Kansas State baseball stays alive in Big 12 Tournament with 6-0 shutout of top seed Texas
Kansas stayed alive in the Big 12 baseball tournament while sending top seed Texas packing on Thursday with a 6-0 elimination game victory over the Longhorns at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats, who improved to 34-23, again will face elimination when they take on No. 8 Kansas (25-31) at 3 p.m. Friday. Kansas dropped a 14-4 winners' bracket decision to No. 4 TCU on Thursday.
"(What a) difference a day makes. Crazy game, but you’re never too down when you have the chance to coach tough kids and play for each other,” K-State coach Pete Hughes said. “All the corny stuff you know makes a difference when you’re in the losers’ bracket. You’re battling through a lot of things out there today.”
K-State, which lost 16-3 to TCU in the opening round Wednesday, bounced back nicely against Texas (38-20) as sophomore pitchers Ty Ruhl and Tyson Neighbors combined for a two-hit shutout. The Wildcats got the only run they needed in the top of the first on Brendan Jones' leadoff double and a Dom Hughes RBI single, then put it out of reach with five more in the seventh.
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Ruhl, who was battling illness, allowed just one infield hit through five scoreless innings in only his second career start. He struck out four and walked three to pick up the victory and even his season record at 4-4.
Neighbors went the final four innings, also allowing one hit while striking out eight and walking three for his 11th save. The shutout was K-State's first in the Big 12 Tournament since 1976.
Hughes led K-State's offense with three hits and two RBI, including a double. The Wildcats also got doubles from Jones, Cash Rugely and Nick Goodwin, and two hits each from Rugely, Goodwin, Kaelen Culpepper and Cole Johnson.
Starting pitcher Lebarron Johnson (7-3) allowed two runs on eight hits in six-plus innings for Texas. Dylan Campbell and Mitchell Daly had the Longhorns' only base hits.
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 shuts out Texas 6-0 in Big 12 Tournament
