Cats stumble against Missouri

Heading into a series against the Missouri Tigers, Brad Hill's squad was turning heads in the Big 12 Conference. But the youth of Hill's team, a factor that many believed would be the Achilles' heel of the club, was present at Tointon Family Stadium this weekend as the Wildcats dropped two of three games to the Tigers.

In Friday's series opener, it seemed as though the Wildcats would extend their four-game losing streak as they received yet another stellar performance from junior pitcher A.J. Morris. Morris, who came into the series leading the nation with nine wins, threw eight scoreless innings before giving up consecutive base hits.

Missouri outfielder Aaron Seene led off the inning with a double to right center field, followed by an infield single off Morris' glove by outfielder Greg Folgia.

"I think [Morris] competed extremely well. But it's the same thing with him in the ninth inning, he got the slider up and they just hit him," said head coach Brad Hill.

Following a mound visit by Hill, sophomore Thomas Rooke was called in from the bullpen. Rooke, who has been dependable for most of the season, came in to face catcher Trevor Coleman. Rooke was able to keep Coleman off balance with the use of off-speed pitches, working the count to 2-2. Then Rooke left a change-up out over the plate, and Coleman powered a home run over the left-field fence, scoring himself and two others.

The three-run blast was followed by a solo home run by Kyle Mach to give the Tigers a sudden 4-2 lead, silencing the 3,008 fans in attendance.

"We made some mistakes," Hill said. "We made some good pitches early on Coleman and we just didn't get that last one down — it stayed up and he handled it. It's just one of those things. [Rooke] usually doesn't make those mistakes but he did tonight."

The Wildcats were able to respond with some noise of their own. Four consecutive singles produced a run for the Wildcats, cutting the Tiger lead to one run. Yet a failed squeeze attempt by Adam Muenster resulted in the second out of the inning. Muenster then grounded out to second base, ending the game.

"I thought we had a lot of competitive at-bats; we put ourselves in a spot to maybe win that ball game, but we just came up one short," Hill said.

Hill said he felt his team would come out ready to compete for the second game. After two innings Saturday, it seemed his prediction was coming true as the Wildcats jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead.

Yet the pitching staff was unable to keep the lead as K-State gave up 10 free bases throughout the game through walks and hit batters. Missouri's offense came alive in the fourth inning as the Tigers scored five runs on three hits.

"That was a key factor," Hill said of the walks. "Any time you have more runs than hits, there is probably something not going right with [your pitchers] throwing strikes."

The Wildcats were able to avoid a sweep on Sunday as they took advantage of five errors committed by the Tigers. The Wildcats offense came alive as K-State defeated Missouri, 11-5. K-State recorded 10 hits and scored in seven of the eight innings they headed to the plate.

With one win in the series, the No. 21 Wildcats improved to 29-11 overall and 8-7 in the Big 12. While the Wildcats did lose the series to Missouri, they remained in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Big 12.

"That's the way this conference is," said first baseman Justin Bloxom. "Playing in the Big 12, it's a tough conference — one of the best in the country. That's just the way it falls. Sometime you have a bad weekend, sometimes stuff doesn't go your way and you just have to bounce back."

K-State returns to action Friday as the Wildcats travel to Austin, Texas, to face the No. 9 Texas Longhorns in a weekend series to face the Big 12 leaders.

Women's team lacks necessary support, despite achievements

It was late last spring when I first encountered an opportunity to attend a K-State women's basketball game. That evening, I was in the midst of a discussion about the team that with a group of people I had just met.

Those people noticed that I struggled to contribute in the discussion, making it obvious I knew little about the team, and therefore even more obvious that I, along with most of the student body, wasn't keen on women's basketball.

Then came the invitation.

Instinctively, I gave a weak excuse as to why I would be unable to attend a game, along with a weak promise that someday I would take them up on the offer.

Little did I know at the time that after one year and one season of covering the team they were so fond of, I too would be advocating the women's basketball team to others.

Life has a funny way of doing thing's like that.

It is quite amazing that this team is not celebrated throughout the K-State community. While covering head coach Deb Patterson's squad for the Collegian, this year I found myself hooked after only a few games.

It was downright incredible to watch the prolific play of Shalee Lehning as she exhausted the stats sheets each night, leaving a permanent mark on the program after her jersey was retired and lifted to the rafters on March 1.

Lehning broke a Big 12 Conference and K-State record this season when she recorded her fifth career triple-double against Colorado. She also set a career record with 900 assists during her Wildcat tenure, highlighted by a single season record of 229 this past year.

