Kansas State University baseball fell short in a rally against Cincinnati on Friday night, dropping Game 1 by a score of 4-2. The Wildcats now sit at 26-23 overall and 9-16 in Big 12 play, while the Bearcats improved to 34-17 and 14-11 in conference action.
After falling behind by two runs in the opening two innings, K-State clawed back in the fourth frame to even the score at 2-2. Ty Smolinski ignited the rally with an RBI double, and Grant Gallagher followed with a double to right-center field that drove in the tying run.
Cincinnati regained the lead in the top of the seventh with a two-out RBI single, then added an insurance run in the ninth to extend its advantage to 4-2.
The Wildcats had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth, but Shintaro Inoue flied out to left field to end the game.
Game 2 is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday.
