth (3-2) and Dominic Voegele (6-2).

The Dillons Sunflower Showdown can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while radio coverage is available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). A free, live streaming audio available for all games on KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

This is how you follow the ‘Cats’: Stay up to date with K-State baseball online at www.kstatesports.com and on the team’s social media channels FacebookX formally known as Tweet And Instagram.