Cats Win First Home Series Over Columbia

After dropping game one of the weekend to Columbia 9-8, while having a 5-0 lead after the fifth inning, the relentless Bat Cats took games two and three to win their first home series of the season.

Game one included a bolt of offense from AJ Evasco and Dee Kennedy, each with 3 RBI. James Guyette had another brilliant start going five innings with eight strikeouts and no runs given up. It was the K-State bullpen, that has been reliable thus far starting the year, that gave up a total of nine runs to drop game one 9-8.

Having a short memory and a gritty mentality was important however, with just a 45 minute break before game two. Carson Liggett got the start but came out after just one inning with an injury. It was up to the Wildcat bullpen to turn it around with a different story from what game one was. They did just that with the trio of Aaron Arnold, Miles Smith, and Billy Eich combined to allow just one run and six hits.

The bats for the Cats ran into a road block though, going scoreless for 7 innings against Columbia starter Tomas Lopez. But it was Grant Gallagher in the eighth inning that smacked a two run double to give the Cats the lead and the win.

Game three featured some early action and struggle by the Columbia pitching staff. Walking six batters and surrendering five hits in the first two innings to go down 5-2. That score remained the rest of the game as the rest of Columbia’s bullpen righted the ship.

It was Lincoln Sheffield who came out with a gem to lead the Cats to a 5-2 Saturday victory. Sheffield threw 6.2 innings and struck out eight to secure his third win of the season.

Grant Gallagher also deserves a shoutout for this weekend. He was one of my MVP’s this weekend handling many great plays at third and going 5-11 batting with three RBI and two doubles. He is coming through as a very consistent and clutch bat in the lineup.

The Cats improved to 8-4 on the season after the series win. They will look to rack up more wins after a much needed break before taking on SIU Edwardsville for a three game series this coming weekend.