Big 12 Championship Run Ends Thursday to WVU
May 21, 2026 | Baseball
SURPRISE, Ariz. – Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Maxx Yehl stymied K-State's potent offense through six innings, and West Virginia held off the Wildcats late in a 4-2 triumph Thursday night at Surprise Stadium.
The Wildcats finish the 2026 season with a 30-27 record, while West Virginia, ranked ninth nationally this week, improved to 38-13.
After recording 27 hits in the first two games of the championship, the Wildcats were held to just four on Thursday.
But, K-State's Lincoln Sheffield (8-4) matched his fellow starting pitcher for the first five innings to keep the Wildcats in the game. Sheffield, who closed out Tuesday's win over Utah, had a gutsy outing, scattering six hits and just one run through five innings.
After West Virginia opened the scoring in the first with a solo homer from Gavin Kelly, Sheffield retired 10 of the next 13 batters and then eventually ran into his first extensive trouble in the sixth. The Mountaineers plated three runs before Miles Smith came on in relief and got an inning-ending double play to hold the deficit to 4-0.
The Wildcats battled back in the top of the seventh as Grant Gallagher, following a walk to Shintaro Inoue, homered to straight-away center to cut the margin to 4-2.
But, Ian Korn came on in relief and held the Cats to just one hit over the final 2.2 innings with five strikeouts to earn the save. Smith had an identical outing in relief for the Cats as he held the Mountaineer offense scoreless on just one hit in his 2.2 innings with two strikeouts.
Kyan Lodice, AJ Evasco, Madliak and Gallagher each had one hit for K-State.
The Wildcats finish the 2026 season with a 30-27 record, while West Virginia, ranked ninth nationally this week, improved to 38-13.
After recording 27 hits in the first two games of the championship, the Wildcats were held to just four on Thursday.
But, K-State's Lincoln Sheffield (8-4) matched his fellow starting pitcher for the first five innings to keep the Wildcats in the game. Sheffield, who closed out Tuesday's win over Utah, had a gutsy outing, scattering six hits and just one run through five innings.
After West Virginia opened the scoring in the first with a solo homer from Gavin Kelly, Sheffield retired 10 of the next 13 batters and then eventually ran into his first extensive trouble in the sixth. The Mountaineers plated three runs before Miles Smith came on in relief and got an inning-ending double play to hold the deficit to 4-0.
The Wildcats battled back in the top of the seventh as Grant Gallagher, following a walk to Shintaro Inoue, homered to straight-away center to cut the margin to 4-2.
But, Ian Korn came on in relief and held the Cats to just one hit over the final 2.2 innings with five strikeouts to earn the save. Smith had an identical outing in relief for the Cats as he held the Mountaineer offense scoreless on just one hit in his 2.2 innings with two strikeouts.
Kyan Lodice, AJ Evasco, Madliak and Gallagher each had one hit for K-State.
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