Robert Fortenberry delivered 3 2/3 scoreless innings and AJ Evasco drove in a game-high three RBI Monday afternoon to lift K-State to an 11-8 win over Air Force at Sloan Park, as the Wildcats completed a weekend sweep of the MLB Desert Invitational.

“Good way to end a really productive weekend for us, but a lot of room to improve,” eight-year head coach Pete Hughes said in a statement. “Great effort by Robert Fortenberry against a super offensive, dangerous team. That was a scary game for me, but Robert came In with a veteran presence. He calmed everything down and let our offense go to work.”

Fortenberry, who earned the win in his K-State debut, used 43 pitches to retire all 11 batters he faced in his K-State debut. The senior left-hander struck out three in his outing to allow the offense to take back the lead in the fourth.

“But like I said, there is a lot of work to be done,” Hughes said. “We still haven’t beat a team that has practiced outside yet, so we have to be realistic that we have bigger challenges ahead, and we need to improve.”

K-State is off to a 4-0 start for the second time in the Pete Hughes era, first since 2023, while Monday’s win caps the first season-opening stretch of four consecutive wins against four different opponents over four days.

Air Force utilized four hits to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the opening frame.

The Wildcats quickly overcame the one-run deficit in the next inning, as AJ Evasco delivered a two-run single before a sacrifice fly by Dee Kennedy handed K-State a 4-2 lead.

Air Force (2-2) knotted the game, 4-4, forcing K-State to make a call to the pen. Robert Fortenberry relieved Tanner Duke in the third and inherited runners on first and second. The senior lefty retired 11 consecutive batters to allow the offense to jump back into the game. 

Tied 4-4, sophomore utility Donte Lewis doubled to left field to start off the Cats’ three-run fourth inning. K-State regained the lead in the next at-bat as Evasco drove in his third RBI of the game with a triple down the left field line. The Lincoln, Neb., product crossed plate with Shintaro Inoue’s two-run blast. 

K-State stretched its lead to four in the sixth with a sacrifice fly from Kennedy – his 15th RBI of the weekend. Third baseman Grant Gallagher recorded his first homer of the season – a 106.5-mph shot over the left field wall – to put the Cats in double figures for the second consecutive game.

The Falcons erased an 11-4 deficit, led by a pair of home runs in the eighth, but the Wildcats were able to hold off the rally and secure their fourth consecutive win.

Dee Kennedy Player of the Week Honors

Shortstop Dee Kennedy was named the Golden Spikes Award x D1 Baseball Player of the Week, as USA Baseball announced its national weekly awards Monday. In addition to his national award, the senior earned Big 12 Conference Player of the Week recognition, the first of his respective career.

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Kennedy turned in a dominant performance over opening weekend, as he produced a monstrous 2.010 OPS to help K-State to its perfect 3-0 start, later 4-0. 

The junior drove in a weekend-high 13 RBI and hit .538 (7-for-13) with five extra-base hits, including three home runs – two of them grand slams. He slugged an impressive 1.385 while posting a .625 on-base percentage. Kennedy was also perfect on the base paths, going 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts, while he scored the nation’s second-best nine runs.

Kennedy was one of just five players in Division I to produce 13 or more RBI over opening weekend, tying second in the category.

On Opening Day, after the Wildcats loaded the bases to force Iowa to the bullpen, Kennedy welcomed the reliever by crushing the first pitch he saw – a 106-mph blast to left center – for his first homer of the season. He capped the weekend with his second grand slam of the year, finishing the Wildcats’ dominant 24-5 win over Penn State with a game-leading and career-high seven RBI.

Kennedy becomes the second Wildcat to earn the Golden Spikes Award weekly award, as former teammate Maximus Martin earned the national recognition last season. Martin was drafted in the 10th-round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox. 

Under Hughes, K-State has garnered 26 Big 12 weekly honors, including eight Players of the Week. The Wildcats have totaled five of the program’s 10 national weekly honors in the Hughes era.