What was profiled as a matchup between two of the best offenses in the Big 12 turned into a game where runs were hard to come by at Hoglund Ballpark on Friday night. Kansas found itself trailing 3-0 heading into the seventh, unable to get anything going against Jacob Frost. As soon as the Jayhawks (29-10, 10-6 Big 12) got into the bullpen, they managed a four-run inning and held on to win the Sunflower Showdown opener 5-3.

Frost tossed 6.2 shutout innings while striking out a career-high 10. He kept the Jayhawks’ high-powered offense at bay, limiting Kansas to two hits with a stymying low-to-mid 90s fastball and good off-speed mix.

“Early, we were way off the fastball, which is not like us at all,” Dan Fitzgerald said after the game. “When they sent him back out there for the seventh, I thought ‘Gosh, if we could just get him out of this game and get a couple runners on, we’ve got a chance.’”

The Jayhawks found their chance after chasing Frost from the game with two outs in the seventh. Kansas scored four runs in the seventh as Jackson Hauge hit his 17th home run of the season, a three-run shot to give the Jayhawks a 4-3 lead.

“We’re the never-die Hawks,” Hauge said. “We’re gonna stay to our approach, keep fighting all nine innings and see what happens.”

It was clear from the first inning that Dominic Voegele didn’t have his best stuff. Although Kansas State didn’t score, the Wildcats got traffic with a leadoff walk—something that would become a common theme over Voegele’s start—and a hard-hit single.

Voegele battled through 5.2 innings, walking six, including three leadoff hitters. He allowed just three runs and shut down the Wildcats in the fourth and fifth innings to keep the Jayhawks close.

“The longer a starter can go and be quality, it just shrinks the game,” Fitzgerald said. “You save your bullpen… starting pitching, eating innings is a tale as old as time in the big leagues, but it’s certainly found its way to college too.”

However, the offense continued to search for the momentum-flipping rallies that the Jayhawks have showcased throughout the season. Kansas loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, but Ian Francis struck out looking. In the fifth, Sawyer Smith led off the inning with a bloop double, but Frost retired the next three hitters.

Kansas State had a chance to extend its lead in the sixth, loading the bases with two outs via three walks. However, Manning West extinguished the threat, getting Seth Dardar to fly out to center field.

Kansas finally flipped the momentum after the Jayhawks chased Frost from the game following a four-pitch walk with two outs. Smith was the benefactor of the Frost walk, who reached base all four times out of the nine spot.

“I thought that was a huge at-bat, but I thought he had good ones all night,” Fitzgerald said.

James Guyette entered and immediately walked Derek Cerda on four pitches. Brady Ballinger put Kansas in the scoring column with an opposite-field single before Jackson Hauge hammered a ball over the left-field fence to put the Jayhawks ahead 4-3.

Alex Breckheimer entered in the eighth inning, searching for a six-out save. The first three came easily, retiring the Wildcats in order, including a strikeout on a 97 mph fastball.

The Jayhawks got a crucial insurance run in the eighth after good fortune started to swing their way. Tommy Barth skied a ball that dropped harmlessly as the centerfielder and rightfielder tried to avoid collision, getting all the way to third base. Smith worked his third walk of the game, then Cerda blooped one to make it 5-3.

“I came back in here [the dugout] and I was a little nervous with the one-run lead,” Breckheimer said. “We scored the run, and it felt like a lot of pressure taken off my shoulders there.”

Breckheimer made quick work of the Wildcats in the ninth. He got the first batter to ground out before striking out the next two to clinch a hard-fought win in game one of the Sunflower Showdown.

Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards previously talked about quarterback Avery Johnson’s “dawg mentality” as the starting signal-caller.

Wildcats offensive coordinator Matt Wells had pretty much the same sentiment.

Wells compared Johnson to quarterbacks he oversaw at Utah State, mirroring his mental toughness to Chuckie Keeton and current Green Bay Packers star Jordan Love.

