A series of hit explosions could provide the impetus to carry Kansas State deeper into NCAA postseason baseball action than pundits could project. A loud aluminum bat from K-State star shortstop Kaelen Culpepper in combination with Brady Day in front of him could be just what the baseball doctor ordered.
Picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 Conference, K-State’s slotted sixth when the conference tournament begins Tuesday at Arlington’s Globe Life Field. The Wildcats held their position in the standings even without a weekend sweep of BYU. The Cougars stared at a fifth straight series goose egg in the win column before a three-run ninth and four-run 10th locked up Saturday’s 12-8 win for the Cougars.
K-State had a winning league mark on the tips of its gloves – 2 out, 3-and-2 count – before BYU erupted to benefit from an error, two walks and wild pitch. Saturday’s defeat dropped the Wildcats to a 15-15 Big 12 finish, tied with Kansas but the edge from head-to-head.
“It’s about as heartbreaking a setup as you can have,” K-State coach Pete Hughes said. “It was so close and that’s the life of major college athletics right there.”
Culpepper drove the Wildcats (31-22) to a pair of comebacks during Saturday’s season finale. After BYU jumped in front 3-1, Culpepper drove the first pitch he saw from Bryce Robinson to the right-center field wall and slid into third base with his fifth triple.
Two frames later with the Cougars up 5-4, Culpepper blasted an 0-1 slider to right field under the scoreboard for a Wildcat 6-5 lead. A two-pitch sequence set the scene for Kyan Lodice to go back-to-back for the Cats’ eighth of 11 hits. Saturday was the first time K-State reached the double-digit hit barrier in eight games… since a 10-hit showing in the Kansas series opener. This was the fourth such outing in the last month (16-game stretch).
“We got some guys going with the bats,” Hughes said. “Kaelen Culpepper a big two-out hit (triple). Brady (Day) swung the bat well; Brendan Jones (3-for-6)… we had a bunch of guys get in there feeling good again with double-digit hits and played home run ball, that was nice to see.
“We can definitely build offensively off of (Saturday’s) game.”
Culpepper and Lodice deep balls marked the 10th conference game with multiple home runs and Day tied the game at 8 apiece with a ninth-inning blast. The first two deep shots were K-State’s first back-to-back HRs since Game 3 in the 2024 season’s first weekend (Georgetown) at the MLB Desert Invitational (Scottsdale, Ariz.).
Now the Wildcats look to put it all together with strong pitching combined with loud bats.
The new season of sorts begins with a 9 a.m. Tuesday matchup against Kansas. The pitching setup is a bit jumbled since Owen Boerema pitched Thursday and Jackson Wentworth on Friday. Hughes could rely on an all-staff setup for the KU game.