Yes, the loyal fans of women's basketball celebrated her, but it is a shame that during her senior year, Bramlage only averaged 4,400 fans per game to witness her final season at K-State.

Compare that to the 2007-08 season, when Michael Beasley wore the Wildcat jersey and an average of 12,529 fans packed the "Octagon of Doom" each night.

Yet as those 12,529 fans were jumping at the opportunity to see Beasley, who only used K-State as a one-year springboard to the NBA, Lehning and the women's team captured a Big 12 title in his shadow.

"The team always comes first," said Joshua Kinder, sports editor of the Manhattan Mercury. "It's not about them. They are not chasing the riches of the NBA. They're chasing titles. They want championships."

But just one year ago, I too was blind to the idea of women's basketball. See, I was among the myriad of students and sports fans throughout Manhattan that leave the women's team in the rearview mirror of the bandwagon of men's athletics.

Gradually, as I covered the women's basketball team, I realized that these athletes are just as entertaining to watch as their men counterparts.

No, they may not have the ability to dunk a basketball, but when it comes down to the pure fundamental ability to play the sport, it is ludicrous to claim they are sub par.

Because they don't have the athleticism and speed of the men, they have to be fundamentally sound.

"The fundamentals, I think, are the biggest difference," Kinder said. "They have better passers, better shooters, better footwork, and that's because they have to be. They can't rely on the athleticism."

It is good basketball.

Not only are they more fundamentally sound than the men's team, but they are playing for each other. They play for K-State. We should embrace that as students because we too are K-State. These players are not one-and-done athletes.

Deb Patterson's team will return next season looking to reach its ninth consecutive post-season appearance, most likely playing in front of a one-third capacity crowd. If the K-State community says they celebrate success, then let's keep to our word and support the women's basketball program next season.

Cats hold on to win in final game of series against Texas A&M

The Wildcats were down to their final three outs Saturday afternoon. Three outs from falling to the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies and losing their third straight series to a Big 12 South team this season.

The series was tied at one game apiece, and the Aggies were ahead 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth and looking to take the series after losing game two Friday evening.

However, with one out and fellow Wildcat Jason King on second base and Rob Vaughn on first base, pinch hitter Michael Kindel singled through the right side and brought King home, giving K-State a sudden spark.

Following the single, Vaughn advanced to third base with Carter Jurica coming to the plate. On a 1-2 pitch with one out, Jurica was able to hit a fly ball deep enough to right field to bring Vaughn home and give the Wildcats the win and the series.

With the two wins in the series, K-State improved to 26-9 overall this season, and 7-5 in the Big 12. Meanwhile, Texas A&M dropped to 21-14 overall and 8-7 in the Big 12.

After dropping the opening game of the series 4-2 on Friday afternoon to the Aggies, it looked as though K-State would yet again fall victim to the Big 12 South in the series.

Wildcat starting pitcher Lance Hodge was able to throw six innings of shut-out baseball, and the Wildcats held a 2-0 lead following a single down the third base line by Jason King, bringing in Drew Beiry.

However, the Aggie bats would come alive in the eighth inning. After Kevin Gonzalez doubled to right center, Hodge was pulled from the game and replaced by James Allen.

Allen was unable to slow the momentum built by Gonzalez’s double as the Aggies exploded for four hits and four runs in the inning and took a 4-2 lead that would sink K-State in the first game of the series. The Aggies held the lead for the short remainder of the game.

Despite the loss, it wasn’t difficult for Wildcat fans to be optimistic prior to the second game of the doubleheader on Friday, as the dominant A.J. Morris was scheduled to take the mound for K-State just one hour later for game two.

Morris, who led the nation in wins with eight prior to taking the mound Friday, gave K-State a chance to tie the series before heading into Saturday, and delivered just as he has all season long.

The Wildcats took a quick 3-0 by the second inning, as K-State strung together three singles by the middle of the lineup.

The lead proved to be enough for Morris, who tossed five complete innings before the Aggies could push across a run, when Kyle Colligan blasted a two-run home run. Morris got out of the inning with the home run being the only damage done by the Aggies.

He was pulled in the following inning after giving up two runs and another home run, this time by Brodie Green. With the Wildcats up 5-4, sophomore Thomas Rooke replaced Morris on the mound and preserved the precious lead to give the Wildcats the victory and tie the series at 1 game apiece.

With the victory, Morris improved to 9-0 on the season, tying a single season record for victories by a Wildcat pitcher.

K-State is scheduled to return to action on Tuesday at Tointon Family Stadium, when they take on in-state rival Wichita State in a two-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on Cox Cable Channel 22.