Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, May 20
Morgantown, W.Va.
5:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
27-26, 8-15
4
at
15
West Virginia
32-20, 13-10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Kansas State
0
0
0
0
2
0
1
1
0
4
6
2
West Virginia
0
0
3
8
0
4
0
0
X
15
14
2
WVU Clinches Series Friday Night
May 20, 2022 | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia put up multiple runs in three different innings and cruised to a 15-4 series-clinching win Friday night at Monongalia County Ballpark.
The Mountaineers (32-20, 13-10 Big 12) broke the game open with an eight-run fourth, in which they brought a dozen hitters to the plate. In the inning, WVU registered four hits and took advantage of four walks, a hit batter, an error while stealing three bases.
"To beat West Virginia, you've got to minimize free passes and we didn't do that," said head coach Pete Hughes. "You've got to control the big inning and we didn't do that. And the last component to beat West Virginia is to control the running game, and we were deficient in that area.
"We've got a quick turnaround and got to get better in those three areas: limit the walks, damage control the big inning and control their running game."
WVU finished the night with six stolen bases while drawing 10 walks against three K-State pitchers.
During the fourth inning, McGwire Holbrook added a two-run single and Tevin Tucker capped the frame with a two-run, two-out triple. Starter German Fajardo and Blake Corsentino were used in the inning, as six of the eight runs went as unearned.
Fajardo needed 109 pitches to get through 3 1/3 innings, as he walked six and was responsible for seven runs (five earned) in the loss. The sophomore right-hander struck out three and yielded four hits.
Of Corsentino's eight runs allowed, only three were earned over his 2 2/3 innings. Corsentino's final line showed nine hits, three strikeouts and a walk.
West Virginia, who had one hit through two innings, struck first with a three-run third. A one-out walk drawn by J.J. Wetherholt started the rally, as he scored on a sacrifice fly from Holbrook. A batter later, Braden Barry launched a two-run home run to five the Mountaineers a 3-0 lead.
K-State (27-26, 8-15 Big 12) broke up the shutout and WVU's no-hit bid in the top of the fifth inning. Justin Mitchell led off with a single for the Cats' initial base hit before Dominic Johnson laced a two-out single. With Mitchell and Johnson standing in scoring position, Cash Rugely drove a ball off the fence in right field for a two-run triple.
Ben Hampton, WVU's starting pitcher, struck out eight and scattered just three hits in his 6 1/3 innings. In the win, he allowed just two earned runs and walked one.
Cole Johnson and Nick Goodwin each connected on solo home runs in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. It marked Johnson's seventh of the year while Goodwin reaches 10 homers for the second straight season.
West Virginia tacked on four more in the sixth inning, getting an RBI single from Tucker and a two-run double from Wetherholt – all coming with two outs.
The Mountaineers totaled 10 two-out RBI while going 11-for-19 (.579) with two away.
The Cats were just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
After the teams traded zeros over the first two frames, West Virginia struck first with three in the third. Holbrook lifted a sacrifice fly before Barry followed a batter later with a two-run shot over the left field fence.
WVU took advantage of four walks, a hit batter and a Wildcat error in the fourth – bringing a dozen batters to the plate in an eight-run inning. Holbrook got things started with a two-RBI single before three run-scoring hits with two outs, including a two-run triple from the bat of Tucker.
Just two of the Mountaineers' eight run in the fourth were earned.
K-State registered its first hit when Mitchell led of the fifth with a single to left. Dominic Johnson later singled with two outs, setting up a two-run triple from Rugely that produced the Wildcats' first two runs of the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
UP NEXT
K-State and West Virginia finish the three-game set Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at Monongalia County Ballpark. The contest can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be available on News Radio KMAN with free, live audio streaming at K-StateSports.com/Watch.
The Mountaineers (32-20, 13-10 Big 12) broke the game open with an eight-run fourth, in which they brought a dozen hitters to the plate. In the inning, WVU registered four hits and took advantage of four walks, a hit batter, an error while stealing three bases.
"To beat West Virginia, you've got to minimize free passes and we didn't do that," said head coach Pete Hughes. "You've got to control the big inning and we didn't do that. And the last component to beat West Virginia is to control the running game, and we were deficient in that area.
"We've got a quick turnaround and got to get better in those three areas: limit the walks, damage control the big inning and control their running game."
WVU finished the night with six stolen bases while drawing 10 walks against three K-State pitchers.
During the fourth inning, McGwire Holbrook added a two-run single and Tevin Tucker capped the frame with a two-run, two-out triple. Starter German Fajardo and Blake Corsentino were used in the inning, as six of the eight runs went as unearned.
Fajardo needed 109 pitches to get through 3 1/3 innings, as he walked six and was responsible for seven runs (five earned) in the loss. The sophomore right-hander struck out three and yielded four hits.
Of Corsentino's eight runs allowed, only three were earned over his 2 2/3 innings. Corsentino's final line showed nine hits, three strikeouts and a walk.
West Virginia, who had one hit through two innings, struck first with a three-run third. A one-out walk drawn by J.J. Wetherholt started the rally, as he scored on a sacrifice fly from Holbrook. A batter later, Braden Barry launched a two-run home run to five the Mountaineers a 3-0 lead.
