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GAME 1: Washington State Claims Gutsy 6-4 Win Over No. 24 Kentucky
The opening game of the Karbach Round Rock Classic required a hard hat and football pads.
Eight hit batters set a new record for the most hit batsmen in Classic history and it was
Washington State that handled the bumps and bruises en route to a 6-4 victory over No. 24
University of Kentucky.
“Proud of our guys and our program,” Washington State head coach Nathan Choate said
postgame. “That’s obviously a really good program on the other side. We didn’t make it easy on
ourselves toward the end but found a way to get it done when it mattered.”
Kentucky got the scoring started in the in the first frame. After C Devin Burkes was hit by a
pitch, 2B Emilien Pitre launched a double into right field and gave the Wildcats a 1-0
advantage.
Kentucky RHP Travis Smith worked around early traffic in the first three innings but
Washington State tagged Smith with three runs in the fourth inning. With two men on and one
out, CF Nate Swarts smacked a triple to score two runs and give the Cougs a 2-1 lead. Two
batters later, LF Max Hartman singled to score Swarts and extended the advantage to 3-1.
Swarts and Hartman led the way for the Cougars. Swarts finished 2-for-2 with a triple, a run
scored, three RBI and a walk. Hartman batted leadoff and finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a
walk.
Washington State starter RHP Grant Taylor settled down after the first-inning run for Kentucky.
Taylor finished after 6.0 innings and only one earned run. He walked two and struck out three.
The lone hit he surrendered came in the first inning against Pitre.
“I thought Grant Taylor threw awesome,” Kentucky Head Coach Nick Mingione said postgame.
“He made it really difficult on our offense so give him a lot of credit. We didn’t do enough good
things to win the baseball game.
With Washington State leading 3-1, the Cougs tacked another run on in the fifth inning. C Jacob
Morrow led the inning off after Kentucky CF Ty Crittenberger dropped a liner. Morrow
advanced all the way to third base and scored on a ground out from DH Casen Taggart.
Kentucky battled back with two runs in the seventh inning and was on the verge of taking the
lead with men on first and second base and nobody out. Washington State RHP Andrew
Baughn took over and induced a soft pop out to the catcher followed by 5-3 double play as 3B
Cole Cramer stepped on third base and threw across the diamond to keep the Cougar lead
intact.
Washington State grabbed the two runs back in the eighth inning thanks to back-to-back walks
with the bases juiced and the lead was 6-3. Kentucky answered with a sacrifice fly from RF
Patrick Herrera in the eighth inning and tightened the score at 6-4.
In the ninth inning, RHP Chase Grillo issued a walk and hit a batter but came back to retire the
side and give the Cougars the win.
GAME 2: Kansas Offense Powers Past Texas State to Finish Day One of the Karbach Round Rock
Classic
Kansas baseball made themselves right at home at Dell Diamond on Friday night. A first inning
barrage made it clear they want the KRRC belt on Sunday as they hung on to beat Texas State
by a final score of 7-4.
“I thought it was a great team win,” Kansas Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “I thought our
intensity was good. Our preparation was great. Our team really likes each other and they really
work. It’s fun when it comes together with a great team effort.”
The Jayhawks scored four runs on five hits to open the game and never looked back. After C
Jake English and 2B Collier Cranford each drove in a run on a single, 3B Michael Brooks
capped off the scoring with a two-RBI double that pushed the lead to 4-0 in the first inning.
Texas State added two runs in the third inning and cut the Kansas lead in half. Freshman
phenom CF Ryne Farber doubled to make it 4-1. Farber scored later in the inning on a Kansas
error.
Farber continued to turn heads after posting a 2-for-3 night with a run scored, a RBI and two
walks. He is 11-for-15 to open the season.
“Since day one he’s walked in our doors he’s been unbelievable,” Texas State Head Coach
Steven Trout said. “He’s a 4.0 student. He’s an awesome human being as well. He’s just a very
consistent person. He’s way above his years when it comes to being a freshman. He’s not
playing like a freshman.”
Kansas didn’t wait long to get the offense rolling again. English cranked a solo home run to left
field and lifted the Jayhawks to a 5-2 lead. In the fourth inning, English was in the mix again.
This time, a single drove home 1B Kodey Shojinaga and Kansas led 6-2.
English finished the night 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, two runs scored, three RBI, and a
strikeout.
“It’s a great thing to start the weekend with a victory,” English said. “We had a tough weekend
last weekend. The pitchers bounced back and the hitters came out early which is something we
didn’t do last weekend.”
Kansas starting pitcher RHP Reese Dutton finished after 5.0 innings and he allowed only two
runs while just one was earned. Dutton struck out five and walked only one.
Texas State began to put pressure on Kansas once Dutton left the game. In the sixth inning, a
one-out home run for C August Ramirez cut the lead to 6-3. The Bobcats loaded the bases
with two outs but LHP Evan Shaw got a strikeout to get out of the jam.
The Jayhawks put an exclamation point on the night in the seventh inning. After RF Lenny
Ashby was hit by a pitch, 2B Collier Cranford doubled before 3B Michael Brooks singled to
drive in another run and extend the lead to 7-3.
Texas State threatened again in the eighth inning and loaded the bases but couldn’t scratch a
run across. In the ninth, 1B Alec Patino led off with a solo home run and made it a 7-4 game
but the Bobcats finished the night leaving 11 men on base and fell in their opening game.