The Kansas State Wildcats (31–24) kick off Austin Regional play Friday night against the UTSA Roadrunners (44–13) at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
K-State comes in after a strong Big 12 season, while UTSA claims the American Athletic Conference regular-season crown and boasts a 44-win campaign.
The all-time series is tied at 2–2, with Kansas State edging UTSA 5–4 in their last matchup back in 2009.
Left-hander Jacob Frost (1-4, 5.75 ERA) takes the mound for the Wildcats against Roadrunners righty Zach Royse (8-4, 5.38 ERA).
This marks Kansas State’s sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and second straight — their first back-to-back bids since 2010-11 — and second under coach Pete Hughes.
The Wildcats own a 9–6 record in regional play, including a Fayetteville Regional sweep last season that propelled them to the Super Regional.
UTSA’s offense is firing on all cylinders, hitting .318 as a team with six starters batting over .320. Mason Lytle leads the charge at .372 — second-best in the AAC and 66th nationally — while Drew Detlefsen has blasted 13 of the Roadrunners’ 64 homers.
On the mound, UTSA pitchers have limited opponents to a .257 average, posting a 2.65 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Braylon Owens leads the staff with 90 strikeouts.
Kansas State counters with four starters batting over .300: Maximus Martin (.332), Seth Dardar (.326), Keegan O’Connor (.323), and AJ Evasco (.306). O’Connor tops the team with 56 RBIs, while he, Martin, Dardar, and Dee Kennedy have each launched 10+ home runs.
The Austin Regional winner will face the Los Angeles Regional champion in a best-of-three Super Regional series June 6–9. That bracket features No. 15 national seed UCLA, UC Irvine, Arizona State, and Fresno State.
All Austin Regional games will stream live on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
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