Mar 29, 2023

⚾ Johnson’s slam propels K-State to comeback win

Posted Mar 29, 2023 7:53 AM
K-State Baseball win at Air Force. K-State Sports
K-State Baseball win at Air Force. K-State Sports

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Cole Johnson's grand slam, 14 hits and eight unanswered runs led K-State to a 12-9 comeback victory over Air Force on Tuesday afternoon at Falcon Field.

"Today showed great toughness for our program," said Pete Hughes. "Coming from behind on the road with extremely difficult conditions builds toughness for our program."

"We had some big hits from a lot of people, specifically Cole Johnson and Nick Goodwin," Hughes said.

After falling behind 9-4, Johnson launched his second grand slam of the season to trim the lead to one before Goodwin's two-run homer guided the Cats (18-8) to their fourth straight victory.

Three Cats went deep on Tuesday with Raphael PelletierCole Johnson and Nick Goodwin while six different players drove in an RBI led by Johnson with four.

"Overall a real solid offensive performance but we don't win without Kyler Heyne and Tyson Neighbors coming in and pitching as well as they did."

Heyne, a right-hander from Frisco, Texas, picked up his first victory in relief with the Wildcats after he allowed just two runs (two earned) during his 3 1/3 innings. Sophomore Tyson Neighbors tossed two shutout innings to register his fourth save of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
K-State fell behind in the first frame when the Falcons' Jake Greiving hit into left field to plate a pair of runs.

The Cats quickly responded in the top of half of the second led off by Dom Hughes' single through the right side before the junior came around on a sacrifice fly. Brendan Jones doubled into left center to tie the game at 2-2 until a grounder to short gave the Cats the one-run lead.

Air Force regained the lead with Jay Thomason's two-RBI double to shift momentum back in favor of the Falcons.

AF scored four runs to expand their lead to five, 8-3, before Raphael Pelletier ended the drought with his fourth homer of the season. The Canada product drove the first pitch into right to keep the game within four.

The Falcons tagged their ninth run to the board with a double from Greiving but was answered with Johnson's game-changing grand slam in the seventh to put the Cats back in the game.

Kaelen Culpepper roped double into center field before Nick Goodwin was hit to place two Cats on base until a fielding error at third loaded the bases to bring Johnson to the plate. The senior from Southlake, Texas launched a bases-clearing homer into left field to trim the lead to one.

With one out in the eighth, Jones hit his second double into center before scoring on a balk to level the game at 9-all. The Cats took control just one pitch later as Goodwin blasted his 27th career home run into left to give K-State the go-ahead 11-9 lead.

INSIDE THE BOX

  1. Wildcats scored 12 runs on 14 hits with a pair of errors and seven left on base
  2. K-State pitching staff combined for five strikeouts and five walks
  3. Six different players recorded two hits
  4. Pena went 2-for-4 with two RBI
  5. Johnson led with four RBI on his second grand slam of the year
  6. The Cats and Falcons combined for 13 extra-base hits
  7. Thomason went 3-for-3 for the Falcons with two doubles and a home run
  8. Goodwin was hit by a pitch twice
  9. Mason Buss earned his first collegiate start tossing 3 2/3 innings

NOTES

  1. K-State leads the all-time series 14-4
  2. Cats move to 5-2 in true road games against the Falcons
  3. K-State improves to 7-4 on the road this season
  4. The Wildcats have hit four grand slams this season; two from Johnson
  5. Cats were 4-7 on the road at this time in 2022
  6. Neighbors hasn't allowed a single run in his last four outings
  7. Culpepper returned to the diamond for the first time since Feb. 24 against LSU
  8. Cats have sent out 35 homers this season
  9. Goodwin and Johnson lead the pack with six home runs this season

ON DECK
The Cats will finish their time in Colorado on Wednesday at Falcon Field at noon MT. The non-conference game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network with radio coverage on KMAN (93.3FM/1350AM) and a free live audio available at kstatesports.com/watch.