K-State baseball will begin the second half of its Big 12 schedule on April 17 as the Wildcats start a three-game series against Arizona at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson.
This matchup is important for both teams as they look to improve their standings in conference play. K-State enters the series with a record of 23-14 overall and 7-8 in the Big 12, while Arizona holds a record of 14-22 overall and 5-10 in conference games.
The first two games are scheduled for an 8 p.m. Central Time start, with Sunday’s finale set for a 2 p.m. first pitch. Fans can watch all three games on ESPN+ or listen to live audio streams via kstatesports.com/watch and News Radio KMAN. Single-game tickets remain available for Wildcat home contests at Tointon Family Stadium through kstatesports.com/tickets or by contacting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office.
K-State is coming off a loss to Omaha but has shown strong performance against non-conference opponents this season, posting a record of 16-6 outside league play. Dee Kennedy leads the team with his fifteenth home run of the season, putting him one short of tying K-State’s junior single-season home run record and two away from breaking Keegan O’Connor’s all-time mark set last year. Chandler Murray has also contributed recently with multi-RBI games.
Pitching matchups feature right-hander James Guyette (5-1, 5.55 ERA) leading off Friday after striking out twelve batters in his most recent outing—an achievement not seen by a Wildcat since April 2023. Lincoln Sheffield (5-1, 5.74 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday, ranking among conference leaders in wins and walks allowed per nine innings.
Arizona comes into the series following victories over TCU and rival Arizona State, led offensively by Tony Lira who tops his team in batting average (.362), hits (54), slugging percentage (.523), and on-base percentage (.441). The pitching staff includes Owen Kramkowski (1-4, 5.66 ERA) and Smith Bailey (3-2, 4.74 ERA), while reliever Garrett Hicks holds five saves this season.
Friday’s game marks only the third meeting between Kansas State and Arizona on the baseball field—and their first encounter played in Tucson—with Arizona leading previous meetings two games to none.
