(MANHATTAN, Kan.) Powered by a career-high 13 strikeouts from James Guyette in a nine-inning complete game and Dee Kennedy’s 20th home run of the season, Kansas State defeated Cincinnati 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium.
“I’m really happy for our guys. They’ve weathered a difficult stretch this season and played solid baseball all weekend,” said head coach Pete Hughes. “It paid off today, and I’m grateful to our fans and community for sticking with us. These kids can play. Things haven’t gone our way lately, but today they did.”
K-State (27-24, 10-17 Big 12) erased a two-run deficit and tallied five straight runs over three innings, keyed by Kennedy’s 20th homer and a two-run double from Bear Madliak. The victory ended a nine-game losing streak for the Wildcats, who also honored 18 players during their annual Senior Day celebration.
Guyette became the third Wildcat to pitch a complete game this season, allowing just two runs on three hits over nine frames. After giving up two runs in the second inning, the California right-hander found his rhythm, retiring 18 of the next 20 batters before Cincinnati’s third hit in the ninth. He finished with a career-best 13 strikeouts the most by any K-State pitcher under Hughes and improved to 6-3 overall.
It was the fourth complete game by a Wildcat pitcher this year and the first nine-inning complete game since Owen Boerema accomplished the feat against West Virginia in the 2024 Big 12 Tournament on May 22.
With his 20th homer, Kennedy became only the fifth player in Big 12 history to record 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season. K-State’s single-season home run leader is also one of just three Division I players to reach the 20/20 club this year, joining Georgia’s Daniel Jackson and Fairleigh Dickinson’s Hunter Ray.
“We got big hits from Kennedy congratulations, 20-20 is an amazing achievement. Bear Madliak came through with a huge hit, and he seems to be doing that every game lately. And I can’t say enough about James Guyette’s outing. He was dominant against a very good offense, exactly when we needed it,” Hughes added.
THE RUNDOWN
Cincinnati struck first in the second inning on an RBI single by Cal Sefcik to take a 2-0 lead.
K-State answered in the third. Micah Kendrick drew a nine-pitch walk, stole second, and with two outs, Kennedy launched a towering 357-foot home run over the left-field wall to tie the game and extend his school record.
Madliak led off the fourth with a double and advanced to third on a deep fly ball to center by AJ Evasco. The Wildcats’ catcher then scored the go-ahead run on Grant Gallagher’s RBI single, making it 3-2.
K-State added two more in the fifth. Shintaro Inoue walked and moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt. Kyan Lodice singled to put runners on the corners, and Madliak followed with a two-run double to left-center, stretching the lead to 5-2.
Guyette remained in control, taking a two-hitter into the ninth. The junior quickly got two outs, allowed Cincinnati’s third hit, then needed just three pitches to strike out the final batter and secure his first collegiate complete game.
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