Bring On The Cats, a Kansas State Wildcats community

Kansas State juniors James Allen and Nick Martini were named to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Midwest Region second team, the ABCA has announced.

Kansas State junior left-hander Kyle Hunter was taken with the second selection of the 31st round (No. 933 overall) by the Seattle Mariners on the final day of the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft today. Hunter was the fifth Wildcat taken in the 2011 draft, after Evan Marshall and Jason King were selected in the fourth round, while Nick Martini and James Allen were drafted in the seventh round.

James Allen struck out the final two batters with the tying run at second base in the ninth inning and Kansas State defeated No. 12 Oklahoma 4-3 on Friday night in an elimination game at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at RedHawks Field at Bricktown in Oklahoma City. The sixth-seeded Wildcats, now 2-1 in the tournament, improved to 36-22 on the year and advanced to play against No. 2 seed Texas A&M at 12:30 p.m. today. K-State, which has won eight of its last 10 games, defeated Oklahoma for a fourth time this season — the most wins against the Sooners in a season since 1990.

Kansas State had four players earn all-conference accolades from the Big 12 coaches as the Big 12 Conference announced its postseason awards Tuesday at the 2011 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. Junior relief pitcher James Allen earned first-team honors, junior third baseman Jason King and freshman outfielder Jared King were named to the second team, and junior outfielder Nick Martini was placed on the honorable-mention squad. The Wildcats have placed at least four players on the all-conference teams for three straight seasons.

Kansas State junior closer James Allen is one of 36 players nationally to be named a semifinalist for the 2011 Dick Howser Trophy, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has announced.

Nick Martini singled home Ross Kivett in the top of the ninth inning to break a 4-4 tie, James Allen picked up his 14th save of the season and the Wildcats edged Cal State Bakersfield 5-4 on Monday night at Hardt Field. K-State won its fifth straight game and its 10th in the last 14 contests as the Wildcats improved to 25-15 on the year. The Wildcats now are 8-9 in one-run games this season and have won four of their last five games decided by a run.

Kansas State junior closer James Allen was named to the midseason watch list for the seventh annual Stopper of the Year Award, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced Thursday. Allen, who is one of 45 pitchers nationally named to the watch list, is 2-1 with a 0.70 ERA and 10 saves this season. His save total ranks second in the Big 12 and seventh nationally.

Kyle Hunter tossed 7.2 shutout innings and closer James Allen picked up his ninth save of the year as Kansas State blanked No. 7 Oklahoma 2-0 on Friday night at Tointon Family Stadium. With the victory, the Wildcats moved to 17-11 overall and 3-7 in Big 12 play, while OU fell to 23-7 on the year and 5-4 in conference action.