Wildcats Drop Series Finale at Utah

Sunday, March 29

Salt Lake City, Utah

2 p.m.

Kansas State University

18-10, 4-5

Utah

15-10, 5-4

Kansas State

University of Utah

Mar 29, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah's Jacob Long hit for the cycle in a 16-14 defeat over K-State Sunday afternoon at Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark.

After dropping the series opener, Utah (15-10, 5-4 Big 12) rallied behind a six-run eighth inning to defeat the Wildcats and earn their fifth series win of the season and second in Big 12 play. With the loss, the Wildcats dropped to 18-10 overall with a 4-5 Big 12 mark.

"Another tough loss," head coach Pete Hughes said. "We're not finishing games. There is plenty of areas to look at to find the solution. It's easy to say our bullpen is struggling but we've left some opportunities to score out there. We've played sloppy defense that led to runs. There's blame to spread in each aspect of our game. We have tough kids who will get on the other side of this skid and we'll be a better program because of it."

HOW IT HAPPENED
K-State wasted no time jumping on the board, as the Wildcats sent 10 to the plate and exploded for seven runs on six hits in the opening frame.

Leadoff Nick English laced the first pitch he faced from starter Cameron Nielson to start off the seven-run inning surge, before advancing to third on a double from Dee Kennedy. The duo came in three pitches later, as Bear Madliak shelled his third homer of the series 454-feet over the left field wall.

With two outs, AJ Evasco and Carlos Vasquez each drove in a run, leading to a two-run blast by Cadyn Karl to make it 7-0 and force Utah to make its first call to the bullpen.

Utah pulled the game within three, 7-4, with two blasts by Jacob Long, who homered in consecutive at bats.

The Wildcats added a run in the third, led by a ground-rule double from Ty Smolinski. The sophomore scored in the next at-bat, as Grant Gallagher lined a hit to center to push the lead to four.

English belted his second homer of the year to lead off the fourth. An RBI-double from Smolinski and opposite field two-run base hit from Evasco pushed the Wildcats into double figures for the 12^th time this season.

Luke Jacobs 401-foot no-doubter headlined the Utes' four-run fourth inning.

After three scoreless innings, Vasquez delivered a two-run double to left center to stretch the lead back to four, 14-10.

Utah erased the deficit in the bottom of the eighth, scoring six unanswered to secure the comeback victory.

INSIDE THE BOX

Utah scored 16 runs on 20 hits, committed no errors and stranded nine on base.
K-State scored 14 runs on 18 hits with three errors committed and nine left on base.
Eight Wildcats contributed a hit, with six hitting multiple.
Vasquez went 4-for-5 with three RBI, followed by three-hit efforts from Kennedy and Madliak, each driving in three RBI.
Ian Culver (1-0) earned the win in relief, while Dylan Gazaway recorded his second save of the season.
Adam Arther (1-1) was tagged for the loss, surrendering four runs (earned) on four hits against the five batters he faced.
Long hit for the cycle, going 5-for-6 with two home runs and four RBI.
Karl, Madliak and English each homered.

TEAM NOTES

K-State is 9-3 all-time against Utah, with a 1-2 record in games played in Salt Lake City.
K-State has tallied 18 total innings scoring five or more runs, including five with at least seven.
With the team's seven-run first inning and four-run fourth, the Wildcats have hit through the order 20 times this season.
In 15 of 28 games, K-State has hit two or more home runs, posting a 9-4 record.
The Wildcats have recorded 15 games with 10 or more hits (11-5) with six-game streak with 10+ hits, totaling 81 in the stretch (13.5 per game).
With Sunday's contest, K-State has only committed two errors in three games (1-1).

PLAYER NOTES

Madliak recorded three home runs in the series and produced his third three-hit game of the season.
Smolinski stretched his hitting streak to seven, while he has reached in 20 consecutive games.
Kennedy produced his 12^th multi-hit game.
Vasquez registered his first four-hit game of the season.

ON DECK
K-State will head over to Provo Tuesday, facing BYU (13-13, 4-5 Big 12) in a non-conference midweek matchup. Tuesday's game is slated for 7 p.m. CT at Miller Park and can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

– k-statesports.com –

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