Kansas State’s bullpen team of Gerardo Esquivel, Nate Williams and Jake Matthys tossed 7.1 scoreless innings and the Wildcats scored two seventh-inning runs to advance to their first-ever Super Regional with a 4-3 victory over Arkansas Sunday night in the championship round of the 2013 NCAA Manhattan Regional at Tointon Family Stadium.

The Wildcats, who set a school record by winning their 44th game this year and enter the NCAA round of 16 with a 44-17 record, will travel to Corvallis, Ore., to take on Oregon State for the right to advance to the 2013 College World Series. The Razorbacks, who went to the College World Series last season, ended their year at 39-22.

K-State found itself in an early 3-0 hole in the bottom of the first when Arkansas left fielder Brian Anderson stroked a two-RBI single before Matt Vinson capped the frame with a two-out RBI single through the right side of the infield.

Looking for more, Arkansas loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning, but Esquivel came out of the bullpen to induce an inning-ending pop out. The ball caught by shortstop Austin Fisher began a streak for Esquivel of retiring 13 of the 14 batters he faced, including one via strikeout.

Kansas State rewarded the junior right-hander in the seventh inning when Ross Kivett and Tanner Witt led off the frame with walks against Michael Gunn (1-1). After the Razorbacks brought in Jalen Beeks and K-State bunted Kivett and Witt into scoring position, Arkansas elected to intentionally walk Jared King. However, on his second pitch, Beeks bounced a ball over the plate and to the backstop, allowing Kivett to score the tying run.

Arkansas took off the intentional walk and began pitching to King, but a 3-1 pitch went wild again as Witt scored the eventual winning run.

“It was a great ballgame – I really do not know what to say,” head coach Brad Hill said. “It was a great ballgame. Obviously, Arkansas has a tremendous club. Their pitching is phenomenal. When we got down 3-0 in the first inning, you get concerned about whether you can get back into it and if you can continue to hold them at three runs, because it felt like if they would have got five or six, it would have been difficult to come back against that club. I should have learned by now, after 61 or 62 games, to never count these guys out, ever. They have done a tremendous job all year to just continue playing their game and do what they do.”

Williams entered the game in the seventh inning and sat the Razorbacks down in order. After the right-hander walked a batter to begin the eighth, Matthys entered for a 32nd time this season to toss two scoreless frames with the final out coming on a fly ball to left field as K-State celebrated behind the mound.

“We have been in this situation before and I knew that if I put up four zeroes, that would give our guys that chance,” Esquivel said. “Our offense prides itself on never giving in, and they did not do that today. They just came through. I gave us a chance, handed the ball off to Nate (Williams) and he did a very good job in the seventh inning and then Jake (Matthys) finished it off.”

Esquivel, who earned a spot on the all-regional team, earned the win in his second-straight appearance after tossing 4.1 innings with a walk and a strikeout. The Chicago, Ill., product continually found the strike zone as 35 of his 49 pitches went for strikes and he threw a first-pitch strike to 12 of the 14 batters he faced.

Williams issued a walk in an inning-plus, while Matthys allowed two hits and struck out a batter in his two scoreless frames. Matthys’ 32nd outing out of the bullpen set the single-season school record, while he earned his ninth save of the year to tie for fifth in school history.

The Wildcats were led offensively by Shane Conlon, who went 2-for-4. Arkansas’ Joe Serrano was the only other player in the game with multiple hits by going 2-for-5.

Esquivel was joined on the all-regional team by Blair DeBord (catcher), Conlon (first base), Kivett (second base), Witt (outfield) and King (outfield). Kivett, who went 6-for-12 with two homers and five RBI, was named the most valuable player.

The 2013 NCAA Corvallis Super Regional will begin either Friday or Saturday, June 7 or 8, at Goss Field. Complete details, including television information, will be announced by Tuesday.

— KSU Sports Information —

Kansas State centerfielder Jared King made a diving catch to save a pair of runs in the fifth and promptly hit a two-RBI double the next half-inning to break a 1-1 tie and spark the Wildcats to a 7-1 victory over Bryant Saturday in the winner’s bracket of the 2013 NCAA Manhattan Regional at Tointon Family Stadium.

The top-seeded Wildcats, who tied their single-season record for wins as they improved to 43-17, move to the championship round of the Manhattan Regional Sunday night at 7 p.m., and will face the winner of the Bryant vs. Arkansas game, which will be played at 2 p.m., Sunday afternoon. With the loss, the Bulldogs fell to 45-17-1.

With the game tied and two on and two out in the bottom of the fifth, Joe Flattery (5-4) threw a first-pitch fastball to Kevin Brown who hit a sinking line drive into the right-center field gap. King laid out for the ball and caught it a foot from the ground to end the inning and strand the two runners.

The effort ignited a Wildcat offense that had troubles against Bryant starting pitcher Craig Schlitter (10-4), who had retired 15 of the previous 16 batters. After Ross Kivett reached on a leadoff error and was sacrificed over to second base, Shane Conlon singled to left field to put runners on the corners and knock Schlitter out of the game.

A switch hitter, King flipped around to bat right handed against left-hander John Heally and shot a 2-2 pitch into the same gap he robbed a pair of Bulldog runs to give the Cats a 3-1 advantage. K-State added two more on a passed ball and a two-out error to take a four-run lead at 5-1.