K-State (27-26, 8-15 Big 12) broke up the shutout and WVU's no-hit bid in the top of the fifth inning. Justin Mitchell led off with a single for the Cats' initial base hit before Dominic Johnson laced a two-out single. With Mitchell and Johnson standing in scoring position, Cash Rugely drove a ball off the fence in right field for a two-run triple.
Ben Hampton, WVU's starting pitcher, struck out eight and scattered just three hits in his 6 1/3 innings. In the win, he allowed just two earned runs and walked one.
Cole Johnson and Nick Goodwin each connected on solo home runs in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. It marked Johnson's seventh of the year while Goodwin reaches 10 homers for the second straight season.
West Virginia tacked on four more in the sixth inning, getting an RBI single from Tucker and a two-run double from Wetherholt – all coming with two outs.
The Mountaineers totaled 10 two-out RBI while going 11-for-19 (.579) with two away.
The Cats were just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
After the teams traded zeros over the first two frames, West Virginia struck first with three in the third. Holbrook lifted a sacrifice fly before Barry followed a batter later with a two-run shot over the left field fence.
WVU took advantage of four walks, a hit batter and a Wildcat error in the fourth – bringing a dozen batters to the plate in an eight-run inning. Holbrook got things started with a two-RBI single before three run-scoring hits with two outs, including a two-run triple from the bat of Tucker.
Just two of the Mountaineers' eight run in the fourth were earned.
K-State registered its first hit when Mitchell led of the fifth with a single to left. Dominic Johnson later singled with two outs, setting up a two-run triple from Rugely that produced the Wildcats' first two runs of the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored four runs on six hits with two errors and left five on base.
- West Virginia scored 15 runs on 14 hits, committed two errors and stranded 11 baserunners.
- No Wildcat recorded more than one base hit.
- Four of K-State's six hits went for extra bases.
- Goodwin and Cole Johnson each homered.
- Goodwin has reached 10 homers for the second straight season.
- Fajardo set season highs in walks (6) and runs allowed (7).
- Corsentino set a season high in hits allowed with nine and matched his season high with eight runs allowed.
- Four Mountaineers drove in multiple runs and registered two or more hits.
- Kluska went 3-for-5 with an RBI.
- Barry, Holbrook and Tucker each finished with three RBI.
- Hampton struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings in earning the win.
- K-State went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-12 with men on base.
- West Virginia was 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position and 10-for-27 with runners on base.
- West Virginia leads the all-time series 15-11, dating back to 2013.
- K-State is 3-8 on the road in the series.
- K-State now has 81 home runs on the season, the second-most in a single season in program history.
- The Wildcats have homered in nine of their last 10 games and in 13 of their last 15 overall.
- K-State is 6-16 in true road games and 6-19 in all games away from home.
- The Cats are 1-10 on the road in Big 12 play.
- With Baylor's loss to Oklahoma State Friday, K-State will be the No. 7 seed in next week's Big 12 Baseball Championship.
UP NEXT
K-State and West Virginia finish the three-game set Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at Monongalia County Ballpark. The contest can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be available on News Radio KMAN with free, live audio streaming at K-StateSports.com/Watch.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hampton, Ben (8-4)
L: Fajardo, German (4-2)
Batting:
2B: Pelletier, Raphael 1
3B: Rugely, Cash 1
HR: Goodwin, Nick 1 ; Johnson, Cole 1
RBI: Rugely, Cash 2 ; Goodwin, Nick 1 ; Johnson, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnson, Dominic 1 ; Goodwin, Nick 1 ; Mitchell, Justin 1 ; Johnson, Cole 1
CS: Johnson, Cole 1
HBP: Johnson, Dominic 1
Batting:
2B: Wetherholt, J.J. 1 ; Leonard, Dayne 1 ; Kluska, Mikey 1
3B: Tucker, Tevin 1
HR: Barry, Braden 1
RBI: Wetherholt, J.J. 2 ; Scott II, Victor 1 ; Holbrook, McGwire 3 ; Barry, Braden 3 ; Leonard, Dayne 1 ; Kluska, Mikey 1 ; Tucker, Tevin 3
SF: Holbrook, McGwire 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Davis, Austin 2 ; Wetherholt, J.J. 3 ; Scott II, Victor 2 ; Barry, Braden 2 ; Leonard, Dayne 1 ; Hussey, Grant 1 ; Kluska, Mikey 2 ; Tucker, Tevin 2
SB: Davis, Austin 1 ; Wetherholt, J.J. 1 ; Scott II, Victor 1 ; Holbrook, McGwire 1 ; Tucker, Tevin 2
HBP: Wetherholt, J.J. 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballK-State BSB | Postgame Press Conference vs Texas
Sunday, June 01
K-State Baseball | Game Highlights vs Houston Christian (Austin Regional)
Sunday, June 01
K-State BSB | Game Highlights vs Houston Christian (Austin Regional)
Saturday, May 31
K-State BSB | Postgame Press Conference vs Houston Christian
Saturday, May 31