Release from Chris Kutz, Assistant Director, Athletics Communications

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Western Carolina’s Bryson Bowman hit a three-run home run in a four-run top of the seventh as K-State lost the series opener to the Catamounts, 7-5, on Friday at Tointon Family Stadium. 

 

The Wildcats (11-7) entered the seventh holding onto a 4-3 lead gained with a four-run fifth, but a leadoff double followed by an RBI single from Danny Bermudez and a walk drawn by Matt Smith, all surrendered by Jordan Floyd, set up the game-winning homer by Bowman. The right fielder for Western Carolina (7-10) hit his fourth home run of the season off Mitch Zubradt, which was the first homer allowed by the freshman this season.

 

“Zubradt came into a pressure situation and fell behind 3-1. It was a hitter’s count, he threw the ball down the middle, and (Bowman) hammered it,” said K-State head coach Brad Hill. “We had a 0-2 pitch that we did not throw it where we wanted to (on a two-run double in the fifth), and there are two RBIs. Then we come back to a 3-1 count with a hitter in the seventh, and they get the home run. There were just some bad pitching mistakes. That is what creates the big innings. Right now, we are not making good pitches to minimize innings.”

 

The Catamounts out-hit the Wildcats, 12-8, as every Western Carolina batter had at least one hit. For K-State, three hitters – Clayton Dalrymple, Josh Rolette and Jake Scudder – had two hits each. Dalrymple had the second of his hits in the eighth when he delivered a two-out RBI single to make it 7-5.

 

The run was the only damage allowed by Colton Davis as the reliever neutralized K-State after it took the lead in the fifth. The right-hander struck out seven, including five over his first seven batters, in 4 1/3 innings to earn the winning decision.

 

“When they brought in Davis, we lost command of the strike zone,” said Hill. “He had a lot of velocity and was able to punch us out with balls out of the zone. We just had bad zone discipline. When we had strike zone discipline (in the eighth), we actually put together an inning. We did not do enough of that.”

 

K-State starting pitcher Levi MaVorhis did not factor into the decision after he was responsible for three unearned runs over 4 2/3 innings. The senior struck out four, giving him a team-best 34 on the season, while he did not issue a walk for the second straight start.