Pitching Prevails For The Cats

A K-State baseball player lunges for the ball. Courtesy: Zoe Taylor

A K-State baseball player dives and catches the ball in his glove. Courtesy: Zoe Taylor

A K-State baseball player hits the ball. Courtesy: Zoe Taylor

A K-State baseball player runs across the first base. Courtesy: Zoe Taylor

A K-State baseball player pitches the ball. Courtesy: Zoe Taylor

K-State baseball players stand in a line in front of the dugout. Courtesy: Zoe Taylor

A Columbia player slides into first base. Courtesy: Zoe Taylor

A K-State baseball player slides into first base. Courtesy: Zoe Taylor

K-State baseball players hug after winning the game. Courtesy: Zoe Taylor

Kansas State closed out its opening home series 2-1 with a comeback win over Columbia in Game Three at Tointon Family Stadium, with a strong offensive showing in the 2-inning game. Lincoln Sheffield led the pitching crew to a stellar night, and the defense ended the game strong.  

Columbia struck first in the first inning with Owen Estabrook's double into left field and sent in two runners to score. The Wildcats responded quickly in the bottom of the second inning, where Ty Smolinski rocketed a 357 ft bomb for 3 runs, putting the Cats ahead. But the scoring did not stop there. Shintaro Inoue singled to right field, while sending catcher Bear Madliak home to score. Another run was scored by Robby Bolin off a forced walk, bringing the Cats ahead 5-2.  

Sheffield comes off a 6 2/3-inning outing in which he had a 4.14 ERA, allowed only 6 hits, and 2 runs in the 1st inning. The Mississippi native also recorded a season high of 8 strikeouts on throwing 96 pitches before being replaced by relief pitcher Tazwell Butler. No runs were allowed by either team until K-State's bullpen closed out the game.  

Consistency was something Head Coach Pete Hughes wanted to see from his pitchers, and with a light bullpen, Butler and Cohen Feser finished the game on a good note. With a combined pitching of 0 runs and 3 strikeouts, this was a good sign that shows how much depth is on this roster when it comes to pitching.  

This victory capped K-State’s first meeting with Columbia and wrapped up their home-opening weekend on a high note. After a 6-3 road start, the Wildcats showed they can win close, low-scoring games, which is encouraging as they continue deeper into their schedule.