Kansas State University
West Virginia University
Apr 23, 2017 | Baseball
GAME RECAP
4
11
21
WEST VIRGINIA
MOUNTAINEERS
23-15 (9-6 Big 12)
NR
K-STATE
WILDCATS
21-19 (4-11 Big 12)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WVU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| KSU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | X | 11 | 13 | 2 |
- Time of Game: 2:52
- First Pitch: 12:01
- Temperature: 67 F
- Wind: SSW 3
- Attendance: 2,344
- ? GAMECENTER
- ? HIGHLIGHTS
- ? BOX SCORE
MANHATTAN, Kan. –  Eleven unanswered runs wiped away a four-run deficit and gave Kansas State its first Big 12 series win of the season, as K-State upended No. 21 West Virginia, 11-4, in the series' rubber game Sunday at Tointon Family Stadium.
K-State (21-19, 4-11 Big 12) launched four homers – three in the eighth – and scored all 11 runs from the fifth inning on and handed West Virginia (23-15, 9-6 Big 12) its first conference series loss of the year.
"It feels real good, finally," head coach Brad Hill said after the series-clinching win. "Kids should feel good. That's a good ball club; to get your first series win against a ranked team. They're a good team all around, so the guys should feel real good."
The Wildcats plated five runs in the fifth inning after spotting the Mountaineers to a 4-0 lead at the halfway mark. In the inning, the first six Cat hitters reached and with the bases loaded, Cameron Thompson broke through with a single down the left-field line that scored Josh Ethier and Will Brennan.
Two batters later, and with the bases full once again, designated hitter Steve Serratore belted a bases-clearing double to the gap in left-center field that gave the Cats a 5-4 lead. All five runs in the inning were scored before WVU recorded its first out.
K-State extended its lead to 7-4 through six after Ethier led off the inning with a double and later scored on a double off the bat of Quintin Crandall. Jake Scudder brought home Crandall on a two-out bunt single that beat a defensive shift from West Virginia.
Catcher Josh Rolette hit his first of two solo homers in the seventh inning before he, Crandall and Scudder each hit solo shots in the eighth to complete the 11-run string. It marked the first multi-homer game of Rolette's career and he became the fifth Wildcat this season to hit two home runs in a game.
"It was fun, it was a fun day," Scudder said. "It's huge, we've been close the last couple weekends, we've won Friday, and had opportunities to win series. It's doing the little things and we finally pulled it out, we went 4-1 this week, that's huge for us."
Scudder continues to pace the Big 12 this season as he now has 11 long balls on the year – the most by a K-State hitter since 2010 (Carter Jurica, 13).
Four relief pitchers out of the K-State bullpen combined to surrender just one hit over the final 4 2/3 innings following West Virginia's four runs. Nick Jones was credited for the win, moving his record to 5-0, and Bryce Ward threw two complete scoreless innings with a strikeout and no walks. Starter Kasey Ford put in 3 2/3 innings of work and allowed two earned runs on five hits without walking a hitter.
"Proud of our pitching staff today," added Hill. "Four runs on a Sunday and pitched it by committee, thought the guys did an outstanding job … Bryce (Ward) with those two shutdown innings after we scored, that's kind of the name of the game, right there."
Eight of K-State's nine starters registered a hit in the game while Crandall, Thompson, Scudder and Rolette each had multiple hits. The foursome, along with Serratore's three-RBI day, each drove in multiple runs.
K-State will play in the National College Hall of Fame Classic at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals, on Tuesday vs. No. 10 Arkansas. First pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m., and will be televised on Cox Sports Television. Fans can also listen to the game on KMAN 1350 AM, 93.3 FM and streaming free at k-statesports.com.
"That's going to be fun," Hill said of playing in Kauffman Stadium. "That'll really be a lot of fun on Tuesday against Arkansas, so it should be a great matchup."
"Oh it's going to be fun," added Scudder. "We're going to go in there with a lot of confidence, it's going to be fun and we'll soak it all up and it should be a good time."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• K-State scored 11 runs on 13 hits and committed two errors and left eight runners on base. West Virginia scored four runs on 10 hits with no errors and stranded seven baserunners.
• Wildcat hitters drew six walks compared to two strikeouts.
• Eight Wildcat batters recorded a hit and four had multiple hits – led by Scudder going 3-for-5 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored.
• Rolette became the fifth K-State hitter to post a multi-homer game this season, joining Scudder, Crandall, Serratore and Grant Reuben.
• Scudder leads the Big 12 with a career-best 11 home runs – most by a cat since 2010.
• K-State combined to use seven pitchers who allowed one run on five hits over the final 5 1/3 innings.
• The seven pitchers combined to walk three and strike out four.
• K-State hit .500 (5-for-10) with runners in scoring position while WVU went 2-for-7 (.287).
• Each side got its leadoff man on base in five innings.
NOTES
• K-State is now 7-8 all-time vs. WVU and is now 5-4 at home.
• The Cats have taken 2-of-3 games from West Virginia in consecutive seasons for the first time.
• The series win was K-State's first Big 12 series win of the season while West Virginia loses its first conference series of the year.
• The team's combined 36 home runs are the most since 2010.
