Stakes higher when familiar foes meet this time

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Top-seeded Kansas State has never hosted an NCAA Tournament regional, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a little bit of familiarity for the Wildcats this weekend.

They’ll open up against in-state rival Wichita State.

“Being at home can be a big advantage, and we hope we can realize that,” said Kansas State Coach Brad Hill, who guided the Wildcats (41-17) to their first regular-season Big 12 title and first league title at all since 1933, when the school was still part of the Missouri Valley Conference. “Hopefully there will be a bunch of purple in the stands. I expect there will be.”

Second-seeded Arkansas takes on No. 3 seed Bryant in the other match up tonight to kick off the double-elimination regional. The winners play each other Saturday, as do the losers.

All-session tickets are already sold out, so Hill is probably safe in his assumption there will be plenty of purple packing the stands of Tointon Family Stadium this weekend.

There will probably be plenty of yellow and gold, too.

The Shockers (39-26) own 28 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, nearly two dozen conference titles and seven trips to the College World Series, including the school’s only national championship after the 1989 season.

The Wildcats and Shockers have played a home-and home series for years, and while Kansas State won both meetings earlier this season - 7-6 at home and 4-1 in the return game a week later - the Shockers lead the overall series 51-33, including 19-18 in Manhattan.

“It’s a team we know we can compete with and we know we can beat,” Shockers outfielder Garrett Bayliff said. “We have a lot of confidence going into it. They beat us twice this year, and it’s tough to beat a team three times.”

This will be Kansas State’s fourth NCAA Tournament, and its offense is a big reason why it’s back after a one-year hiatus.

The Wildcats were second in the nation with a .323 batting average and led the Big 12 in eight offensive categories, including hits (644)and runs (368). Second baseman Ross Kivett, the conference player of the year, hit .356 with 34 RBI and a teambest 26 stolen bases.

“I’ve seen them a couple times on TV and they can really hit,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “They’ve got a couple good pitchers, but they score runs, and no lead is safe.”

MANHATTAN REGIONAL CAPSULES

KANSAS STATE

MASCOT Wildcats RECORD 41-17, 16-8 (first in Big 12) SEED No. 1 HOW THEY GOT HERE At-large bid from Big 12 COACH Brad Hill (752-443-3 in 19th season at Central Missouri State and Kansas State) TEAM BATTING AVERAGE .323 (second nationally) TEAM ERA 3.83 (86th) TEAM FIELDING PERCENTAGE .974 (38th) KEY PLAYERS Austin Fisher (.356, 2 HR, 34 RBI), Ross Kivett (.356, 1, 34), Shane Conlon (.345, 7, 28), RJ Santigate (.337, 0, 29), RHP Jake Matthys (8-1, 2.13, 7 saves) NOTEWORTHY The Wildcats won their first conference championship since 1933 by beating Oklahoma on the final weekend of the season. ... The Wildcats played in the 2010 NCAA Fayetteville Regional but did not face Arkansas.

ARKANSAS

MASCOT Razorbacks RECORD 37-20, 18-11 (third in SEC) SEED No. 2 HOW THEY GOT HERE At-large bid from SEC COACH Dave Van Horn (1,027-483 in 25 seasons at Texarkana CC, Central Missouri State, Northwestern [La.] State, Nebraska and Arkansas) TEAM BATTING AVERAGE .260 (214th nationally) TEAM ERA 1.87 (first) TEAM FIELDING PERCENTAGE .962 (187th) KEY PLAYERS RHP Ryne Stanek (9-2, 1.40 ERA), RPH Barrett Astin (4-4, 1.94 ERA), RHP Colby Suggs (1.93 ERA, 12 saves), LF Brian Anderson (.338, 4 HR, 33 RBI) NOTEWORTHY Arkansas is among seven teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament the past 12 years. The Razorbacks are making their 26th NCAA Tournament appearance overall and have a 62-54 record.

BRYANT UNIVERSITY

MASCOT Bulldogs RECORD 41-14-1, 27-5 (first in Northeast Conference) SEED No. 3 HOW THEY GOT HERE Won Northeast Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid. COACH Steve Owens (107-60-1 in 3 seasons at Bryant) TEAM BATTING AVERAGE .289 (64th nationally) TEAM ERA 2.63 (10th) TEAM FIELDING PERCENTAGE .975 (29th) KEY PLAYERS OF Kevin Brown (.368, 6 HR, 46 RBI), OF Carl Anderson (.340, 2, 47), C Jordan Mountford (.320, 3, 22), OF A.J. Zarozny (.307, 2, 28), RHP Peter Kelich (7-4, 2.53 ERA), RHP Salvatore Lisanti (1-2, 1.27 ERA, 10 saves) NOTEWORTHY Bryant, in its fifth season playing a Division I schedule, is making its NCAA Tournament debut in its first year of postseason eligibility.

WICHITA STATE

MASCOT Shockers RECORD 39-26, 15-6 (second in Missouri Valley Conference) SEED No. 4 HOW THEY GOT HERE Won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid.

COACH Gene Stephenson (1,837-673-3 in 36 seasons at Wichita State) TEAM BATTING AVERAGE .294 (46th nationally) TEAM ERA 3.31 (39th) TEAM FIELD PERCENTAGE .977 (18th).

KEY PLAYERS OF Garrett Bayliff (.389, 39 RBI), UT Tyler Baker (.332,46 RBI), 1B Casey Gillaspie (.300, 10 HR, 42 RBI), RHP Cale Elam (7-4, 2.60 ERA, 16 starts), RHP Brandon Peterson (3-1, 1.15 ERA, 10 saves) NOTEWORTHY Wichita State has a 74-55 record in 27 NCAA Tournament appearances and has advanced to the College World Series seven times.

Sports, Pages 22 on 05/31/2013

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