Four Wildcats combined for a program-record eight home runs, a mark originally set in 1978, to lead K-State to a 20-7 seven-inning triumph over SIUE Sunday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium.

Dee Kennedy accounted for three home runs to become the sixth player in school history to hit three or more in a single game. Ty Smolinski and Micah Kendrick each added two homers, while Carlos Vasquez contributed one. With multi-home run efforts from Kennedy, Smolinski and Kendrick, it marked the first time in K-State recorded history three players registered two or more home runs in a single game.

With the series sweep over SIUE (5-11), the Wildcats improve to 11-4 overall on the season, tying the best 15-game start under head coach Pete Hughes.

“A good weekend. We accomplished what we set out to do, and that was to build momentum up for this coming week, really close the gap and taking that next step to being a really good team,” said Hughes, following his team’s fifth consecutive win, in a statement. “I wanted to get our offense going, and we did that this weekend. The conditions were offensive, and we took advantage of it. We had some really good swings, some good approaches, and put three real solid games together.”

“But it takes a mature pitching staff to go out there, be successful and throw the ball down the middle of the plate when you know the conditions are so offensive, and our guys answered the call,” Hughes added.

Lincoln Sheffield earned his fifth straight victory on the mound (dating back to 2025), as the senior lefty held SIUE to three hits over five innings. He surrendered four runs (three earned) and registered his second consecutive game with eight strikeouts.

K-State’s previous home run record of seven was tied twice, most recently on May 16, 2006, against South Dakota State. The Wildcats set their single-game home run record just a year after the 2025 squad shattered the single-season home run mark with 97.

With 13 home runs in the series, K-State now ranks third in the league with 24, while Sunday’s record-breaking eight is the most by any Big 12 school this season.

How it happened

Sheffield immediately settled and retired nine consecutive hitters to start off his fourth Sunday start, that included striking out the side in the second and third innings.

Following a 1-2-3 inning behind Sheffield, the Wildcats erupted for five runs in the opening frame with home runs by Kennedy, Smolinski and Kendrick. K-State put up seven in the third to put the game away as Kendrick belted a two-run homer to stretch the lead to seven, forcing the Cougars to make their first call to the pen. Vasquez immediately welcomed the new arm with his second home run of the season in the next at bat.

After three scoreless innings, SIUE took advantage of a fielding error to put a run on the board.

Leading 12-1, K-State added eight runs over a three-inning span that included a pair of home runs by Kennedy and solo blast by Smolinski.

Up next

K-State will be back at Tointon Family Stadium Tuesday night to host Wichita State (11-5, 0-0 American), before hosting South Dakota State (5-10, 0-0 Summit) Wednesday. Both games are scheduled for 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.