The West Virginia University (WVU) baseball team has been eliminated from the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship for another year, following an 8-4 defeat against Kansas State. This loss extends the Mountaineers' winless streak in the Big 12 Tournament to 0-6 since its relocation to Globe Life Field in 2022.
Despite an early lead, the Mountaineers were unable to maintain their momentum. In the bottom of the first inning, WVU surged ahead with a 3-0 lead thanks to junior Brodie Kresser's two-RBI single and Sam White's RBI sacrifice fly. This marked the first instance WVU scored first in a Big 12 Tournament game in Arlington.
“We only got three hits yesterday,” WVU head coach Randy Mazey commented.
“We had three hits in the first four hitters today.”
Senior pitcher Hambleton Oliver, making his first start of the season, delivered three clean innings before the game took a turn in the fourth inning. After walking the leadoff batter and giving up consecutive singles, Oliver allowed Kansas State's Brady Day to drive in two runs with a double. Shortly after, David Bishop added a two-RBI single, putting the Wildcats ahead 4-3.
Right-hander Robby Porco replaced Oliver but struggled, walking two and allowing a run in his brief appearance. Lefty Cole Fehrman followed, similarly walking two and conceding a run. The inning continued to unravel for WVU as righty Luke Lyman walked in another run before managing to close the inning.
Kansas State capitalized on WVU's pitching struggles, amassing seven runs in the fourth inning through four hits and six walks, securing a 7-3 lead. They extended their lead to 8-3 in the sixth inning after Chase Meyer walked in another run for WVU.
Despite a final rally in the ninth inning with doubles from Michael Perazza and Skylar King, WVU could only add one more run.
Kansas State's starter, Owen Boerema, recovered from a shaky first inning to pitch a complete game, allowing four earned runs and striking out ten WVU hitters. Boerema’s performance contrasted sharply with WVU’s pitching woes, as Mountaineer pitchers combined for 11 walks and only five strikeouts, with just over half of their pitches being strikes.
“We just gave them too many free passes in that seven-run inning,” Mazey reflected.
WVU now awaits the NCAA Tournament selection announcement on May 27, where their postseason fate will be determined.
