Denson Hull was on the mound for the Bluejays on Saturday (Spomer / WBR)
The struggles of Saturday starter Denson Hull came to what’s likely a conclusive and unflattering end today. The senior lefty failed to get through the third inning, allowing four runs off three hits and five walks in his 2.1 innings of work. In all eight of his starts this year he failed to get past the fifth inning and has posted an 8.90 ERA.
Ben Dotzler finished off the third inning and allowed three runs in the fourth to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead before the game became official in the fifth. The ball was handed off to Dylan Tebrake who threw 2.1 innings of two hit, 1 earned run ball, and the game was finished off with a combination of Ryan Windham and Paul Bergstrom.
It’s in those moments when Hull loses control that you see the wheels begin to fall off. K-State’s batters were swing happy in the first two frames but then settled in the third and allowed Hull to walk the bases loaded. His inability to find the zone in these instances, and the fear of getting shelled, kept Hull from making any progress, a truism that’s existed for his entire career as a Bluejay.
In the bottom fourth inning, something incredible happened. With no one out and runners on first and second, Jordan Hovey approached the dish. On the second pitch of the at-bat Hovey got nailed on the arm with a fastball and took off down the line to load the bases… except homeplate umpire Charlie Clemons called Hovey back to the batter’s box, accusing Hovey of leaning into the pitch.
Then all hell broke loose. Assistant coach and barrel extraordinaire Connor Gandossy was tossed almost immediately after the ruling, the umpires began to converge, Gandossy argued some more, Ed Servais was able to enter the huddle, the scene built to a crescendo that ended with the umpires agreeing to review the play.
… the tension was palpable.
…
The umpires ruled that their bad judgment was, indeed, bad. They overturned the call, awarded Hovey first base, yet Gandossy was still ejected because of hubris, I guess. After back-to-back strikeouts, Will Hanafan poked a base hit up the middle and scored two. Isaac Collins would groundout to short, and the inning straight out of the Twilight Zone came to an end.
The Jays never really got the bats going other than in that fourth inning. Jordan Wicks tossed an excellent game for the Wildcats, getting weak pop-up contact and keeping the Jays at bay for the entirety of the game.
It was a measure in ineptitude in all facets for the Jays, something they’ll need to polish when their BIG EAST slate starts next weekend.