MANHATTAN, Kan. - Western Illinois baseball fought hard during game two with Kansas State but lost the battle 4-1.

The Wildcats again jumped out early with two unearned runs in the first inning. Ryan Wachholder got the start for Western and was strong but committed a throwing error in the first that extended the inning for Kansas State.

KSU added one in the third and seventh inning to lead 4-0 after seven innings of play.

The Leathernecks finally put a run on the board in the ninth inning. Austin Cowen singled to start the inning. Ryan Cowhey drew a walk and Western was looking for another ninth inning rally. John Koszulinski drew a one out walk to load the bases. A wild pitch from Wildcat pitcher Blake Freeman allowed Cowen to score from third and the rally seemed to be in full swing. However, Freeman would settle down and retire the final two Leatherneck hitters of the inning and seal the victory for the home team.

Kansas State moved to 7-2 while Western Illinois falls to 1-8 on the season.

Wachholder went 6.0 innings and faced two hitters in the seventh. He allowed four runs, two of those being earned. The junior will fall to 0-2 on the season. Beau Below appeared in relief of the Leatherneck starter and went 2.0 solid innings of no-hit baseball.

Matt Igara recorded his fourth multi-hit game of the season with a 2-for-4 performance. Dan Dispensa, Tom Lilja, Cowen and Koszulinski all added a hit on the afternoon. Cowen hit safely for the fourth straight game.

Matt Applegate will pick the victory to move to 2-1 on the year after he went 7.0 innings and did not allow a run while striking out four Leathernecks.

Western Illinois will be back in action on Sunday with a double header beginning at 11 a.m.

Be sure to catch the broadcast on Rocky Vision at 10:45 a.m.