Saturday, March 21
Manhattan, Kan.
4 p.m.
Kansas State University
16-7
12
vs
18
Arizona State
17-5
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Arizona State
3
2
2
0
0
0
3
0
8
18
16
0
Kansas State
3
2
0
1
0
3
0
2
1
12
15
1
Late Rally Lifts Arizona State to Series Win
Mar 21, 2026 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – In a game that featured 31 hits and 30 runs, Arizona State rallied in the ninth to pull away with an 18-12 series-clinching victory Saturday at Tointon Family Stadium.
The two squads went run-for-run, until the Wildcats (16-7, 2-3 Big 12) carried an 11-10 lead into the ninth inning behind Dee Kennedy's 11th home run of the season. ASU (17-5, 4-1 Big 12) responded with eight runs to put away the game and secure the series win.
"We had a good fight and played well enough to win in a lot of areas, but we came up short," head coach Pete Hughes said. "It's frustrating for all of us to fight back and have leads late, especially at home, and not finish. We'll show tomorrow and leave it all on the field."
Nine different players produced a hit for K-State in Saturday's contest, led by Dee Kennedy with his third four-hit game of the season. The junior from Fort Worth went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI, that included a towering 478-foot, two-run blast in the eighth. Additionally, Shea McGahan and Nick English homered, while it was McGahan's first at K-State.
It marked the Wildcats' first home series loss since March 2024 against Texas. Entering the series, K-State had won 11 consecutive home series.
HOW IT HAPPENED
ASU tagged right-handed starter Tanner Duke for three runs in the opening frame, highlighted by a two-run blast from Dean Toigo – his first of the game.
The Wildcats immediately responded with back-to-back doubles by Grant Gallagher and Shintaro Inoue, the Big 12 Player of the Week. With bases loaded, a wild pitch trimmed the gap to one before Cadyn Karl singled through the left side to tie the score, 3-3.
The Sun Devils capitalized on a pivotal error that led to a two-run homer from Landon Hairston.
Micah Kendrick singled to centerfield to lead off the bottom of the second and was followed by McGahan's 425-foot-no-doubter – the first of his K-State career. Inoue drew a walk before Kennedy laced a hit past the third baseman to force ASU to make its first call to the pen.
Trailing 7-5, Kennedy hit against the shift with his 32nd hit of the season and scored in the next at bat from first on a double to left center by Ty Smolinski.
After a scoreless fifth, K-State sent seven batters to the plate and erased the deficit. McGahan and Gallagher were each issued a walk to lead off the inning, before the duo scored on hits from Inoue and Kennedy to take the lead. Smolinski added a run after lifting a sacrifice fly to left to make it 9-7.
ASU regained the lead in the seventh, plating three runs, including a game-tying two-run single from PJ Moutzouridis. The Sun Devils put the game away with an eight-run ninth inning, highlighted by Dean Toigo's grand slam.
INSIDE THE BOX
Sunday's series finale is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch at Tointon Family Stadium. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
The two squads went run-for-run, until the Wildcats (16-7, 2-3 Big 12) carried an 11-10 lead into the ninth inning behind Dee Kennedy's 11th home run of the season. ASU (17-5, 4-1 Big 12) responded with eight runs to put away the game and secure the series win.
"We had a good fight and played well enough to win in a lot of areas, but we came up short," head coach Pete Hughes said. "It's frustrating for all of us to fight back and have leads late, especially at home, and not finish. We'll show tomorrow and leave it all on the field."
Nine different players produced a hit for K-State in Saturday's contest, led by Dee Kennedy with his third four-hit game of the season. The junior from Fort Worth went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI, that included a towering 478-foot, two-run blast in the eighth. Additionally, Shea McGahan and Nick English homered, while it was McGahan's first at K-State.
It marked the Wildcats' first home series loss since March 2024 against Texas. Entering the series, K-State had won 11 consecutive home series.
HOW IT HAPPENED
ASU tagged right-handed starter Tanner Duke for three runs in the opening frame, highlighted by a two-run blast from Dean Toigo – his first of the game.
The Wildcats immediately responded with back-to-back doubles by Grant Gallagher and Shintaro Inoue, the Big 12 Player of the Week. With bases loaded, a wild pitch trimmed the gap to one before Cadyn Karl singled through the left side to tie the score, 3-3.
