MANHATTAN, Kan. – Behind a quality start from junior Levi MaVorhis, the K-State baseball team completed a series win against No. 3 TCU by beating the Horned Frogs, 6-2, in the finale on Sunday at Tointon Family Stadium.

 

MaVorhis, making his first start since February 20 vs. Oregon State, did not allow a run in his first seven frames, scattering six hits and one walk over his first 3 2/3 innings before retiring 10 straight Horned Frogs (26-8, 7-5) from the final out in the fourth through the seventh. The right-hander finished the game surrendering two runs on seven hits and two walks in 7.0+ innings and earning his second victory of the season.

 

“I am really proud of [MaVorhis],” said K-State head coach Brad Hill. “He’s had a lot of ups and downs this year, but we need him. We needed an experienced guy out there today. I thought he really put [TCU] on their heels and got them to swing at the pitches he wanted them to. It was just a masterful job by him.”

 

The series win for K-State (16-18, 4-8 Big 12) was its first in Big 12 play since April 17-19, 2014 vs. Baylor, snapping a stretch of seven straight series losses in conference action. The series triumph was also the Wildcats’ first against a nationally-ranked top-five team since 2009 when they beat No. 2 Texas in Austin, 2-0-1, from April 24-26.

 

“For three straight weeks, we could not get it done (after winning the first game of the series), and then yesterday, of course, [Preston] Morrison just dominated us,” said Hill. “Our guys really put yesterday in the past, approached today as a new day and we had great spirt in the dugout. There was a lot of motivation, and I really liked how we played today.”

 

The Wildcats were able to generate their runs by having the bottom of their lineup reach base and the top-half driving them in. No. 8 and 9 hitters, Jake Wodtke and Carter Yagi, combined for four hits and four runs while the No. 2-4 batters, Tyler Wolfe, Shane Conlon and Max Brown, combined for all six of the RBIs.

 

Wolfe led the way with three RBIs, matching his career-high, as he went 1-for-4 with a double. The junior’s first RBI gave K-State a 1-0 lead in the third when he drove in Wodtke, who reached on a TCU error, with a groundout. Wolfe’s RBI in the fifth, on a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded, sparked a four-run frame for the Wildcats to make it 5-0. Wolfe sharply hit a groundball to TCU third baseman Derek Odell, who was unable to force out Dominic Thornton at home with his throw.

Chris Kutz

Assistant Director – Athletic Communications