TCU jumps on K-State baseball early and sends Wildcats packing in Big 12 elimination game
Kansas State baseball's Big 12 Tournament run is over.
After staying alive with an elimination game victory the day before, the sixth-seeded Wildcats were unable to make it two in a row Thursday after TCU grabbed an early lead and rolled to a 9-4 decision at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
No. 9 seed TCU got to K-State starter Jackson Wentworth (4-5) for a single run in the first inning and three more in the second, then chased him with two in the fourth for a 6-0 advantage before the Wildcats could get on the board. The Horned Frogs' Ben Abeldt (3-0) allowed just one run on three hits through five innings for the win.
Brendan Jones and Brady Day accounted for half of K-State's eight hits with two each. Jones had a solo home run and Day scored twice. TCU had 14 hits, with Sam Myers and Kurtis Byrne each collecting three.
Related: Kansas State baseball comes up short against KU in Big 12 Tournament opener
Related: Challenging schedule, lofty RPI keep Kansas State baseball locked in NCAA Tournament field
K-State heads home with a 32-24 record, 1-2 in the tournament, and must wait until Monday to learn its NCAA Tournament fate. TCU (33-20) will play another elimination game at 9 a.m. Friday against either No. 1 seed Oklahoma or No. 7 Kansas.
Here are three K-State takeaways from its Big 12 Tournament stay.
Jackson Wentworth not as sharp in second outing
Wentworth, who usually started the second game of the Wildcats' Big 12 weekend series, returned to the mound with one day of rest after throwing 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief Tuesday in a 2-1 first-round loss to Kansas.
He allowed six earned runs on seven hits in three-plus innings, striking out four and walking two, but was not as overpowering against TCU as against the Jayhawks. Wentworth threw 34 pitches in the KU game and added 81 more to his pitch count before leaving with the bases loaded in the fourth.
TCU's Ben Abeldt dominates in first start
Abeldt served as TCU's closer out of the bullpen all season, but he made his first start against K-State and threw five strong innings.
He overpowered the Wildcats with nine strikeouts and did not walk a batter, allowing a single run on three hits. It was the 26th appearance for Abeldt, who leads the Horned Frogs with eight saves.
His earned run average dropped to 1.8e with the win.
K-State hopes NCAA invite is next
K-State has been solidly in the NCAA Tournament all season, according to multiple bracket predictions and likely sewed up a spot in the field with its victory over West Virginia on Wednesday.
The Wildcats had the No. 3 RPI among Big 12 schools for most of the season, only to drop to sixth behind Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Central Florida and TCU to No. 41 overall in the past couple of weeks. But their No. 25 strength of schedule trails only Oklahoma.
The latest bracketology projections following the West Virginia game, had them as a No. 3 regional seed, which would require a major drop for them to be left out.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Three takeaways from Kansas State baseball's Big 12 loss to TCU
