Courtesy of Kansas State Athletics
FORT WORTH, Texas —K-State secured a historic 6-3 victory in the series finale to salvage Saturday's doubleheader, after TCU's come-from-behind win in game one, 7-4, at Lupton Stadium.
The victory handed the Wildcats their first win in Fort Worth over the Horned Frogs in Big 12 play in school history. The win also marked the first true road victory over TCU since 1987, snapping a 14-game losing streak in Fort Worth.
"That was a long challenging day with a quick turnaround after a night game," said head coach Pete Hughes following K-State's historic triumph.
In game one, K-State (26-17, 10-11 Big 12) held a 12-7 advantage in hits over TCU (26-16, 10-14 Big 12), including multiple hit efforts from five different Wildcats.
"We had a strong relief appearance from [Blake Dean], which helped protect our bullpen for game two," Hughes commented.
Dean retired 14 of the 19 batters he faced in his season-long 4 2/3 innings after reliving starter Jackson Wentworth, who struck out five in his second start of the season. The freshman from Acworth, Ga., scattered three hits in his 18th outing and allowed one earned run with three strikeouts.
"[Owen Boerema] delivered a great start in a must-win game while [Tyson Neighbors]' extended outing was dominant and kept us in control."
A native of Litchfield, Minn., Boerema tossed four no-hit innings and picked up his fourth win of the season (4-3). The lefty finished his start surrendering three runs, all earned, on six hits in 5 2/3 innings of work.
Neighbors took over for Boerema and tossed 3 1/3 shutout frames, giving up two hits while racking up four strikeouts for his 15th career save and fourth of the season.
After driving in a pair of runs in game one, Culpepper lifted a two-run homer in the third and followed with a two-RBI double in the fifth. The Cats' starting shortstop finished the weekend series hitting a team-best .545 (6-for-11) with an incredible 1.552 OPS.
"Culpepper picked us up all day long both in the field and at the plate and came through with some clutch hits."
Freshman Nick English, who went 5-for-9 on the day with four runs scored, turned in his 17th double of the season in game one to match the freshmen class single-season doubles record. The K-State record was set by current Major Leaguer Nick Martini in 2009.
With two stolen bases in the series, Brendan Jones moved to fourth in the K-State all-time career leaderboard with 61, tying Tim Decker (1993-95). Jones has stolen a career-high 31 bases this season, which is fourth in the single-season records.
Chuck Ingram, Culpepper, and Jones each belted a home run Saturday to bring the season total to 54.
In two games, K-State hit .357 (10-for-28) with runners on base and was 2-for-17 (.118) with runners in scoring position. Both squads hit .200 (4-for-20) with two outs on the day.
THE RUNDOWN (TCU 7, K-State 4)
The Wildcats struck first in the opening frame with a 2-0 lead, started off with a lead-off single from Jones. The Cats' starting centerfielder advanced to second on a bunted single by English until the duo executed a double steal and moved into scoring position.
TCU's starter Louis Rodriguez issued a walk to Brady Day to load the bases before a grounder to second pushed K-State's first run of the series across the plate. Designated hitter Danniel Rivera lifted a fly ball into right center to double that Cats' lead.
The Frogs brought the game within one in the bottom of the inning after scoring on a wild pitch.
K-State responded in the top of the second with a solo shot to opposite field by Ingram.
After a scoreless third, TCU erupted for six runs to take control of the game,7-3, led by a two-run double from Jack Arthur.
TCU issued a pair of walks before an infield single by Jones loaded the bases and forced the Frogs' to make a call to the bullpen and bring Ben Abeldt to the hill in the sixth. The lefty punched out the first two batters he faced until a diving catch by the Frogs' centerfielder ended the threat and preserved the lead.
THE RUNDOWN (K-State 6, TCU 3)
Jones wasted no time putting the Cats on the board as the Cats' leadoff hitter belted his seventh homer of the season out to right field to start game two.
English followed with a double into left field until Day and Culpepper were each walked to load the bases. The Wildcats managed to push a run across the plate with a grounder to short.
The Wildcats doubled their lead in the third as Culpepper launched a two-run homer into left field to make it a four-run ballgame.
After the third 1-2-3 inning behind Boerema, K-State pieced together back-to-back hits by English and Day with Culpepper delivering a two-run double in the next at bat to extend the lead, 6-0.
A bunt single broke up Boerema's no-hit bid in the fifth, leading to TCU's first run of the game to end the shutout.
Leading 6-3, Neighbors relieved Boerema in the sixth and inherited runners on second and third with two outs. The right-handed closer used three pitches to strike out the batter and get out of the inning.
Neighbors slammed the door on the TCU offense, as the Royse City, Texas, product retired 10 of the 13 batters he faced to close the game.
ON DECK
K-State will head to Lincoln Wednesday to take on Nebraska (26-13, 9-4 Big Ten) at 6 p.m. at Hawks Field at Haymarket Field.
Wednesday's non-conference game can be seen on the Big Ten Network, while a free live streaming audio is available on the K-State Sports Network at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.