MANHATTAN, Kan. – Despite erasing a four-run deficit with the help of a game-tying, bases-clearing double by Max Brown in the seventh inning, the K-State baseball team surrendered three two-out runs in the eighth that ledto a 10-7 defeat at the hands of Missouri State on Sunday at Tointon Family Stadium.

 

Trailing 7-3 entering the bottom half of the seventh, Carter Yagi drew a leadoff walk and Clayton Dalrymple recorded the second of his three singles in the game to help put runners on base for the Wildcats (10-9). After back-to-back outs and a Steve Serratore walk to load the bases, Tyler Moore was issued a walk by Missouri State’s Bryan Young to score the first run. Brown then followed up with a liner into the left-center field gap to clear the bases; however, the senior center fielder was thrown out at third base to end the frame as he attempted to stretch his two-base hit into a triple.

 

Missouri State (10-6) wasted little time answering back as two doubles and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out in the eighth. K-State reliever Brandon Erickson was able to induce a weak pop-out to second baseman Jake Wodtke for the second out, but Missouri State’s Spencer Johnson followed up with a two-RBI single through the left side. The Bears were able to score three runs on the play, though, with the help of a fielding error by K-State left fielder Danny Krause.

 

“This day was not about the eighth inning,” said K-State head coach Brad Hill. “It was about us not covering each other. We gave up a lot of freebies today (K-State pitchers walked seven), and our relief pitching just wasn’t good. (Starting pitcher) Corey Fischer wasn’t very sharp, and we needed to get him out of there. We had good relievers coming in behind him, though, but we couldn’t get any stops.”