Cole’s Complete Game Lifts No. 18 WVU to Series Win

Saturday, May 2

Morgantown, W.V.

3 p.m.

Kansas State University

26-21, 9-14

West Virginia

30-12, 15-8

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Kansas State	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	5	3
West Virginia	0	0	3	2	1	3	0	0	X	9	15	0

May 02, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

MORGANTOWN, W.V. – West Virginia's Chansen Cole held K-State to one run over nine innings to lift the No. 18 Mountaineers to a 9-1 victory Saturday afternoon at Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ball Park.

Cole threw 120 pitches in his first complete game, and the team's first of the season, limiting the Wildcats (26-21, 9-14 Big 12) to five hits with nine strikeouts and one walk.

West Virginia (30-12, 15-8 Big 12) backed Cole's performance by scoring nine runs over a four-inning span to secure the Big 12 series and hand the Wildcats their sixth consecutive loss.

"Our guys played hard. We had some quality at-bats throughout, but they didn't pay off," said head coach Pete Hughes. "In the end, we didn't play adequate enough defense to win."

THE RUNDOWN
WVU threatened to jump on the board early, after stringing together three consecutive hits, but a play at the plate and 6-4-3 double play kept the game scoreless.

The Mountaineers broke through in the next inning with Gavin Kelly's solo home run before they capitalized on a throwing error that led to two unearned runs. WVU added three more runs over the fourth and fifth frames.

After 17 scoreless innings, the Wildcats ended the drought when Micah Kendrick led off the sixth inning with a solo home run to trim the deficit to 6-1.

WVU answered in the bottom of the inning with a three-run blast from Sean Smith.

INSIDE THE BOX

WVU scored nine runs on 15 hits with no errors committed and 10 runners left on base, while holding K-State to one run on five hits.
K-State committed three errors and stranded three on base.
Four different Wildcats registered a hit led by two from Kendrick, who homered in the sixth.
All nine players for WVU earned a hit Saturday, including five with multiple.
Armani Guzman led all players with three hits (3-for-5) while Smith produced a game-high three RBI.
Cole (8-1) earned the victory, allowing one run and five hits over nine complete innings. He struck out nine and issued one walk in his first complete game.
Lincoln Sheffield (6-2) suffered the loss. He surrendered six runs (three earned) on 10 hits over five innings.

TEAM NOTES

WVU leads the all-time series 23-17, that includes a 13-4 advantage for games played in Morgantown.
K-State has registered a home run in 33 of its 47 games this season.
The team's 76 home runs rank fifth all-time in K-State history. All of K-State's top five marks in terms of home run production are in the Hughes era.
The loss marks the team's longest losing streak since 2019.

PLAYER NOTES

Kendrick belted his fifth home run of the season, becoming the ninth player to hit five or more this season.
Ethan Giesbrecht made his first appearance out of the pen for K-State since joining the team in 2025, throwing a scoreless ninth inning.

ON DECK
Sunday's series finale is slated for a 12 p.m. CT first pitch and will broadcast on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Radio coverage is available on KMAN Online, while a free a free live stream audio is available for K-State baseball games at kstatesports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

– k-statesports.com –

How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.