MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Holy Cross baseball team built an early lead but could not contain No. 24 Kansas State, falling by a score of 17-11 on Friday, Feb. 23. 

STATS LEADERS: 
Holy Cross (1-3)
Toomey (3-for-4, home run, two RBI)
Cooney (3-for-3, two RBI, two runs scored)
Royer (2-for-5, double, three RBI)
C. Brown (2-for-5, three RBI, run scored)
Scanlon (home run)

Kansas State (3-2)
Lobliner (3-for-4, home run, five RBI, three runs)
Rivera (2-for-4, home run, four runs scored)
Pelletier (three-run home run)

THE DECISION: 
W: Roberts (1-0)
L: Wywoda (0-1) 
S: Wentworth (1)

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• Junior designated hitter Sean Scanlon hit a leadoff home run to give Holy Cross an early 1-0 lead. 
• Sophomore third baseman Cam Bryant reached on a fielder's choice in the first and freshman second baseman Alex Sandell walked. Aided by the wind, an infield single by junior left fielder Connor Cooney extended the lead to 2-0. With the bases loaded, freshman catcher Colin Brown snuck a single through the left side and drove in two more runs to extend the lead to 4-0. 
• After loading up the bases on a trio of walks, Kansas State cut into the lead in the bottom of the first with a fielder's choice and groundout scoring a pair of runs for the Wildcats.
• Freshman center fielder Gianni Royer sent a double into center, extending the lead to 6-2 in the top of the third.
• In the bottom of the third inning, an RBI single and three-run homer knotted the score at 6-6 before a stolen base gave Kansas State a 7-6 lead. 
• A sac fly by Cooney and an RBI single by Brown gave the Crusader the lead back in the top of the fourth. Sophomore right fielder Jack Toomey's solo homer then extended the Holy Cross lead to 9-7 in the fifth inning. 
• The Wildcats had a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth before a five-run sixth gave them a 13-9 lead. 
• After an RBI single by Royer, Toomey was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to cut the Kansas State lead to 13-11 in the eighth inning. 
• Kansas State pulled away with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to ensure the victory.

DUE UP: 

• Holy Cross and the Wildcats resume the three-game series on Saturday, Feb. 24. 
• First pitch is set for 5 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcasted live on ESPN+. 

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