Shortly after the Kansas State baseball team sealed its victory over Wichita State on a warm Tuesday evening, KSU athletic director John Currie walked down from his suite and onto the field.
He congratulated the team as it huddled around head coach Brad Hill in left field and then walked back to the K-State dugout.
Members of the media were there with him, waiting for the team to finish its postgame meeting.
"How do you guys keep up with covering three power houses?" he then asked the group while waiting for the team.
His reference to the baseball, basketball and football team caused a collective laugh among the group and then was quickly dismissed for postgame interviews.
But it was a true statement coming from Currie, who is just less than a year into his AD post at K-State. The football team has a sense of rejuvenation, and the basketball team under their fiery leader Frank Martin just completed a trip to the Elite Eight.
Now, the baseball team is proving its own critics wrong, in seemingly the same way the basketball team did —with a chip on its shoulders.
As the Wildcats travel to Lubbock, Texas this weekend, they will look to continue a season many didn't see coming and try to stay atop the Big 12 standings. Tuesday night, the No. 20-naked Wildcats secured their 20th win of the season, pushing their impressive overall record to 20-3 and 3-0 in the Big 12. It's their best start since the 2006 season, when they also jumped out to 20-3 record.
"The fans are really jumping on with what we are doing," Hill said.
And now, Hill and his squad will face the conference road test in the form of a three- game series with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Last weekend the Red Raiders (12-15 2-4) dropped two out of three games to in-state rival Texas (18-7 4-2). The Wildcats meanwhile, have won seven straight games heading into the series, highlighted by a three-game sweep of Oklahoma State last weekend in Manhattan.
Hill said one of the toughest challenges in Lubbock will lay on the shoulders of his pitchers and the bullpen. The climate in Lubbock will be a challenge with not only the heat but also the west Texas wind.
"Our bullpen is going to really have to come through again," he said. " I know the wind is going to be blowing out in Lubbock like it always is. We are going to have to be really tough down there mentally on the mound."
In an uncharacteristic fashion the Wildcats allowed six walks against the Shockers on Tuesday night.
"There is no way we can walk and hit that many people or we are going to get embarrassed. Our guys are going to have to learn to get the ball back in the zone, and make them put it in play.
First pitch for the series in Lubbock is scheduled for 6:30 tonight and can be seen nationally on Fox College Sports. All games can be heard on 1350 KMAN.
-Photo Manhattan Mercury
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