Two Late Collapses, One Strong Response: K-State’s Resilience on Display

The weekend series against Arizona State was a roller coaster of emotions. After K-State dropped the first two games—despite leading late in each—they surged back to run-rule the Sun Devils on a windy Sunday afternoon. Two primary thoughts ran through my head after the weekend: K-State got a valuable lesson in executing the little things to finish out a game, and this team is incredibly resilient. I still feel good despite losing the series.

For game one on Friday, my wife and I were able to make it out to the ballpark for a beautiful evening to watch the Bat Cats. It was a back-and-forth game with some exciting offensive moments, yet an absurd number of runners left on base by each team. ASU left 12 runners on, while K-State left 10, with both teams leaving the bases loaded twice. K-State had the lead going into the eighth inning, but a fielding error and a home run gave Arizona State a 5–4 lead that they held onto.

Saturday's game featured hot weather and hot bats. There were 31 total hits between both teams, including six home runs and nine doubles. K-State trailed by one run going into the bottom of the eighth inning when Dee Kennedy unleashed a two-run, 478-foot bomb to give the Cats an 11–10 lead. But the Sun Devils answered with an eight-run top of the ninth to take the lead late again and hold on for the win.

This is where resilience comes in. After losing two games in which they held late leads, how did K-State respond? With a 12–1 run-rule win in seven innings. Even with strong Sunday winds, the Cats put together 14 hits on the day. Lincoln Sheffield continued his great start to the year by tossing all seven innings, allowing just five hits and one run to improve to 5–0 on the season.

Not only was the overall response impressive, but the attention to detail stood out as well. After committing three errors in the first two games, the defense was flawless on Sunday and turned three double plays. K-State also fell short of its offensive expectations in game one with just seven hits, but bouncing back with 29 hits across games two and three was refreshing to see.

Like I said before, I came out of this weekend more encouraged than anything. It is concerning to see K-State give up two late leads against a good team, but we will see how the Cats adjust and finish as they encounter more close, late-game situations.

The schedule doesn’t ease up, as Nebraska is next for the second time this year on Tuesday evening. K-State beat the Huskers 5–3 in Arlington earlier this season behind a combined pitching effort from Donte Lewis and Carson Liggett. Liggett was dominant in relief, allowing just one hit in 4.1 innings. I haven’t heard much about his injury status or when he’ll return, but I’d love to see him back on the bump. Nebraska has improved to 18–6 on the season since that late-February matchup.