Early Firepower: Measuring K-State’s Opening Weekend Success

K-State baseball's opening weekend was awesome—there's no question about that. 57 runs scored on 53 hits over the first four games is indeed impressive. But how does it compare to past opening weekends? I rounded up some offensive stats from previous opening weekends and took a deeper look.

Below is my chicken-scratch stats sheet of wins, runs scored, runs allowed, and hits from all opening weekends since 2019 (when Coach Pete Hughes took over the program).

Some important things to note with these stats: I'm looking at a specific couple of metrics that don’t tell the whole story behind a baseball team's offense. Additionally, some of these years included tournaments, while others featured a regular series against a single team. Some weekends had three games, while others—like this past weekend—had four. However, I do think we can make the observation that this opening weekend was the best we've seen since Coach Hughes has been in Manhattan.

One initial observation is that, in terms of runs scored and hits, this was the most productive offensive opening weekend the Cats have had in recent years. The next two highest run- and hit-producing opening weekends came in 2019 and 2023, both against mid-major opponents that finished those seasons with below-.500 records.

I would argue that the competition in the previous two seasons (2024 and 2025) was on par with what K-State faced this past weekend in the Desert Invitational. The 57 runs and 53 hits from this year's opening weekend were significantly higher than the totals from the last two years. The Cats registered 19 runs on 35 hits during the 2025 opening weekend across four games. That’s 38 more runs and 18 more hits this year—a massive improvement.

One thing that stands out is that this past weekend featured more runs than hits. That could suggest better plate discipline (or less accurate pitching from opponents) and/or more timely extra-base hits driving in multiple runners. Obviously, there are more factors at play, but those are two possibilities.

When comparing this year to 2024, there were naturally fewer total runs and hits that season since only three games were played. That’s where per-game stats can help with a comparison. With roughly nine more runs per game and four more hits per game this year, that’s still a significant improvement—especially in the runs scored department.

Another improvement worth noting—though not offensive—is runs allowed. This past weekend marked the second-fewest runs allowed per game in an opening weekend since 2019. Even more impressively, the Cats allowed 11 fewer runs compared to the 2025 opening weekend.

Again, stats only tell part of the story—especially when focusing solely on runs and hits without additional data points other external factors. But I think we can all agree that K-State’s offense was exciting to watch this weekend. They forced opposing teams deep into their bullpens, which is encouraging as we look ahead to the Sunday games of a regular-season series later in the year.

Was this lightning in a bottle? Or is K-State’s offense going to be one of the most explosive in college baseball? Only time will tell—and this coming weekend will be an even better test with matchups against Auburn, Nebraska, and Michigan in Arlington.