# 2009 Kansas State Wildcats baseball team

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.
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.

## Preseason

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. 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 berth 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.

### NCAA tournament

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

## 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) |

## Schedule

2009 Kansas State Wildcats baseball Game Log :
Regular season
#DateOpponentScoreSite/stadiumWinLossSaveAttendanceOverall recordBig 12 Record
1February 20at Houston16–2Cougar FieldMorrisMusick 1,2311–00–0
2February 21at Houston9–2Cougar FieldHogeRay 1,1652–00–0
3February 22at Houston2–3 (10)Cougar FieldDempsayMarshall 1,1432–10–0
4February 26vs Pacific7–4Tony Gwynn StadiumMorrisHolscher 733–10–0
5February 27vs Nevada10–2Tony Gwynn StadiumHogeBautista 714–10–0
6February 28vs #11 San Diego1–2Tony Gwynn StadiumDeNaultApplegate 1174–20–0
7March 1at San Diego State5–4 (10)Tony Gwynn StadiumApplegateSkipper 4195–20–0
8March 3Creighton12–1Tointon Family StadiumMorrisDufek 7306–20–0
9March 6Niagara12–1Tointon Family StadiumHogeKellar 1,2527–20–0
10March 6Niagara9–8Tointon Family StadiumDanielMorari 1,2528–20–0
11March 7Niagara12–2Tointon Family StadiumBahramzadehCandelmo 9169–20–0
12March 8Niagara15–1Tointon Family StadiumVogelSikorski 39710–20–0
13March 10at #4 Arizona State6–2Surprise StadiumMorrisLeakeAllen4,37511–20–0
14March 11at #4 Arizona State1–12Surprise StadiumSpenceHogeSwagerty5,77011–30–0
15March 13Butler8–4Tointon Family StadiumRookeSokolowski 51412–30–0
16March 14Butler14–2Tointon Family StadiumBahramzadehWagoner 88813–30–0
17March 14Butler15–3Tointon Family StadiumVogelOchs 88814–30–0
18March 15Butler13–2Tointon Family StadiumMorrisSinkiewicz 66115–30–0
19March 17Texas San Antonio5–4Tointon Family StadiumApplegateSelsorAllen1,07416–30–0
20March 18Texas San Antonio5–4Tointon Family StadiumAllenClarke 68517–30–0
21March 20#13 Oklahoma9–1Tointon Family StadiumMorrisDoyle 81818–31–0
22March 21#13 Oklahoma11–12Tointon Family StadiumSengMarshall 1,49918–41–1
23March 22#13 Oklahoma4–29Tointon Family StadiumRochaBahramzadeh 1,10118–51–2
24March 24Northwestern4–3Tointon Family StadiumRookeJensen 67219–51–2
25March 25Northwestern12–8Tointon Family StadiumHobbsMorgan 53420–51–2
26March 27at #8 Baylor7–1Baylor BallparkMorrisVolz 2,64221–52–2
27March 28at #8 Baylor2–3Baylor BallparkVerrettHogeMiller2,68721–62–3
28March 29at #8 Baylor6–7Baylor BallparkKempfHunterPinckard2,65721–72–4
29April 1at Creighton1–5Creighton Sports ComplexNihsenDaniel 63321–82–4
30April 3at Nebraska15–1Haymarket ParkHogeRoualdes  22–83–4
31April 3at Nebraska9–3Haymarket ParkMorrisRose 4,63423–84–4
32April 4at Nebraska5–3Haymarket ParkVogelHauptmannAllen1,59424–85–4
33April 9#15 Texas A&M2–4Tointon Family StadiumRaleyAllen 71324–95–5
34April 10#15 Texas A&M6–4Tointon Family StadiumMorrisWilsonRooke1,24725–96–5
35April 11#15 Texas A&M4–3Tointon Family StadiumRookeFleece 1,74626–97–5
36April 14Wichita State13–5Tointon Family StadiumMarshallMaldonado 2,41627–97–5
37April 15at Wichita State4–3Eck StadiumDanielFlynnRooke5,58628–97–5
38April 17Missouri3–4Tointon Family StadiumGibsonRooke 3,00828–107–6
39April 18Missouri6–11Tointon Family StadiumFickHunter 1,95528–117–7
40April 19Missouri11–5Tointon Family StadiumMarshallTepeschRooke1,44029–118–7
41April 24at #2 Texas4–2UFCU Disch-Falk FieldMorrisWood 5,47330–119–7
42April 25at #2 Texas5–4 (12)UFCU Disch-Falk FieldApplegateJungmann 6,34431–1110–7
43April 26at #2 Texas6–6UFCU Disch-Falk Field   5,55231–11–110–7–1
44April 28North Dakota10–2Tointon Family StadiumHunterBiermaier 1,14932–11–110–7–1
45April 29North Dakota22–1Tointon Family StadiumDanielBaumgartner 98833–11–110–7–1
46May 1at #26 Oklahoma State5–3Allie P. Reynolds StadiumHogeOliverRooke 34–11–111–7–1
471 Mayat #26 Oklahoma State4–3 (6)Allie P. Reynolds StadiumMorrisLyons 27635–11–112–7–1
48May 4BYU9–8 (10)Tointon Family StadiumRookeMuir 1,19736–11–112–7–1
49May 5BYU11–3Tointon Family StadiumDanielToole 1,64037–11–112–7–1
50May 8Texas Tech0–6Tointon Family StadiumKarnsMorris 3,65137–12–112–8–1
51May 9Texas Tech6–12Tointon Family StadiumRamosHoge 2,57737–13–112–9–1
52May 10Texas Tech9–5Tointon Family StadiumVogelHead 1,26338–13–113–9–1
53May 15Kansas4–1Tointon Family StadiumMorrisHall 4,28039–13–114–9–1
54May 16at Kansas3–9Hoglund BallparkWalzHoge 2,43839–14–114–10–1
55May 17at Kansas7–17 (7)Hoglund BallparkRidenhourVogel 2,63939–15–114–11–1 :
Big 12 Tournament
#DateOpponentScoreSite/stadiumWinLossSaveAttendanceOverall recordBig 12 T Record
1May 20#24 Kansas5–4Bricktown BallparkAllenSelik 4,12940–15–11–0
2May 21Baylor9–4Bricktown BallparkMorrisKempf 4,58341–15–12–0
3May 23#5 Texas2–4Bricktown BallparkJungmannApplegate 5,72041–16–12–1 :
NCAA tournament: Regionals
#DateOpponentScoreSite/stadiumWinLossSaveAttendanceOverall recordNCAAT Record
1May 29Xavier16–8Reckling ParkHogeRichard 2,89342–16–11–0
2May 30#6 Rice7–6Reckling ParkMorrisBerry 4,16943–16–12–0
3May 31#6 Rice0–8Reckling ParkWallVogel 3,29843–17–12–1
4June 1#6 Rice4–13Reckling ParkRecklingRooke 4,58943–18–12–2 :

## 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