Omaha scored a run in three straight innings and held Kansas State baseball scoreless for the first eight innings in a low-scoring 3-1 win over the Wildcats, who ended their mid-week trip to Nebraska winless.
On the mound for the Wildcats against Omaha on Wednesday was right-handed pitcher Tanner Duke. He pitched well in his four innings of work, giving up just one run and allowing three hits.
“We pitched well enough to win and got a quality start from Tanner Duke,” head coach Pete Hughes said to K-State Athletics. “Our guys will make the appropriate adjustments and look forward to playing great in our Big 12 opener this weekend.”
However, Omaha used nine pitchers in the game and kept the hot Wildcat offense off the bases. K-State didn’t reach base until the fourth inning on a Kyan Lodice walk.
“Omaha’s pitching staff did a great job tonight,” Hughes said. “They used nine different pitchers and constantly gave us different looks that kept us off balance.”
Through eight innings, the Wildcats’ offense mustered only two hits. Omaha carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning until Dee Kennedy broke it up with a double in the sixth.
“They limited us to two hits through eight and only walked us twice. Obviously, that makes for a limited scoring offense,” Hughes said.
In the ninth inning, the ‘Cats offense started to come alive as they looked for a little rally magic. Freshman A.J. Evasco doubled, which was followed up by a double from outfielder Keegan O’Connor to score the first run of the game for K-State.
However, the rally fell short as Omaha shut down the game with the tying run up at the plate and escaped with a 3-1 win.
On Tuesday, against the Creighton Blue Jays, the Wildcats again had a close 9-8 battle, but a big seven-run inning ended up being too much for K-State to overcome.
“We fought back when we were down but that doesn’t always get you in the win column especially when you give up 13 free bases and surrender seven runs in one inning,” Hughes said. “We fought hard but did nothing to deserve a win.”
K-State starter JJ Slack received the loss in the outing as he allowed seven runs on three hits with five walks as well.
The game started with a scoreless first frame, but in the second inning, the ‘Cats got on the board with two runs to take a lead. However, the lead didn’t last long as the Blue Jays plated seven runs in the second to take a commanding lead.
With a 7-2 lead, the Wildcats were desperate for some runs, and they came from the bat of Evasco as he drilled a grand slam to bring K-State back to within one.
Evasco has been a pleasant surprise in his freshman season with the Wildcats. The home run marks his third home run of the season. Evasco, a left-handed hitter, has seen his playing time increase each week, and his bat has become especially valuable against right-handed pitching.
After the grand slam, Creighton answered with two runs to grab some breathing room with a 9-6 lead. K-State was relentless and got RBIs from pinch hitters Sam Flores and Keegan O’Connor to cut the lead back to just one run.
In the eighth inning, the Wildcats had a great chance to tie the game. With a runner on, Dee Kennedy hit a double into the left field corner, but a great relay from Creighton threw out Shintaro Inoue at the plate and preserved the lead.
The Wildcats were unable to find a spark in the ninth inning and fell to the Blue Jays 9-8.
Up next, the Wildcats begin Big 12 conference play as they welcome the Utah Utes to town for a three-game series starting Friday at 6 p.m.
