<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745806378167.png" alt="Photo Courtesy Kansas State Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo Courtesy Kansas State Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure><div>Kansas State Athletics
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MANHATTAN, Kan. &ndash;&nbsp;Tyler Cox's RBI double in the top of the ninth broke a 5-5 tie and handed Houston a 6-5 victory in the series finale Sunday at Tointon Family Stadium. "That was a disappointing game," head coach&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/pete-hughes/2603" rel="smarttag" rev="2603">Pete Hughes</a></dfn>&nbsp;said. "Good fight and battled back. That all sounds good, but in the end, when you lose, I really don't care how it looked. You get beat, you get beat, and we beat ourselves." K-State (26-18, 12-9 Big 12) erased a four-run deficit in the first inning and rallied to level the score with the help of home runs by&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/shintaro-inoue/12311" rel="smarttag" rev="12311">Shintaro Inoue</a></dfn>,&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/dee-kennedy/12308" rel="smarttag" rev="12308">Dee Kennedy</a></dfn>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/keegan-o-connor/12317" rel="smarttag" rev="12317">Keegan O'Connor</a></dfn>. With the score knotted at 5-all, the Cougars' (23-20, 7-13 Big 12) second baseman Anthony Avalos was hit by a pitch and scored on Cox's double down the right-field line. "I think in the last three innings, it might've been four, they got the lead off runner on by a hit by pitch or walk. We were dancing around trouble all day long and doing that, we did a great job with damage control the entire game, but eventually you're going to let up a run," commented Hughes. <dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/james-guyette/12295" rel="smarttag" rev="12295">James Guyette</a></dfn>&nbsp;(4-3) fired five scoreless innings in relief before surrendering the game-winner in the ninth. He scattered two hits in his 5 1/3 innings of work, while striking out three with three walks and four hit batters. Alongside Inoue, Kennedy and O'Connor,&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/sam-flores/12310" rel="smarttag" rev="12310">Sam Flores</a></dfn>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/aj-evasco/12312" rel="smarttag" rev="12312">AJ Evasco</a></dfn>&nbsp;also tallied a hit. Inoue registered a three-hit day followed by O'Connor with two, while five different players drove in a run. "I am disappointed. I thought we did a good job against Antoine Jean, but still, if you get a chance to tie the game at home in the eighth and ninth inning, you gotta win those games." Jean, who ranks second in the league with 88 strikeouts, held the Cats to two runs over his 6 2/3 innings in relief before handing the ball over to Richie Ramon. The right-hander limited K-State to one hit in the final two frames to pick up his first win of the season (1-5). K-State has sent out 77 homers this year, including 23 games hitting multiple. The Wildcats' 77 homers in 2025 ties third all-time in school history. Under Hughes, K-State has produced five of the six top season's in terms of home run production. HOW IT HAPPENED With a pair of two-out home runs by Avalos and Brandon Bishop, Houston sent nine to the plate and spotted K-State starter&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/lincoln-sheffield/12332" rel="smarttag" rev="12332">Lincoln Sheffield</a></dfn>&nbsp;for four runs in the first frame. <dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/jj-slack/12304" rel="smarttag" rev="12304">JJ Slack</a></dfn>&nbsp;relieved Sheffield, inheriting runners on second and third. The lefty struck out the first batter he faced to get the Cats out of the jam. Trailing 4-0, Inoue immediately answered with a 421-foot no-doubter over the centerfield wall &ndash; his fourth homer in the last four games &ndash; until Kennedy belted the team's 76th&nbsp;home run to left field to pull the game within two. With one out, Houston's starter Eric Van Valkenburg issued a walk to&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/seth-dardar/12320" rel="smarttag" rev="12320">Seth Dardar</a></dfn>&nbsp;to force a pitching change and bring Jean into the game. O'Connor and Flores responded to the change with a pair of singles to make it 4-3. &nbsp; Cougars' Cade Climie barreled a 1-1 pitch to right field to extend the lead, but Slack bounced back with his third strikeout of the inning to keep the score within two. Down 5-3, O'Connor recovered the run handed over in the top of the third with his 12th&nbsp;home run. The Cats knotted the score in the fifth, as&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/aj-evasco/12312" rel="smarttag" rev="12312">AJ Evasco</a></dfn>&nbsp;led off with a single and advanced to third on a balk and sacrifice bunt, before scoring on a chopper to the shortstop by&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/maximus-martin/12314" rel="smarttag" rev="12314">Maximus Martin</a></dfn>. After four scoreless innings, Houston regained the lead after a hit by pitch put the game-winning run on base. INSIDE THE BOX
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<li>K-State scored five runs on eight hits, committed one error and stranded seven runners on base.</li>
<li>Houston scored six runs on eight hits with one error and leaving 12 runners on.</li>
<li>Inoue, Kennedy and O'Connor each homered.</li>
<li>Guyette (4-3) suffered the loss in relief, allowing the go-ahead run in the ninth.</li>
<li>Slack and Guyette combined for nine strikeouts.</li>
<li>Roman (1-5) was credited with the victory in relief, holding K-State scoreless in the final two frames.</li>
<li>Inoue produced a team-high three hits followed by O'Connor with two, while five different Cats drove in a run. &nbsp;</li>
<li>K-State went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, while UH was 1-for-13. Houston scored five runs with two outs.</li>
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TEAM NOTES
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<li>K-State leads the all-time series, 7-3, with a 5-1 edge in Big 12 games.</li>
<li>With the win, Houston snapped its five-game losing streak to K-State.</li>
<li>K-State has homered in 33 of 44 games, totaling 77 with 28 in the month of April.</li>
<li>The 2025 team's 77 home runs ties third all-time in school history, alongside the 2023 squad.</li>
<li>Under Hughes, K-State has five of the program's top six seasons in terms of home run production.</li>
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UP NEXT The Wildcats complete their home-and-home series with the Nebraska Cornhuskers (21-23) on Tuesday at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Neb., starting at 6 p.m. Single-game tickets for the Wildcats final week (May 6-11) at Tointon Family Stadium can be purchased by visiting&nbsp;<a name="_Hlk192492882"></a>KStateSports.com, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stopping by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.</div>

⚾ K-State drops series finale to Houston