March 14, 2015 Box Score
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Kansas State scored nine times over a two-inning stretch to seize control of a scoreless battle and cruised to a 10-6 victory over Missouri State Saturday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium. The Wildcats (10-8) recorded 12 hits and cashed in on a season-high nine walks handed out by MSU pitching to wrap up a series win over the Bears (9-6).
K-State built a 5-0 lead with a big third inning, then put the game out of reach with four more runs in the fourth after the first four batters registered hits and Max Brown chased home two runners with a two-out triple that stretched the margin to 9-1. Brown drove in three runs on the day, while six additional Wildcats recorded at least one RBI in the contest.
After being held off the scoreboard for two innings by Bears starter Andy Cheray (2-2), the Wildcats scored five times in the third with the help of just two hits. Cheray issued three free passes in the inning and beaned Danny Krause to force home the first run of the day. Steve Serratore coaxed a bases-loaded walk before Tyler Moore's base hit brought home Shane Conlon with the third run of the inning. Next, KSU pulled off a double steal with Serratore trotting home to make it a 4-0 game, and Brown following with a sacrifice fly to cap the rally.
The top four hitters in the Wildcats' lineup spurred KSU's four-run fourth with four consecutive hits and combined for eight hits and eight runs scored on the day. Carter Yagi started the rally with a double, and Clayton Dalrymple, Conlon and Krause added singles to put two more runs on the board. After Sam Perez briefly recovered to record back-to-back strikeouts, Brown delivered the crucial blow, driving a ball beyond an outstretched Joey Hawkins and shortstop into the gap in left-center field to plate the eighth and ninth KSU runs of the game.
MSU rallied late to cut an eight-run deficit in half, using a two-run single from Hawkins to spark a three-run fifth. The Bears tacked on two tallies in the ninth to pull to within four runs, thanks to an RBI double by Eduardo Castro and a Dylan Becker base hit that brought home the final run of the day.
Despite the late offensive surge and the combined work of freshman relievers Nick Brown and Austin Knight, the Bears could not avoid their second straight defeat to a K-State squad that improved to 10-8 on the year with the victory. Brown gave MSU a lift with a career-best 3.1 innings over which the right-hander allowed a single run on three hits. Knight followed up Brown's work with a scoreless eighth inning, permitting only a two-out hit in his first collegiate appearance.
In addition to Brown's key contributions, Krause reached safely in four of his five trips to the plate, accounting for three runs scored while going 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Yagi, Dalrymple and Conlon also turned in two-hit games for KSU, while Jackson Douglas (2-1) earned the win with an inning-and-two-thirds of scoreless relief.
Hawkins paced the Missouri State offense with his two-run single and a fifth-inning double that led to the Bears' first run in the series. Spencer Johnson also added two hits and scored twice for MSU.
MSU will conclude its series with K-State Sunday (March 15) with a 1 p.m. game.