“I thought it was another tough game again tonight,” head coach Brad Hill said. “It was a great pitching matchup. Both guys got settled in after that first inning and it was just a well-pitched ballgame that came down to just a tremendous play that Jared made that swung momentum our way, which we carried right into our offense. We scored some runs right after that inning, which was a huge swing in momentum right there and that was pretty much the game.”

Flattery allowed just one run while working around seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts in his first appearance since May 18 against Oklahoma. After allowing a run on a ground out by John Mullen in the first, the left-hander stranded two runners in the second and pitched consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth before benefitting from King’s defensive work in the fifth.

“Before that pitch, Coach (Hill) had me in the other gap. He saw a couple swings from the batter, and he made the adjustment the pitch before for me to shade over to the other side,” King said about his catch. “I was just lucky that I caught it, I guess. I tried to track it as much as I could and I gave my best effort to try to catch it. The catch was a big momentum swing for our team and to be able to tack on those runs in the inning (after the catch) was big.”

Jake Matthys, who entered with runners on first and second in the seventh inning, needed just 26 pitches to record the final seven outs of the game and pick up his eighth save of the year. Matthys’ outing was his 31st this year, tying the single-season school record for relief appearances, while his eight saves extended his hold on the K-State freshman record and are tied for sixth overall in school history.

Nate Williams also threw 1.2 scoreless innings as the K-State pitching staff allowed just three hits for the final seven innings.

Kivett registered his second-straight multi-hit game of the NCAA Tournament by going 2-for-5 with a RBI and two runs scored. The Big 12 Player of the Year scored in the first inning on a RBI single off the bat of Tanner Witt, while Kivett produced a RBI ground out in the ninth inning. Blair DeBord added another run in the ninth when he scored on a wild pitch.

Conlon also registered his 24th multi-hit game of the year by going 2-for-4 with a run. Austin Fisher doubled in the fourth inning to push his season total to 20, which is tied for fourth in school history in a single season. He was also hit by a pitch and scored in the sixth inning.

Schlitter allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts in 5.1 innings. All six of the right-hander’s strikeouts came during his stretch of retiring 15 of 16 hitters. Catcher Jonathan Scott was the only Bulldog with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-2 with a walk.

— KSU Sports Information —

Kansas State scored nine first-inning runs to set the tone for the afternoon, while second baseman Ross Kivett hit a pair of home runs as the top-seeded Wildcats opened the 2013 NCAA Manhattan Regional with a 20-11 victory over No. 4-seed Wichita State Friday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium.

K-State, which scored in every inning except the second, improved to 42-17 on the year and will face the winner of the evening session between No. 2-seed Arkansas and third-seeded Bryant at 7 p.m., Saturday evening. Wichita State fell to 39-27 on the year and will face the loser of Friday’s evening matchup in an elimination game at 2 p.m., Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats scored their 20 runs on 19 hits as eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit and six had multi-hit games. Kansas State also coaxed nine walks from Wichita State pitching and was hit by a pitch six times, the second-most ever in a NCAA Tournament game. Kivett led the way with four hits and four RBI, while Tanner Witt also had four hits and drove in one run and Jon Davis had four RBI.

Kansas State’s 20 runs were the most in its NCAA Tournament history, topping a 16-run effort against Xavier in 2009, while they were the most by a Wildcat team overall since a 20-2 victory over Chicago State on April 28, 2010. K-State’s 19 hits were also a season high and the most since collecting 21 at San Diego State early in 2012.

The Wildcats were not without their faults, however, as they allowed five two-run innings and gave up their second-most runs in a NCAA Regional game.

“That was kind of an ugly game,” head coach Brad Hill said. “Neither team wanted to play like that. It was ugly, but we won and that is the good thing about it. Offensively, we did a tremendous job of covering ourselves today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an offensive guy so I love the 20 runs, I just hate giving up 11. Give the guys a lot of credit. They did not give away at-bats today.”

After Wichita State scored two runs in the top off the first, the Wildcats sent 15 men to the plate in the bottom half, which was highlighted by two-run singles by Davis and Austin Fisher. K-State also received RBI singles by Mitch Meyer and Witt, a pair of bases-loaded walks by Davis and Jared King, while another run scored on an error.

The nine runs in the first inning were the most by a Wildcat team in a NCAA Regional game, topping an eight-run third inning in K-State’s first-ever regional game against Xavier in 2009. The 11 combined runs in the first inning tied a NCAA record for first-inning runs in a tournament game.

Kivett, who had one career home run coming into the contest, recorded two-run homers over the left-field wall in both the sixth and seventh innings, the latter extending K-State’s lead to 18-9. His two home runs were the most by a Wildcat since King had two at CSU Bakersfield in 2011.

Meyer went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs, including a two-run double in the third inning. Fisher, who has had just one at-bat in the last five games, earned his first start since the opener against Oklahoma and shined by going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Fisher has a hit in 19 of his last 20 games as he lost an 18-game hitting streak in last week’s Big 12 Championship by going 0-for-1 against Texas Tech before being pulled due to an injury.

Left-handed reliever Jared Moore (4-0) earned the win after allowing two runs on four hits in 2.1 innings of work. The Boulder, Colo., product struck out a season-high four batters, including two in the third inning to put a stop to a potential big inning.

Wichita State starting pitcher Cale Elam (7-5) suffered the loss as he allowed six of the first-inning runs and recorded just one out. The Shockers had four hitters with two-hit games, including Johnny Coy, who had four RBI.

— KSU Sports Information —