Kansas State baseball eliminates Kansas with 7-1 victory in Big 12 Tournament
Kansas State's baseball team not only fought off elimination, but also took a key step toward a potential NCAA bid Friday afternoon with a 7-1 Big 12 Tournament victory over Kansas at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
The big blow for the Wildcats was a three-run homer by Kaelen Culpepper in the bottom of the second inning. That proved to be enough for starting pitcher German Fajardo (4-4), who allowed just one run on five hits through 7 1/3 innings.
With the elimination game victory, K-State improved to 35-23, and survived to face TCU at 9 a.m. Saturday. If the Wildcats win that game, they will play the Horned Frogs again for a spot in Sunday's championship game.
With the loss, KU saw its season come to an end at 25-32.
More: Kansas State baseball stays alive in Big 12 Tournament with 6-0 shutout of top seed Texas
K-State broke a scoreless tie when Nick Goodwin led off the second inning with a walk, Brady Day singled and Culpepper lined a home run over the left-field wall.
KU answered with a leadoff home run to left by Jake English in the top of the third, but that was it for the Jayhawks against Fajardo, who struck out nine and walked just one. Blake Corsentino allowed one hit over the last 1 2/3 innings.
K-State added two unearned runs in the fourth inning, and Culpepper's two-run single in the seventh completed the scoring. Culpepper was 3 for 4 with five RBI and two runs scored to lead the Wildcats, while Brady Day had two hits, including a double, and scored two runs.
English and Collier Cranford each had two hits for Kansas. Starting pitcher Sam Ireland (4-7) allowed three runs over three innings to take the loss.
No. 5 seed K-State's game Saturday against No. 4 TCU is a rematch of the tournament opener, where the Horned Frogs prevailed, 16-3. TCU also took two of three games against the Wildcats to close the regular season.
TCU also handed KU its first loss of the tournament, 14-4, on Thursday, after the Jayhawks had opened with a 6-3 victory over No. 1 seed Texas.
K-State eliminated Texas on Thursday with a 6-0 shutout.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State baseball eliminates Kansas in Big 12 Tournament
