College baseball has never really been on my radar. K-State has had some okay teams over the years, and if they ever had teams that made the post-season, I would tune in and end up disappointed when they inevitably lost. Admittedly, the sport has never excited me much.
The “clank” of the aluminum bat hitting the baseball is not as pleasing to my ears as hearing a wooden bat hitting a ball, but that’s a minor pet peeve of mine. If K-State had a steadily competitive baseball program that consistently made the post-season, and all the games were broadcast or streamed, I would be more interested in watching. K-State has never played in the College World Series, but that might change this year. This Wildcat team looks to be coming together at the right time to make a run at it.
I was glued to all three Wildcats games last weekend in the Fayetteville regional. The performance in game one got me hooked. K-State beat Louisiana Tech 19-4 on Friday night/Saturday morning, beat number one seed (and the number five team in the country) Arkansas 7-6 on Saturday night, and capped it off with a win over Southeast Missouri State 7-2 on Sunday. Three straight wins and a regional sweep means that the Wildcats have advanced to the Super Regional round to play a three-game series against Virginia, who also swept their regional and is ranked 16th in the country. Beating Virginia in a two-out-of-three-game series won’t be easy, but this Wildcat team appears to be peaking at the right time for this challenge.
tale of the tape
Virginia Cavaliers
Record: 44-15 (18-12 ACC)
Splits: Home: 29-7 | Away: 11-7 | Neutral Site: 4-1 | 7-7 vs. Ranked Teams
Batting Average: .331
ERA: 5.77
Kansas State Wildcats
Record: 35-24 (15-15 Big 12)
Splits: Home: 21-7 | Away: 9-14 | Neutral Site: 5-3 | 4-3 vs. Ranked Teams
Batting Average: .273
ERA: 5.38
I’m not sure what to glean from that data other than the fact that Virginia has home-field advantage and has been pretty good at home, while K-State hasn’t been very good on the road this season.
Virginia hits the ball well. Their batting average is .331 as a team. K-State averages .273. K-State’s team earned run average is 5.38, which is slightly better than Virginia’s 5.77.
Honestly, I’m not sure what to think or expect, but watching K-State cruise through their regional last weekend was a lot of fun. The Wildcats have only advanced this far in the postseason once in program history, in 2013, when they lost in the Super Regional Final to Oregon State.
I wrote last week that I think these Wildcats had a shot at winning the Fayetteville Regional, and they have a good shot at beating Virginia twice, too.
Hopefully, next week, I’ll write about K-State baseball making their first appearance in the College World Series.
Game 1 of the Charlottesville Super Regional is Friday at 6:00 PM central time on ESPNU.
