WVU Baseball Ekes Out Big 12 Quarterfinal Win

WVU Baseball advanced to the Big 12 Quarterfinals on Thursday, May 21, defeating the No. 11 seed Kansas State Wildcats 4-2 in Surprise, Ariz. behind a first-inning home run from Gavin Kelly and 6.1 strong innings from staff ace Maxx Yehl.

The No. 2 seeded Mountaineers will face the winner of Thursday night’s game between No. 3 seed Arizona State and No. 6 seed Cincinnati.

Kelly wasted no time putting West Virginia in front, clubbing a 1-0 pitch 416 feet to center field in the bottom of the first inning. The Mountaineers managed two singles in the frame but couldn’t add to their lead, a recurring inning as potential rallies in the third and fifth innings went nowhere. Yehl managed to preserve the razor-thin lead, striking out six batters in the first four innings and seven overall.

Offense Breaks Through

The Mountaineers broke through in the sixth, Sean Smith singling and stealing second to start the inning. Matt Graveline bunted Smith to third, a play West Virginia challenged in an attempt to put two aboard, but the failed bid didn’t matter as Armani Guzman brought Smith across with a successful bunt single. Brodie Kresser singled, putting runners at the corners, and a wild pitch scored Guzman; Brock Wills singled Kresser home, pushing the lead to 4-0.

Kansas State catcher Bear Madliak hit a leadoff single in the seventh, then Kelly threw him out attempting to steal second base. The play saved a run, as Yehl issued a full-count walk before giving up a home run, ending his day at 95 pitches and bringing Ian Korn into a save situation.

Korn allowed a ninth inning single but otherwise churned through 2.2 innings on 33 pitches, fanning five batters. WVU Baseball will attempt to punch their ticket to the Big 12 Championship game starting at 11 p.m. on Friday, May 22.