K-State baseball’s recent offensive explosion came to a halt on Wednesday in Manhattan, as the Wildcats fell 6-3 to Creighton in the final game of the two-game, mid-week series.
After a superb showing Tuesday, pitching was a struggle in the series finale. K-State used a season-high six pitchers in the game, with starter senior Mark Biesma throwing a team-high three innings.
K-State led 2-1 in the sixth inning, and needed just one out to escape damage. However, Creighton cruised through Wildcat relievers freshman Jackson Douglas and junior Levi MaVorhis to take a 5-2 lead.
“To get two outs, you have to finish off the inning,” K-State head coach Brad Hill said. “We just could not get a pitch to stop that inning — that just cannot happen right there. There cannot be four runs scored with two outs. For them to get that many hits in a row means that we were not making very good pitches.”
Creighton enjoyed a strong outing by sophomore reliever David Gerber, who pitched four innings to earn the save.
“We really could not get a crooked number up there and press them a little bit,” Hill said. “(Gerber) did a tremendous job of just sinking it to get a lot of ground balls. He did a really good job.”
Tuesday
K-State’s double-digit run output stretched to three-straight games Tuesday, as the Wildcats took the first game of the series 10-5.
K-State starter Kyle Halbohn earned his first career win. The junior threw three innings, limiting Creighton to just one run on two hits.
“We probably could have rolled (Halbohn) back out there for a fourth (inning), but we had a game plan from the beginning,” Hill said. “It was his first start, and we are going to have to find some guys to start in the midweek.”
While reigning Big 12 Newcomer of the Week junior catcher Tyler Moore was the star of the Santa Clara series, several other players were able to step up and give the K-State a continued offensive push.
“I thought we did another good job tonight,” Hill said. “It was different guys tonight, too. (Junior) Tyler Wolfe got a double, driving in some runs for us. (Sophomore) Jake Wodtke came back and got a couple hits after being sick (on Sunday). Overall, it was a good offensive night.”
Up Next:
K-State finishes their eight-game home stand by taking on Missouri State over the weekend.
