By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Kansas State left fielder Carlos Vasquez walked into the right-handed batter’s box in the top of the seventh with two home runs under his belt. The Wildcats had already scored twice in the frame.
With the bases loaded, Vasquez raked a line drive into the left-center field gap to drive in three and put his team ahead 11-3.
“They ended up having nine hits. I think seven of them were for extra bases,” head coach Mitch Thompson said. “They squared balls up and hit them hard … they definitely showed that they’re a good ball club.”
Wildcat designated hitter Kyan Lodice followed with a two-run homer to go up 13-3 as Kansas State (16-5, 2-1 Big 12) defeated Baylor (11-9, 1-2 Big 12) in seven innings Tuesday night. The standalone game counted as a nonconference matchup.
The Wildcats opened the scoring in the second inning, when Vasquez launched a solo home run over the left-field wall to give his team a 1-0 lead. Cadyn Karl one-upped Vasquez with a two-run shot that traveled 427 feet over the center-field fence.
Kansas State kept the momentum going in the third as Vasquez ripped a three-run shot to left field for his second homer of the game.
“Every time that we walked them, it became a problem,” Thompson said. “Virtually every one of those guys ended up scoring, so you’re going to have to throw strikes. You’re going to have to get ahead of hitters.”
Junior infielder Robert De La Garza (3-for-3, run) tallied the Bears’ first hit in the second inning with a tricky fly ball to the left-field corner that bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double.
“He sat there for a while and waited his turn, and waited his time,” Thompson said. “When he got his chance, he stepped in the lineup and he performed.”
Junior catcher JJ Kennett drove him in with a sacrifice groundout to the second baseman.
Baylor remained quiet for the next two frames, until the Bears loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs and down in the count 1-2, freshman outfielder Brady Janusek (2-for-3, 2 RBIs) laced a ball down the left-field line and drove in two runners to cut the deficit to 6-3.
“[It was] a really good at-bat.” Thompson said. “He laid off some stuff down in the zone and fouled off a couple pitches. Finally got a pitch that he could handle and drove it to left field down the line.”
Kansas State’s seven-run seventh proved to be the final nail in the coffin as the Wildcats topped Baylor 13-3 in seven frames.
The Bears return to the diamond against Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. Friday at O’Brate Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
