Even before Josh Ethier slid safely into third base Friday afternoon, the Kansas State third baseman’s line drive into the right-center gap had all the makings of a game-changer.
He slapped the seventh-inning pitch into the outfield turf and looked to have a good shot at a double — which would have scored two — but Abilene Christian center fielder Derek Scott let it roll to the warning track.
It won’t go down as an error, because Scott never touched the ball. But it will go down as Ethier’s fifth straight game with a hit, this one to propel K-State to a 6-5 win over Abilene Christian in the first game of the teams’ doubleheader.