Kansas State baseball drops extra‑inning thriller against Rajin' Cajuns

Kansas State baseball continued to struggle in the scoring column against the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, as they ran themselves into outs all game.

Louisiana held tough until the eleventh inning, winning in walkoff fashion for the third time in their last four games, and taking their seventh contest in a row.

Louisiana's Lee Amedee sprints his way into the scoring column

Senior Lee Amedee got the Cajuns going early with a hustle double in the bottom of the first. Drew Markle singled to advance Amedee to third, and Rigoberto Hernandez sent a ball to center field to give Amedee a shot at home plate.

Wildcats center fielder Cadyn Karl had a strong throw to Bear Madliak at home, but Amedee beat the tag to put Louisiana on top 1-0.

Tazwell Butler holds the line in the fourth

Kansas State starter Matt Flores got himself into trouble in the fourth, as he allowed back-to-back singles to Rigoberto Hernandez and Steven Spalitta with one out. After allowing a two-out walk to Griffin Hebert, Wildcats head coach Pete Hughes made the move to Tazwell Butler in the bullpen.

Butler was tasked with facing Blaze Rodriguez, who already had two hits in as many tries with the bases loaded earlier this season. It only took four pitches to handle Rodriguez on a strikeout, ending the Louisiana scoring threat.

Wildcats wander into costly outs on the bases

Coming off the 1-0 shutout from last night, Kansas State showed their desperation for runs in the form of baserunning mistakes during the middle innings. After Shintaro Inoue reached first on a squib single to shortstop, he tried his luck on a fly ball to the outfield. He was easily thrown out by Cajun left fielder Griffin Hebert to bring a swift end to the fifth.

In the sixth, the Wildcats compounded their poor decision making. Cadyn Karl tested the arm of Hebert again on an attempted double and was thrown out easily. Had Karl stayed at first base, the following double from Dee Kennedy could have scored the tying run.

Fortunately for Kansas State, Grant Gallagher capitalized with Kennedy in scoring position, sending a single to right field to even the game at 1-1. Unfortunately, Gallagher tried his luck on an attempt to third base on an AJ Evasco single and was cut down by right fielder Donovan LaSalle to end the inning.

Cajun chaos, Grant Gallagher homer increases tensions late

Louisiana took the lead in the bottom of the eighth without recording a hit. Jose Torres drew a leadoff walk, and the following fielder's choice brought out pinch runner Josh Lim, who was previously used in a 15-inning marathon against Maryland on Sunday.

He stole second, then made a break for third base on a dropped third strike against Lee Amedee. After snagging the out at first, Chandler Murray threw away the ball trying to catch Lim, resulting in an unearned run and a 2-1 Louisiana advantage.

Grant Gallagher immediately put the Wildcats back in the game, however, as he blasted a 415-foot homer to center field to start the ninth. The second homer of the season for the senior resulted in the crucial second run of the game for Kansas State. Extra innings soon followed.

Drew Markle sends the Wildcats home in the eleventh

With one out in the bottom of the eleventh, Drew Markle turned on an outer-zone pitch and sent it 368 feet over the head of Carlos Vasquez for a walk off solo shot to win 3-2. Despite being outhit 7-5, the Cajuns cut down five Wildcat baserunners and got their runs when it counted to win their seventh in a row. Kansas State loses back-to-back games for the first time this year.

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