Liggett, Vasquez Lift K-State Past Nebraska Saturday

Saturday, February 21

Arlington, Texas

7:30 p.m.

Kansas State University

5-1

Nebraska

3-3

Kansas State

Nebraska

Feb 22, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score

ARLINGTON, Texas – K-State's Carson Liggett fired 4 1/3 shutout innings, and Carlos Vasquez drove in a game-leading four RBI to lift the Wildcats to a 5-3 victory over Nebraska on Saturday in game two of Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field.

"A good win for our program tonight," K-State's skipper Pete Hughes said. "I love the fact that we bounced back after a tough loss last night. It's a sign of a winning program and a winning dugout."

Vasquez, who was named the FloSports Player of the Game, delivered the game-tying, two-out hit to even the score 3-3 in the sixth. Dee Kennedy, the Golden Spikes Award and Big 12 Player of the Week, broke the tie with a sacrifice fly to plate the go-ahead run before Vasquez stretched the lead with his third hit of the game.

With the win, K-State improved to 5-1 overall on the season – its best start since 2011.

"I love the fact that we played tight games, and then our veteran presence, with Carlos Vasquez, with situationally hitting, and then two-out hitting was the difference in the ball game. Love the fact that our team loves to play in these tight ball games, and they embrace those moments and in the seventh, and the eighth, and ninth innings. It's a calming presence to have a competitive veteran, quality pitcher like Carson Liggett to finish things for us," added Hughes.

A native of Overland Park, Kansas, Liggett (2-0) needed just 51 pitches to retire 13 of 15 batters he faced in earning up his second consecutive win. The redshirt senior reliever allowed just one hit in the outing and issued one walk, while striking out three. In two appearances this season, Liggett has fired 9 1/3 consecutive shutout innings.

"I thought Donte Lewis grew a ton tonight. Looks like he feels real comfortable and it must be that he feels really comfortable pitching here, because he looked just like he did last year against Michigan. He settled down and slowed the game down in that first inning and got out of a jam for us, and then settled in. It's a lot of growth on his part today."

Lewis held the Cornhuskers to three earned runs in the second weekend start of his career. The sophomore right-hander allowed five hits over 4 2/4 innings, and struck out a career-high six batters before handing the ball over to Liggett.

K-State is one of four teams with a 1-1 record at the College Baseball Series, joining Louisville, Florida State and Michigan, while Auburn is 2-0. With the loss, Nebraska fell to 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the tournament.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Nebraska threatened to strike in the opening frame with back-to-back hits from the top of the order, but left runners stranded at first and third as Lewis struck out the side in order to prevent early damage.

Kennedy drew a six-pitch walk before advancing to second with his sixth steal of the season. The junior moved to third on a fly ball to right by Shintaro Inoue and scored on a line drive to center off the bat of Vasquez.

Trailing 1-0, Joshua Overbeek put the Huskers ahead with a two-run double to right-center. Nebraska added another run in the fifth to extend its lead to 3-1, forcing K-State to turn to the bullpen. Liggett relieved Lewis in the fifth, inheriting runners on first and second. After a wild pitch moved both into scoring position, the right-hander surrendered just one hit over four innings and allowed one runner to reach scoring position the rest of the way.

After three quiet innings, the Wildcats capitalized on a hit by pitch and pair of walks to load the bases and bring Vasquez to the plate. With two outs, the senior outfielder delivered a two-RBI single, punching the first pitch he saw from starter Carson Jasa through the right side to even the score.

Designated hitter Micah Kendrick opened the eighth with a single through the left side to spark K-State's two-run eighth. A stolen base by Kendrick and a walk from AJ Evasco placed runners at first and third before both advanced on a wild pitch. With no outs, Kennedy lifted a sacrifice fly to left to give the Wildcats the lead. Vasquez followed with his third hit of the game, lacing a 1-1 pitch through the left side to extend K-State's advantage to 5-3.

Nebraska went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, as Liggett closed it out to secure his second consecutive win.

INSIDE THE BOX

K-State scored five runs on four hits with one error committed and left six runners on base.
Nebraska was held to three runs on six hits, committed one error and stranded seven on base.
Kendrick and Vasques were the only two Wildcats to register a hit.
Vasquez drove in a game-leading four RBI on three singles.
Five different players registered a hit for Nebraska, led by two from right fielder Mac Moyer.
Liggett (2-0) retired 13 of the 15 batters he faced in relief of Lewis, who allowed three runs (earned) on five hits with a career-high six strikeouts in his 4 2/3-inning start.
Liggett allowed just one hit with a walk and three strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings.
Both pitching squads recorded nine strikeouts.
Starter Carson Jasa struck out nine and was tagged for three runs (earned) on two hits in his 5 2/3 innings, while issuing four walks.
J'Shawn Unger was credited with the loss allowing the go-ahead run (earned) on one hit in relief of Jasa.
Nebraska made four calls to the pen, as the Huskers' four relievers combined for two runs (earned) on two hits and allowed three walks with one strikeout.
Three of the Huskers six hits were for extra bases.
The Wildcats were 3-for-8 (.375) with runners in scoring position and the Cornhuskers went 1-for-9 (.111), while both schools hit .200 (3-for-15) with runners on base.

TEAM NOTES

With the win, K-State is off to the first 5-1 start since 2011.
K-State is 3-0 against Big Ten schools this season with wins against Iowa, Penn State and Nebraska.
The Wildcats are 118-177 all-time against Nebraska, including a 5-5 record in the Hughes era.
K-State has recorded two comeback victories this season (UConn [Feb. 14], Nebraska [Feb. 21]).
Cats are 4-1 when playing in the College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field (since 2025).

PLAYER NOTES

Liggett has fired 9 1/3 consecutive shutout innings in two appearances.
In six games, Kennedy has stolen six bases (6-for-6). He led the team with 12 in 2025.
Lewis struck out a career-high six, surpassing his previous mark of five in the second weekend start of his career.
Vasquez produced his third multi-hit performance, while driving in a season-high four RBI – his second game with multiple RBI.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats will play the Michigan Wolverines (4-2) in the College Baseball Series finale on Sunday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on FloSports, while radio coverage is available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with Brian Smoller calling all the action. A free live streaming audio is available for all games at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

– k-statesports.com –

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