2009 Kansas State Wildcats baseball team

2009 Kansas State Wildcats baseball
Conference Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 20
AP No. 22
2009 record 43–18–1 (14–11–1 Big 12)
Head coach Brad Hill
Hitting coach Andy Sawyers
Pitching coach Sean McCann
Home stadium Tointon Family Stadium
2009 Big 12 Conference baseball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#2 Texas †‡y 17 – 9   .654     50 – 16   .758
#19 Oklahoma y 17 – 10   .630     43 – 20   .683
Missouri y 16 – 11   .593     35 – 27   .565
#22 Kansas State y 14 – 11   .560     43 – 18   .705
Kansas y 15 – 12   .556     39 – 24   .619
Texas A&M y 14 – 13   .519     37 – 24   .607
Texas Tech 12 – 15   .444     25 – 32   .439
Baylor y 10 – 16   .385     30 – 26   .536
#27 Oklahoma State y 9 – 16   .360     34 – 24   .586
Nebraska 8 – 19   .296     25 – 28   .472
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of June 30, 2009[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The 2009 Kansas State Wildcats baseball team represented Kansas State University in the NCAA Division I college baseball season of 2009. It was the 109th baseball season in school history.[2]

The team's head coach was Brad Hill who was in his sixth season at Kansas State. He was previously the head coach at Central Missouri State before coming to Manhattan in 2004.

Kansas State made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The team finished the season by setting the school’s record for wins, eight more than the previous school record of 35 in 1976.[3]

Pre-season

The Wildcats, who recorded the most conference victories and its highest conference finish (tied for sixth) since 2002, return five pitchers who combined for 21 starts last season. The Wildcats will have junior A.J. Morris and seniors Lance Hoge and Todd Vogel, while sophomore Thomas Rooke, who tied for fifth in school history with 25 appearances out of the bullpen last year, could be called upon to start some games this year for the Wildcats.

Offensively, K-State returns four of its top five hitters from a year ago, including junior infielder Justin Bloxom and senior outfielder Dane Yelovich. Bloxom led K-State in virtually every offensive category last season, including batting average (.288), hits (63), RBI (49), triples (2), total bases (105), total plate appearances (252), at bats (219), games played (58) and games started (57). Yelovich finished with a .286 average and stole 18 bases, good for fourth in the Big 12 Conference.

Alongside Bloxom in the infield is expected to be sophomore Carter Jurica at second base, converted outfielder Jason King at third, while senior Drew Biery will man shortstop for the second-consecutive year.

The outfield will feature Yelovich in center field, while fellow senior, Jordan Cruz, will return to right field after beginning the 2008 season as the starter. Left field will be a battle between junior Adam Muenster and true freshman Nick Martini. Muenster, who will be a switch-hitter this season, could also see time at second base.

Rob Vaughn, a two-year starter at catcher, returns for his senior campaign, while a pair of juniors, Daniel Dellasega and David Masters will also see playing time behind the plate.

Season

Regular Season

Head Coach Brad Hill, in his sixth season at K-State, earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honors as he guided Kansas State to a 39-win season, including 14 conference victories to finish fourth in the league, all school bests. The team also earned their highest ranking in school history as they were number 10 in the Baseball America Top 25 earlier in the season. A.J. Morris won Big 12 pitcher of year, the first Wildcat ever to do so.[4] Morris finished the regular season as the Big 12 leader in both wins (12) and ERA (1.61). He was also first in innings pitched (100.2), third in opponent batting average (.203) and tied for fifth in strikeouts (91). Morris became the first player in school history to be named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy. Brad Hill became the first Kansas State coach since Mike Clark in 1990 to be named conference coach of the year.

Carter Jurica earned second-team accolades from the coaches after leading the conference’s top hitting team with a .366 average, which was third in the Big 12 individually. Jurica also finished the regular season third in stolen bases (21), fourth in hits (78), and fifth in both runs scored (57) and on-base percentage (.442). Seniors Drew Biery and Jordan Cruz, junior Justin Bloxom, sophomore Jason King and freshman Nick Martini were each named honorable mention All-Big 12.

Kansas State was tied for 12th nationally with 39 wins. Kansas State has recorded 136 steals this season, the second-most in school history. The Wildcats have recorded 20 triples this season, which are tops in the Big 12, and the most by a K-State team since 1997.

Conference Tournament

The Wildcats earned a birth in the Big 12 Baseball Tournament for the second year in a row. The tournament was held at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City Oklahoma.

Kansas State first beat Kansas by a score of 5–4. They then beat Baylor, 9–4. They faced Texas next for the right to play in the tournament championship. The Wildcats fell short, 2–4.[5]

NCAA Tournament

The Wildcats earned their first ever berth in the NCAA baseball Tournament.[6] They competed in the Houston Regional, with Rice University playing host, at Reckling Park. The other teams were Rice, Xavier, and Sam Houston State. The lost the regional final against Rice.

Roster

 

Pitchers

  • Jame Allen
  • Matt Applegate
  • Kayvon Bahramzdeh
  • Josh Crockett
  • Ryan Daniel
  • Ben Heairet (L)
  • Dustin Hobbs
  • Lance Hoge (L)
  • Kyle Hunter (L)
  • Chad Jasman
  • Mark Joukoff
  • Justin Lindsey
  • Evan Marshall
  • A.J. Morris
  • Thomas Rooke (L)
  • Todd Vogel
  

Catchers

  • Daniel Dellasega
  • David Masters
  • Cameron Welch
  • Rob Vaughn
  

Infielders

  • Drew Biery
  • Justin Bloxom
  • Jake Brown
  • Matt Giller
  • Randon Henika
  • Carter Jurica
  • Jason King
  

Outfielders

  • Nick Cocking
  • Jordan Cruz
  • Mike Kindel
  • Nick Martini
  • Adam Muenster
  • Jimmy Risi
  • Dan Rumsey
  • Dane Yelovich
  

[7]

Coaches

Name Title First Season at K-State Alma Mater
Brad Hill Head Coach 2004 Emporia State (1985)
Andy Sawyers Hitting Coach 2009 Nebraska (1998)
Sean McCann Pitching Coach 2004 St. Francis (1993)
Craig Ringe Volunteer Assistant Coach 2008 Central Missouri (2002)

[8]

Schedule/Results

2009 Kansas State Wildcats baseball Game Log

[9]

Awards and honors

Player Award/Honor
A.J. Morris Big 12 Pitcher of the Year
Brad Hill Big 12 Coach of the Year
A.J. Morris First Team All-American

Wildcats in the 2009 MLB Draft

The following members of the 2009 Kansas State Wildcats baseball team were drafted in the 2009 MLB Draft.

Player Position Round Overall MLB Team
A.J. Morris Pitcher 4th 112 Washington Nationals
Justin Bloxom Left Field 11th 322 Washington Nationals
Drew Biery Third Base 22nd 657 San Francisco Giants
Gerardo Esquivel* Pitcher 24th 740 Chicago Cubs
Rob Vaughn Catcher 30th 913 Chicago White Sox
Lance Hoge Pitcher 36th 1,094 New York Mets

*2009 Signee

See also

References

External links

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