A clutch pinch-hit from Micah Kendrick and sacrifice fly by Dee Kennedy lifted Kansas State baseball to its first walk-off win of the season, as the Wildcats rallied to defeat TCU, 13-12, Friday night at Tointon Family Stadium.

Tied 12-12 in the bottom of the ninth, Kendrick delivered a pinch-hit single to right field to load the bases with one out and bring Kennedy to the plate. The first team midseason All-American lifted the second pitch he saw from reliever Nate Stern to center field, plating the game-winning run and giving K-State its fourth series-opening win.

“Good character win for our program,” head coach Pete Hughes said in a statement. “My job is to tell the truth, and it was as ugly a win as you’re going to come across, but the game’s really hard. I respect the level our guys play and how difficult this game is. It’s not always going to be pretty, but you have to be able to figure out ways to win when things aren’t going your way, or you’re not playing to the best of your abilities, and that’s what our guys did. They kept fighting back, battling and picking each other up.”

With the win, the Wildcats move to 20-10 overall, while TCU fell to 18-11. Both teams sit at 5-5 in Big 12 play, tied for sixth in the league standings. 

“Very rarely do you give someone 11 free bases – when you talk about errors and walks and hit by pitch – and still win a game,” Hughes said. “So I thought we were very fortunate there. But it’s how the game works. We’ve had a couple bad breaks go against us this year, and we caught a couple on that game, that’s for sure, against a really good club and offensive team. They left 11 guys on base, and we won the game. So never apologize for winning. I’m proud of our fight, and hopefully we can build some momentum.”

Miles Smith (1-1) was awarded his first victory at K-State after setting down the final four batters in order. The senior right-hander slammed the door on the Horned Frogs’ offense, firing 1 2/3 scoreless innings and striking out two of the four batters he faced out of the pen.

 “Miles Smith is a kid who just gives everything to this program and hasn’t had the results that he’s wanted, and we’ve all wanted for him, but tonight he was awesome when we needed him the most. It was a big spot, and he shut down that momentum, and was really, really good.” 

How it happened

TCU sent nine batters to the plate in the opening frame, taking a 3-0 lead behind Noah Franco’s two-run double.

Bear Madliak, the National Catcher of the Week, drilled a double down to left field to score Kennedy from first following the shortstop’s 29th walk of the year. K-State pulled within one with Carlos Vasquez’s two-out single to centerfield.

Nolan Traeger put the Horned Frogs back on top in the third, driving in a pair of runs.

K-State answered in the bottom of the inning, as Vasquez lifted his seventh homer of the season to spark the Wildcats’ six-run inning. Shintaro Inoue and Grant Gallagher executed a double steal that plated the tying-run before Cadyn Karl blasted a 407-foot shot to straight away center, handing K-State an 8-5 advantage.

The Horned Frogs responded with seven runs over a four-inning span to reclaim the lead, until K-State trimmed the deficit to one on an RBI groundout. Kennedy later drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at 12-12.

TCU threatened again after loading the bases on three consecutive walks, forcing K-State to make its third call to the bullpen. Smith entered the game and quickly got the Wildcats out of the jam with a 6-4-3 double play to keep the score tied. 

After a 1-2-3 inning from Smith, a fielder’s choice and a walk put runners on first and second. Kendrick then battled through a 10-pitch at-bat and lined a single to right field to load the bases. With one out, Kennedy lifted a deep fly ball to center, bringing home the deciding-run.

Up next

The Wildcats will go for the series win Saturday, with game two vs. the Horned Frogs scheduled for 4 p.m. CT at Tointon Family Stadium. The entire Big 12 series can be seen on EPSN+ and the ESPN app, while radio coverage is available on KMAN.