The Sun Devils capitalized on a pivotal error that led to a two-run homer from Landon Hairston.
Micah Kendrick singled to centerfield to lead off the bottom of the second and was followed by McGahan's 425-foot-no-doubter – the first of his K-State career. Inoue drew a walk before Kennedy laced a hit past the third baseman to force ASU to make its first call to the pen.
Trailing 7-5, Kennedy hit against the shift with his 32nd hit of the season and scored in the next at bat from first on a double to left center by Ty Smolinski.
After a scoreless fifth, K-State sent seven batters to the plate and erased the deficit. McGahan and Gallagher were each issued a walk to lead off the inning, before the duo scored on hits from Inoue and Kennedy to take the lead. Smolinski added a run after lifting a sacrifice fly to left to make it 9-7.
ASU regained the lead in the seventh, plating three runs, including a game-tying two-run single from PJ Moutzouridis. The Sun Devils put the game away with an eight-run ninth inning, highlighted by Dean Toigo's grand slam.
INSIDE THE BOX
- ASU scored 18 runs on 16 hits, with no errors committed and stranding six on base, while K-State scored 12 runs on 15 hits, committed one error and stranded eight on base.
- Nine players recorded a hit for K-State led by four from Kennedy (4-for-4).
- Gallagher, Inoue and Kendrick each recorded a pair of hits.
- Three Wildcats homered – Kennedy, English and McGahan.
- Matt Flores (1-1) suffered the loss in relief, allowing four runs (earned) in three hits over one inning.
- Seven pitchers made an appearance on the mound for K-State, while Miles Smith fired three scoreless innings without allowing a hit.
- Sean Fitzpatrick (3-0) was awarded the win in his one inning in relief.
- Toigo homered twice, while Hairston had one, while each went 4-for-5. Toigo produced a game-leading six RBI.
- ASU leads the all-time series 7-2, that includes a 2-1 edge in games played in Manhattan.
- K-State has homered in six consecutive games, totaling 13 in the stretch.
- Saturday's contest marks the highest scoring game in the all-time series.
- 13 of K-State's 17 hitters have homered in 2026.
- It marked the Wildcats first home series loss since March of 2024 vs. Texas. Ahead of the loss, K-State won 11 consecutive series at home.
- Kennedy produced his sixth game with three or more hits with his third four-hit performance, while he registered his 11th homer of the season.
- McGahan recorded his first home run at K-State while English recorded his first of the season.
- Inoue registered his sixth multi-RBI game and eighth game with two or more hits, while Smolinski turned in his fifth game with multiple RBI.
Sunday's series finale is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch at Tointon Family Stadium. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Fitzpatrick, Sean (3-0)
L: Flores, Matt (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Hairston, Landon 2 ; Smaldino, Dominic 1 ; Toigo, Dean 1
HR: Hairston, Landon 1 ; Toigo, Dean 2
RBI: Hairston, Landon 2 ; Myers, Sam 1 ; Moutzouridis, PJ 3 ; Roellig, Austen 2 ; Smaldino, Dominic 2 ; Michel, Garrett 1 ; Toigo, Dean 6
SH: Toigo, Dean 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hairston, Landon 4 ; Myers, Sam 1 ; Briggs, Brody 2 ; Moutzouridis, PJ 2 ; McGary, Ky 1 ; Leach, Finn 1 ; Roellig, Austen 3 ; Smaldino, Dominic 1 ; Toigo, Dean 3
SB: Leach, Finn 1
HBP: Briggs, Brody 1 ; Roellig, Austen 1
Batting:
2B: Inoue, Shintaro 2 ; Gallagher, Grant 1 ; Kendrick, Micah 1 ; Smolinski, Ty 1
HR: Kennedy, Dee 1 ; English, Nick 1 ; McGahan, Shea 1
RBI: Kennedy, Dee 3 ; Karl, Cadyn 1 ; Inoue, Shintaro 2 ; English, Nick 1 ; McGahan, Shea 2 ; Smolinski, Ty 2
SF: Smolinski, Ty 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kennedy, Dee 3 ; Inoue, Shintaro 2 ; Gallagher, Grant 3 ; English, Nick 1 ; Kendrick, Micah 1 ; McGahan, Shea 2
SB: Lewis, Donte 1
HBP: Madliak, Bear 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
3
H
4
RBI
3
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
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