MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State held a 6-4 lead after six innings, only to see No. 16 Nebraska score three runs over the final three frames to secure a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Wildcats Tuesday night at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park.
K-State (26-19) crawled out of an early 3-0 hole and battled to take a 6-4 lead until Nebraska (32-11) erased the deficit, highlighted with a game-tying RBI triple from Jeter Worthley. Knotted at 6-6, Rhett Stokes delivered the decisive hit, lining a 1-0 pitch down the left field line to score the winning run from second.
“That was really unfortunate,” eighth-year head coach Pete Hughes said. “I thought we played a tough game on the road. We played from behind. We built a lead. We didn’t have some plays go our way and didn’t have some calls go our way. I thought we may have had catcher’s interference there in the seventh that would’ve changed the entire inning, but we have no room to complain. We handed them all three of their runs in the first, and they all add up. They played cleaner baseball tonight and that was the difference in the game.”
After surrendering the first three runs in the opening frame, right-hander James Guyette went on to allow just one run over his final three innings before turning it over to the bullpen. Aaron Arnold logged 1 2/3 innings in relief of Guyette, while Miles Snith (2-4) was charged with the loss, allowing three earned runs on four hits 2 2/3 innings of work.
Nebraska used six pitchers, with closer J’Shawn Unger (6-1) earning the win after tossing two scoreless innings, allowing one hit with one walk and two strikeouts.
Bear Madliak, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI, recording his 13th multi-hit game and his eighth home run of the season. K-State got a pair of two-RBI efforts from Ty Smolinski and Nick English, as both each connected two-run run homer.
THE RUNDOWN
Nebraska took 3-0 lead in the opening frame, scoring twice on a wild pitch from Guyette before adding another run on a fielding error.
Grant Gallagher doubled to lead off the third and advanced to third on a flyout to right. The senior third baseman scored in the next at-bat, as Chandler Murray chopped a ball up the middle to trim the deficit to two.
The Cornhuskers recovered the run in the bottom of the inning and pushed their lead back to three, but was answered with a two-out, two-run shot by Ty Smolinski. The sophomore belted the first pitch he faced to right center, scoring Micah Kendrick from first after a single.
Arnold entered the game for Guyette and scattered three hits over his 1 2/3 innings before handing the ball over to Smith.
Down 4-3, the Wildcats took their first lead of the game with a go-ahead blast from English. Gallagher worked a leadoff walk and scored on English’s sixth homer of the season.
Madliak stretched the lead, 6-4, blasting 394-foot no-doubter deep over the left field wall.
K-State escaped bases-loaded jams in the fourth and sixth innings to maintain the lead, but Nebraska broke through with two runs to tie the game at 6-6.
Nebraska completed the comeback in the ninth, as Joshua Overbeek led off with a double before Stokes delivered the walk-off single.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Nebraska scored seven runs on 14 hits with no errors and stranded 12 baserunners.
- K-State scored six runs on eight hits, committed one error and left three runners on base.
- Madliak turned in the only multi-hit game (2-for-4), as seven different players accounted for K-State’s hits.
- Three different players homered for K-State: Smolinski, English, Madliak.
- Smolinski and English each drove in a pair of runs while Murray and Madliak had one.
- Three players made an appearance on the bump for K-State while Nebraska used six.
- Smith (2-4) took the loss, surrendering three earned runs on four hits over 2 2/3 innings in relief.
- Unger (6-1) picked up the win in relief, logging two frames of one-hit ball with two strikeouts and a walk.
- K-State 3-for-11 with runners on and 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, while Nebraska was 7-for-25 with men on and 2-for-12 in scoring position.
- Both teams registered two RBI with two away.
- Nebraska was 0-for-2 with bases loaded.
TEAM NOTES
- Tuesday’s contest marked the third meeting of the season series with Nebraska, and final game of the home-and-home series.
- Nebraska holds a 179-119 lead over K-State in the all-time series, that includes a 94-43 advantage in games played in Lincoln.
- K-State has hit two or more home runs in 21 games this season, going 14-7.
PLAYER NOTES
- Madliak produced his 13th multi-hit game.
- Kendrick earned his first NCAA start in the field, starting in right field.
- Inoue stretched his on-base streak to 31 games – the team’s longest on-base streak since 2024 (37, Brady Day).
- Smolinski has homered in two consecutive games.
ON DECK
The Wildcats will return to Big 12 play this weekend, when they take a trip to face No. 18 West Virginia (28-12, 13-8 Big 12). Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark. The Mountaineers enter the series tied fourth in the Big 12 standings, alongside TCU, while the Wildcats are in a three-way tie for ninth.
