Kansas State baseball is reeling from its worst stretch of the young season after scoring only two runs in a pair of games against the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.
The Wildcats have a chance to bounce back in their first home series of the season against the Columbia Lions, who just got swept by Mercer. Here are the players and phases of the game to watch this weekend.
HOT: Grant Gallagher, NOT: Kansas State offense
The Kansas State senior provided the only offense during the mid-week series in Lafayette, recording three hits, a walk, and two runs batted in, including the game-tying home run on Wednesday night. His on-base streak currently sits at three games.
A no-doubter from @GGallagher66 💥
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) February 26, 2026
T9 | K-State 2, Louisiana 2 pic.twitter.com/kIvcgKaeRG
The Wildcats lackluster offense showed in their last two games, following a shutout loss on Tuesday night. Kansas State ran into five outs on the bases in their 3-2 loss on Wednesday. They've stranded 10 runners on base and struck out 19 times.
HOT: Robby Bolin, NOT: Shintaro Inoue
Robby Bolin has reached base in each of his eight starts. He's notched seven hits and five walks in his first five games, and has been hit by a pitch in each of the last three. The defense looks solid, with Bolin's 18 putouts and zero errors.
Inoue has struggled mightily at the plate for the Wildcats in his last five games, collecting only two hits in his last 15 at-bats. He's made numerous mistakes leading to costly Wildcats' outs. A fielding error against Michigan and a base running mistake against Louisiana on Wednesday were among the worst.
HOT: Dee Kennedy, NOT: Columbia pitching
Admittedly, the Golden Spikes Player of the Week wasn't going to keep his pace of nearly four RBIs per game after the opening series. However, Kennedy is still among the NCAA leaders sporting a .387/.476/.871 slash line in just nine starts. His on-base streak also sits at four games.
The Lions have given up 39 runs with 37 of them earned in their first three games. That run output translates to 37 hits, 30 walks and eight home runs allowed. Opponents are batting just a .349 average in 24 innings.
Of the 12 pitchers Columbia has used, only two have escaped their appearances without allowing a run, six of them allowing four or more.
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