Kansas State’s first day of NCAA tournament baseball started with fireworks and ended with question marks.
The Wildcats were in prime position to beat the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark., leading 9-4 after five innings, but two lengthy weather stoppages prevented either team from finishing the game.
The first pitch was delayed for more than an hour due to rain and lightning in the area. The game was then called off for the same reason around 10 p.m. Players and coaches from both teams waited until nearly midnight to try to resume the game, but the game was eventually postponed overnight. The game is scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. Saturday.
That should make for a long day of baseball for No. 3 seed Kansas State and No. 2 seed Louisiana Tech.
The winner of this game will face No. 1 seed Arkansas at home on Saturday, while the loser will play in a consolation match against Southeast Missouri State University.Adding four innings to a morning baseball game could make it more difficult.
But if K-State can continue to perform well at the plate, they’ll likely have a chance.
For a team not known for its offensive prowess this season, the Wildcats produced points in their first NCAA Regional in more than a decade.
Kansas State started well in Friday’s game, scoring seven runs in the first two innings.
The Wildcats started off the game by scoring two runs in the first inning and a whopping five in the second inning. The innings were filled with big hits from Pete Hughes’ team. Chuck Ingram and Brady Day both hit home runs and Kalen Culpepper tripled. All of those hits were long hits after the Wildcats got two outs early.
Before the end of the second inning, K-State led 7-0 as they were able to get past Louisiana Tech star pitcher Luke Nichols, who threw 50 pitches and got five outs, allowing seven runs on five hits.
K-State added two more points to extend its lead to 9-1, but Louisiana Tech fought back before the game was postponed.
Kansas State’s starting pitcher, Owen Boerema, was having trouble with control. The ace left the game after just 4 1/3 innings and 87 pitches. Boerema was solid in some ways, striking out six and allowing just two hits. But he also walked six batters, and Hughes couldn’t allow Boerema to stay in the game to finish the innings.
Still, he left the game with K-State leading by eight runs, and the Wildcats finished the fifth inning with a 9-4 lead.
What will happen?
For now, the game is set to continue.
