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Yeah, yeah, we got you here with some click-bait. But at least we won’t make you click through 20 pages to be disappointed at the end (because zero clicks, and you’ll be happy(ish) at the end).
Baseball
You win, you get top billing. Kasey Ford took the mound for K-State’s final game of the Sanderson Ford College Classic at Surprise Stadium Monday, and proceeded to hold Gonazaga scoreless for five innings before the offense finally came alive in the top of the 6th. 2⁄3 of an inning later, Ford stepped away and hoped his bullpen could come through with a win — which was probably a bit concerning because it didn’t happen on Sunday. But the BatCats got a few more runs, and the relief staff did just enough to help K-State hold on to a 6-1 victory over Gonzaga on Monday afternoon.
A few things stood out on the weekend — not just sophomore Jordan Wicks, who was named the initial Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after his strong showing on Friday against Oregon State. The Wildcats appear to have found their weekend starters in Wicks, redshirt-freshman Connor McCollough (who would have had a win on Sunday if the bullpen hadn’t failed him), and senior Kasey Ford. The Arky Trio (all three hail from The Natural State) combined to pitch 19.2 innings, surrendering just one run (a solo HR against McCollough) while giving up just 11 hits, and throwing 22 strikeouts.
On offense, true freshman Nick Goodwin came bursting out of the gates, batting an absurd .417 over the weekend with an OPS of 1.111 (for reference, anything over .900 is considered elite...), recording four RBI on five hits in a dozen at-bats, plus taking six walks to just two strikeouts. Oh, and he went 2-2 on steals. That’s, uh, a decent start for a true freshman.
The BatCats return to action this weekend from the friendly, and recently updated, confines of Tointon Family Stadium (assuming the weather holds out) to face Western Michigan in a weekend series with first pitch on Friday, Feb 26th, set for 3pm CT. All home games for K-State baseball will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, so be sure and re-up that subscription so you can watch a K-State team do well.
Basketball
Yes, there’s a basketball game tonight. Sure, we’re definitely feeling a little better about things now that the WeberCats have finally gotten the “losing streak” monkey off their backs, but don’t expect a streak to form in the other direction. After a brief respite against TCU, the Wildcats are back in to ranked opponents, facing a Top 10 OU squad tonight that is looking to retain the second spot in the Big 12 standings. The last time these two teams played, the Sooners won by 16 in Norman, but K-State was missing Nijel Pack, who was still out on COVID protocol at the time. Maybe they can make a game of it tonight.
Football
There’s going to be a new face around the Vanier Football Complex. It’s been reported (and confirmed by local media) that Trumain Carroll, the current Director of Strength and Conditioning at the University of South Florida, will be named the new Director of Strength and Conditioning coach at Kansas State. Drew has a great breakdown of the (pending) new hire, and his familiarity with this region.
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