SLATE: BatCats Finally Above .500

Baseball

For the first time in 2022, the Kansas State baseball team is above .500 thanks to an 8-4 win at Omaha Tuesday evening. The Wildcats came out of the gate strong, notching one run in the first inning, followed by 5 in the second, and had an 8-2 lead through four innings. Two more runs from Omaha in the bottom of the 6th just weren't enough for the home squad to make a comeback, dropping them to 5-11 on the season. Staring pitcher Griffin Hassall picked up his second win of the season after pitching 5.2 innings giving up two hits and two runs, while striking-out six Mavericks batters. On offense, Josh Nicoloff gathered in four RBI on three hits, thanks to a two-run homer in the 2nd and a two-run double in the 4th. RS-Freshman Brady Day have an impressive day at the plate as well, and reached based in all five of his at-bats — two via hit and three via walk.

Next up for the 8-7 Wildcats is a home series this weekend versus Morehead State. This should be a normal Friday/Saturday/Sunday lineup, with first pitch for Friday set for 6pm CDT. All three games cane be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Basketball

Star sophomore guard Nijel Pack received yet another honor for his impressive season, as he was selected First Team All-District 8 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) on Tuesday. The All-District 8 First Team mirrored the All-Big 12 First Team. Pack is the first Wildcat since Barry Brown and Dean Wade in 2019 to be selected to the first team, and becomes the second-youngest player in school history following Michael Beasley, who was named to the First Team in 2008.

The timing is important in the new head coach search. Of course the top targets are all still participating in the NCAA Tournament, so it’s just a matter of time at this point before a new head coach is named. But regardless of who is hired, it would behoove Wildcat fans to reflect on how Bruce Weber and his program were treated during his ten seasons, and not do the same things with the new guy.

Reminder: We will have a Bracket Challenge this year, though no prizes besides bragging rights. Though we tried really really hard to avoid That Place That Tried To Wreck the Big 12, they were the only site that had groups available for the women’s brackets, so that’s what we’re doing. You get two brackets in each group, and brackets are locked in to the group once the Round of 64 starts. Password to join for both groups is “BringOnTheCats!”
2022 BotC Men’s Bracket Challenge
2022 BotC Women’s Bracket Challenge

You have until the Round of 64 starts tomorrow to get signed up!

Golf

Fresh off a strong finish last week, the Wildcats men’s golf team again had a solid outing, carding a 7-under 857 to claim 6th place (of 17) at the Louisiana Classics to start the week. The Wildcats did slip on the last day, carding a 1-over 289 that dropped swapped them with Houston for 5th & 6th. The Wildcats were led by true-freshman, and Cologne, Germany native, Laurenz Schiergen, who captured his career-high and first top-20 finish in a tie for 17th place at 3-under par 213 after a 1-over par 73 third round.

The Wildcats will now have almost a month away from action before they return for two more events, the Mossy Oak Invitational on April 11-12 and the Hawkeye Invitational on April 16-17, before the Big 12 Championship commences on April 25.