photo by: Chance Parker

Kansas junior pitcher Thaniel Trumper is on the mound against Kansas State. Kansas fell 5-4 on Friday, April 14, 2023.

With a big third inning and a go-ahead single in the top of the eighth, Kansas State baseball edged past Kansas, 5-4, on Friday at Hoglund Ballpark in the first game of the three-game Sunflower Showdown series.

The Jayhawks (17-16, 5-5 in Big 12 play) got off to a hot start, snagging a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but it didn’t last long, and just two innings later they were forced to play catch-up.

Graduate right-hander Collin Baumgartner started for the Jayhawks, throwing a quick 1-2-3 first inning with two strikeouts. Then, in the bottom of the first, Janson Reeder scored freshman infielder Kodey Shojinaga with an opposite field double into left field. With men on third and second and just one out, redshirt sophomore catcher Jake English grounded out on a fielder’s choice, allowing Kansas to score another run to make the score 2-0.

Baumgartner gave up a single and a walk to begin the second inning, putting two men on with nobody out. And after a strikeout, sophomore outfielder Chase Jans made an incredible diving grab in left-field foul territory. He quickly got up and threw to third base, where redshirt sophomore infielder Michael Brooks tagged the runner out at third.

In the top of the third inning, things started to go wrong for Kansas. K-State sophomore Brendan Jones launched a ball deep into right-center field for a standing triple, giving the Wildcats their first run of the game. Then, still with no outs, senior outfielder Cash Rugely knocked a single to left field, tying the game at 2-2.

The scoring didn’t stop there for K-State, as junior infielder Nick Goodwin knocked a two-run shot to center field three batters later, putting the Wildcats on top 4-2.

Baumgartner struggled in the third inning, giving up two walks and four hits. He exited the game after the fourth inning, and the final tally showed that he gave up six hits, three walks and four earned runs on 91 pitches. Junior right-hander Thaniel Trumper relieved Baumgartner and threw for 3.1 innings, allowing no hits and just one walk and one HBP on 45 pitches.

In the fifth inning, the Jayhawks got runners on third and second with just one out, and senior first baseman Cole Elvis lined a ball into center field. Kansas scored both runners to tie the game up, 4-4.

The game stayed that way until the top of the eighth, when Kansas State tacked on the go-ahead run. The groundwork was laid when Trumper hit Kaelen Culpepper with a pitch and the Jayhawks put junior left-hander Stone Hewlett on the mound in Trumper’s place. Hewlett immediately gave up two singles, and then K-State senior Roberto Pena laid down a perfect bunt, allowing Culpepper to cross home plate and putting the Wildcats up 5-4.

Pena’s single would prove to be the game-winning RBI for the Wildcats, as Kansas State pitched shutouts in the eighth and ninth frames. Redshirt-sophomore right-hander Ty Ruhl earned the victory, and Trumper took the loss, dropping his record to 2-3 for the year.

Shojinaga extended his hit streak to 11 games with his single in the third inning, and he also added a double in the fifth, batting 2-for-5 and pushing his batting average to .376 for the season.

With the win, Kansas State improved its record to 22-14 (7-6 in Big 12 play). Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Hoglund Ballpark.