K-State Falls in Extras in Series Opener vs. WVU

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State dug out of a three-run hole and tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, but an unearned run in the top of the 11^th handed West Virginia a 4-3 victory in the series opener Friday night at Tointon Family Stadium.

The Wildcats (21-16, 4-9 Big 12) brought across runs in the sixth, seventh and finally the ninth, as pinch-hitter Cameron Uselton's RBI groundout scored Zach Kokoska to tie the game. The inning ended with two K-State runners in scoring position.

WVU's Matt McCormick doubled with one out in the 11^th and later scored on a two-out throwing error by the Cats. The Mountaineers (15-16, 6-7 Big 12) held off K-State's rally attempt, as Kokoska was stranded on second base to end the game.

"Yeah, tough loss," said head coach Pete Hughes. "Friday night you've got to win the close ones at home. We didn't. We got our guy on the mound and couldn't take advantage of getting a Friday night win. West Virginia put the ball in play more than we did in critical situations, so that was the storyline of the game."

K-State starter Jordan Wicks struck out a career-high 11 batters over his 6 2/3 innings of work. The lefty scattered five hits and allowed three earned runs, all in the fifth inning, while walking three in a no-decision.

"I thought he pitched well and certainly pitched well enough to win," Hughes said of Wicks. "We had a dropped third strike there where we gave him four outs in the inning. You get in trouble a lot of times when you give a team like West Virginia, who puts a lot of pressure on you offensively, and get more base runners on, you give them four outs. I thought he pitched well enough.

"You look at his line, 11 strikeouts and three walks. Really, I judge on how many times the barrel was on the baseball. It wasn't on the barrel very often."

Wicks did not allow a hit through the game's first four innings. Vince Ippoliti's one-out single was the first of four Mountaineer hits in their three-run fifth.

McCormick singled home Ippoliti for the game's first run before Kevin Brophy and Mikey Kluska each added RBI singles in the inning. McCormick led all players with three hits, going 3-for-5 with a double, run batted in and two runs scored.

The Wildcats took advantage of a West Virginia error in the sixth and began to chip away at the 3-0 deficit, as Cameron Thompson ran home on single from Nick Goodwin that was misplayed ball by WVU center fielder Victor Scott.

Chris Ceballos made it a one-run game with his leadoff homer in to start the seventh. It marked the senior catcher's fourth home run of the season and 15^th of his career.

In relief of Wicks, Caleb Littlejim and Eric Torres combined hold WVU scoreless over three innings while striking out four. Littlejim retired all five he saw while Torres struck out two in an inning and a third.

Tyler Eckberg entered the game with two gone in the 10^th inning and picked up an inning-ending strikeout to leave runners at the corners. Eckberg suffered the loss after allowing the unearned run in the 11^th.

The four Wildcat pitchers totaled a season-high-tying 16 strikeouts.

WVU reliver Jacob Watters logged the three hitless innings for the Mountaineers, striking out six in earning the victory. Watters retired 10 of 12 batters he faced, as he walked one and hit a batter.

In the start, Jackson Wolf struck out 10 over eight innings. Wolf yielded three earned runs on six hits to go with three walks.

Thompson had K-State's only multi-hit effort, going 2-for-5 with a run scored.

Kokoska, with a walk and hit by pitch, extended his career-long on-base streak to 33 games.

The Cats and Mountaineers play game two of the series Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with live, free audio streaming at K-StateSports.com/watch.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

K-State scored three runs on six hits with two errors and eight left on base.
West Virginia scored four runs on eight hits with one error and nine left on base.
Wicks worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits with three walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts.
It was the fourth time this season that Wicks has had double-digit strikeouts.
Wicks threw a season-high 123 pitches.
Littlejim retired all five batters he faced, striking out two in 1 2/3 innings of relief.
Torres worked 1 1/3 innings, allowing two hits with a walk and a strikeout.
Eckberg (3-4) took the loss and allowed an unearned run on a hit with a strikeout in 1 1/3 innings.
Both teams finished with 16 strikeouts.
Thompson had the only multi-hit performance for K-State, going 2-for-5.
Ceballos hit his fourth homer of the season.
Ceballos' homer was the Cats' only extra-base hit.
Uselton drove in the game-tying run in the ninth for K-State.
K-State was 3-for-14 with two outs, 2-for-17 with runners on and 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

NOTES

Thompson made his 221^st consecutive start and is second in career starts in K-State history.
Kokoska extended his career-best on-base streak to 33 games.
Kokoska's hit streak ended at a career-high 14 games.
K-State has 52 homers on the year, good for second in the Big 12.
The Wildcats are now 2-1 in extra innings this season and 5-4 in one-run games.
West Virginia leads the all-time series 13-9 (13-9 Big 12).
West Virginia holds a 7-6 advantage in games played in Manhattan.

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Team Stats

Cameron Thompson

Nick Goodwin

Dylan Phillips

Chris Ceballos

Players Mentioned

Chris Ceballos

Tyler Eckberg

Nick Goodwin

Zach Kokoska

Caleb Littlejim

Cameron Thompson

Eric Torres

Cameron Uselton

Jordan Wicks

Players Mentioned

Chris Ceballos

Tyler Eckberg

Nick Goodwin

Zach Kokoska

Caleb Littlejim

Cameron Thompson

Eric Torres

Cameron Uselton

Jordan Wicks

Kansas State University Athletics