Your Kansas State Wildcats are back in action this weekend after coming off an opening weekend blitz that saw them start the season 4-0 with wins over Iowa, UConn, Penn State, and Air Force.
It wasn’t exactly a murderers row, but the BatCats did what they were supposed to do, downing Big 10 foes Iowa and Penn State without hardly breaking a sweat (the Cats nearly scored more runs in one inning against the Nittany Lions (14) than they scored the whole game against the Hawkeyes (15)), holding off a feisty
Air Force squad, and maintaining composure to the end to come back and beat Big East-favorite UConn. While it’s not the first time the Wildcats have opened the season 4-0, it is the first time K-State has done so against four different opponents — so that’s pretty neat.
After a brief stop in Manhattan to reload the luggage, the Wildcats have headed south to Texas for the second weekend of the 2026 Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. There is a significant step up in competition this weekend, and while K-State gets the “easy” side of things in a weekend that features three ranked teams, it’s certainly going to be no picnic.
Friday night at 7pm CT, the Wildcats are set to face #9 Auburn. Saturday, it’s a 7pm CT contest against familiar foe Nebraksa. Then Sunday the Wildcats wrap up their weekend with a 6:30pm CT tilt against the Wolverines of Michigan. They’ll get to avoid playing #15 Louisville and #16 Florida State.
Unlike last weekend where the Wildcats were heavy favorites in every game, K-State will be the underdog in at leas the game against Auburn, and are likely a “push” against Nebraska and maybe a slight favorite over Michigan. Regardless, K-State needs to leave this weekend with at least one win, two would be better. A 3-0 run would vault the Cats up the Top 25 list and put some serious juice into the already high expectations in Manhattan.
All three games this weekend from Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX will be available on KMAN in Manhattan and online at KStateSports.com/watch with Brian Smoller calling the action there. And all three will also be available to watch on FloSports, which costs $20 for a one-month subscription.
Game 1
James Guyette takes the mound this evening for the game against the #9 Tigers. He picked up the win in the debut, giving up eight hits and four earned runs while fanning 8 batters and issuing four free bases (three on hit-by-pitch) in five innings of work before giving way to the bullpen.
Facing him will be sophomore lefty Jake Marciano in his second start of the season. Marciano went 4-2 with a 6.08 ERA in 15 appearances (14 starts) as a true freshman at Virginia Tech last year before heading to Auburn. In the opener for the Tigers against Youngstown State, he gave up two hits and one run with 12 strikeouts and no free bases in five innings of work. He didn’t pick up the win because the Tigers offense didn’t catch until late, but managed just two runs against the visitors in the win.
Last time out, the Tigers pick up their first loss of the season, a surprising 0-8 defeat at home to Big 12 foe Cincinnati, to head into tonight’s game at 3-1 overall. This is a game K-State is fully capable of winning assuming the offense can stay hot.
Game 2
Saturday night the Wildcats will face off against the Cornhuskers for what will be the first of at least three games against the former conference mates. Nebraska was also at the MLB Desert Invitational last weekend, and notably opened the season with a 12-2 win over UConn — the same team the BatCats struggled a bit against last Saturday before a five-run 8th gave the Cats all the advantage they needed in a 7-3 win.
On the mound for the Cats is RHP Donte Lewis, as Pete Hughes appears sold on the strong two-way player as his Saturday starter, despite managing just two innings against the Huskies before getting lifted. Lewis gave up three hits and three earned runs while tossing just three strikeouts to four walks in two innings credited (he was lifted in the third without recording an out). But Carson Liggett came out of the pen and posted a brilliant five innigns, giving up just two hits while striking out five batters.
Countering for the Huskers is sophomore righty Carson Jasa. Jasa is 1-0 on the season after starting and going five innings against Northeastern in their Saturday game in Arizona. He gave up five hits and four runs (three earned) while tossing nine strikeouts to just one walk to help the Huskers to a 7-4 win in their second game of the season.
Nebraska also sits at 3-1 on the season after they dropped the Monday game 6-11 to Stanford. They’re facing #15 Louisville this afternoon to open the series.
Game 3
Sunday evening the Cats will send LHP Lincoln Sheffield to the mound to face the Wolverines. Sheffield is 1-0 on the season after giving up eight hits but just three runs (two earned) and throwing five strikeouts in five innings against Penn State last Sunday. Sheffield’s outing was fiarly easy, as the K-State offense had blistered the Lions even before the 14-run outburst in the 7th that allowed the game to end early.
Michigan has not yet named a starter for Sunday, but they sent senior RHP Kurt Barr to the mound last Sunday in a 4-1 win over then-#24 Arizona in Surprise, AZ (but not at the same opening series as K-State and Nebraska). Michigan opened the season 3-0 with wins over #12 Oregon State, Stanford, and Arizona, before falling to Oregon State in a rematch last Monday. They opened action today at 11am CT against #16 Florida State, and fell 1-6 to the Seminoles to open their run in Arlington. They will face #15 Louisville on Saturday, also at 11am CT.
