The No. 9 West Virginia Mountaineers (38-13) handled the Kansas State Wildcats (30-27) Thursday evening in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 baseball tournament 4-2 at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona.
West Virginia sophomore Gavin Kelly gave the Mountaineers the early edge with a 416-foot solo home run for a 1-0 lead.
The Mountaineers added to the lead in the sixth after senior Sean Smith ripped a single through the left side and immediately stole second base before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt from senior Matthew Graveline. Then, junior Armani Guzman laid a bunt down, scoring Smith, and reached after Kansas State senior starting pitcher Lincoln Sheffield and senior third baseman Grant Gallagher collided on the play.
Senior Brodie Kresser preserved the momentum with a single to left field, placing runners at the corners, and swiped second, prior to a wild pitch adding another WVU run. Senior Brick Wills capped three-run sixth inning with an RBI single as the Mountaineers held a 4-0 lead.
West Virginia starting pitcher Maxx Yehl tossed six scoreless innings, but in the sixth, the junior walked senior Shintaro Inoue before Gallagher lifted the 2-1 pitch over the centerfield wall for a two-run home run to pull the Wildcats within two 4-2, ending Yehls evening. He struck out seven in 6,1 innings of work.