“They’re the nicest guy ever, but when they get inside 53 and a third, they’re a dawg,” Wells said in his Wednesday afternoon presser. “They’re a competitor, and they have the mindset that I’m the best one out of 22 at the time. And that’s something where you either have it or you don’t. That’s a special trait Avery has, that both of those guys had.”

Johnson’s biggest asset is his dual-threat ability, with his mentality fueling his drive to improve. Last season, he passed for 2,712 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions and rushed for 605 yards and seven touchdowns.

Wells’ praise of the junior quarterback should motivate Wildcats fans, especially when he’s compared to the likes of a $220 million pro.

“They’re all really good teammates,” Wells said. “They’re hungry to learn and very coachable, like sponges. They have a heart of humility and thankfulness for opportunities and the people around them. They all have those characteristics, which is pretty cool because that makes them better teammates. All three of those guys are tremendous leaders and teammates. But they all three have ‘it.’”

Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.

BUTLER, Mo. — Kansas City area livestock producers are closely watching the economy as the United States navigates an international trade war.

“We’ve got to keep the economy strong to keep our beef prices going good,” explained Tim Clifton, a field representative and cattle rancher with MoKan Livestock Market.

The announcement of retaliatory tariffs on international trade partners rocked the stock market during the early stages of implementation. Missouri and Kansas livestock growers rely on a strong stock market to keep their prices high. When the market took a plunge a few weeks ago, so did cattle prices.

“When the stock market recovered, the cattle markets are back pretty much 100% to what they were three weeks ago,” said Clifton.

Brian Luton/KSHB

While a big focus is the economy, Clifton tells KSHB 41, there is an opportunity knocking at their door.

“We’re importing all kinds of Australian beef, and Australia doesn’t take any of our beef,” he explained. “We were taking their beef in, and they’re not taking any of ours. So that tariff is good for us.”

In the last five years, the U.S. cattle population declined due to drought.

American cattlemen were forced to cull herds to keep up with the cost of production.

Brian Luton/KSHB

The U.S. livestock head count has decreased by 1% in the last year since Jan. 1, 2025, to a total of 86.7 million.

The lowest head count since 1951, according to a report from AGDAILY.

American beef exports have only increased in billions of pounds since 2020.

USDA

Clifton tells KSHB 41 that implementing tariffs on trade competitors like Brazil could make his business more competitive.

“We get all this Brazilian beef coming in, and little goes back to Brazil of our beef,” he explained.

In the United States, four companies control 85% of America’s meat-packing industry: Tyson, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef.

Brian Luton/KSHB

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JBS and National Beef are Brazilian-based companies.

“We import all this lean beef that we don’t know how it’s handled, what kind of regulations, what kind of antibiotics regulations they’re given. We import all this beef, the big four packers import it here,” Clifton expressed. “They cut it, they can mix it with our beef, do whatever they want, and the consumer doesn’t know. That’s where it could be beneficial for us, stopping some of that beef coming in that we don’t really need.”

Canada leads in exports of beef to the United States at 29% of U.S. product. Mexico and Brazil aren’t far behind.

Brian Luton/KSHB

Last year, Reuters reported on a positive case of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or more commonly referred to as “Mad Cow Disease”.

“We need to stop importing so much of this beef. We could process ourselves,” Clifton said.

Clifton says that engaging in stricter trade practices should create greater food independence in the United States.

Brian Luton/KSHB

“We’re relying on people that we don’t really need to be relying on,” he added. “We need to be relying on ourselves first.”

As long as the economy remains strong, Clifton sees positives for the American cattlemen and, more importantly, consumers.

“We’re really at an opportunity here to try to lower some of our input costs… If we can lower some of our input costs and keep our market strong, we’re set up for a good spot here,” Clifton said. “It would be a benefit to try and get more U.S. beef to a U.S. consumer. If this could all work out in our favor.”

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KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.