Despite taking the opening game of the series, K-State found No. 12 Oklahoma State’s pitching to be too much, as the Wildcats dropped the final two games of the series, including a 4-1 defeat Sunday.
K-State was nearly no-hit in the rubber match, as Cowboys senior pitcher Michael Freeman went 8 1/3 innings without allowing a hit before junior outfielder Clayton Dalrymple was able to reach base on a one-out single in the ninth inning.
“(Freeman) is really good,” K-State head coach Brad Hill said to K-State Sports. “He’s shown that time and time again. This was not a one-time effort. He was great last weekend at TCU. We were able to score a run without a hit, and then Max (Brown) puts a really good swing on a ball (in the seventh inning) that could have changed the game, but (sophomore left fielder Ryan Sluder) made the play. That’s all (Freeman) gave us except for the last inning.”
Freeman’s strong outing was, indeed, not out of the ordinary. The Cowboys’ starter is now 5-0 on the season.
Before letting the game slip away, K-State did hold a brief lead in the sixth inning, as sophomore infielder Jake Wodtke was able to reach on a error by Oklahoma State’s second baseman. Wodtke advanced his way to third on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout before reaching home on a passed ball.
The Cowboys, however, tied things up in bottom of the sixth inning before putting up three more runs in the seventh inning to secure the series win.
Saturday
After a monster first inning for Oklahoma State, the Cowboys were able to blow by K-State in the second game of the series 12-3.
Junior starting pitcher Kyle Halbohn’s Big 12 debut did not go as planned for Hill’s squad, as Halbohn allowed five-straight hits resulting in six runs with two outs in the first inning.
“We just didn’t execute pitches at all,” Hill said. “Unfortunately, that’s kind of been our story right now, not being able to close innings out. (Oklahoma State) did a great job of hitting, but we also missed our locations.”
Senior outfielder Max Brown and senior infielder Carter Yagi tried to spark some offensive life, leading the team with two hits each in the nine-run loss.
Friday
K-State snapped a 12-game Big 12 road losing streak on the wings of a dominant performance by senior infielder Shane Conlon, beating Oklahoma State 4-2.
Conlon led the team with three RBI’s including a first inning home run that helped break the scoring seal for the Wildcats.
“(Conlon) led the charge,” Hill said. “That home run seemed to give us some energy.”
Max Brown also added an RBI of his own after to unknot the game and give K-State a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning — one it would relinquish.
Up Next
K-State returns home to take on West Virginia in a three-game series starting on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Tointon Family Stadium.
