Thursday, May 21
Surprise, Ariz.
7:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
38-13
4
vs
2
Kansas State
30-27
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 11 | 1 |
Mountaineers Defeat Kansas State to Advance in Big 12 Tournament
May 22, 2026 12:16 AM | Baseball
SURPRISE, Ariz. – The ninth-ranked and No. 2-seed West Virginia University baseball team advanced to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals with a 4-2 win over Kansas State, Thursday night at Surprise Stadium. The Mountaineers improve to 38-13 overall while the Wildcats fall to 30-27.
With the win, WVU will play either No. 3-seed Arizona State or No. 6-seed Cincinnati on Friday night with first pitch scheduled for 11 p.m. ET.
Every player in the Mountaineer lineup had at least one hit on the night, led by three from graduate student Sean Smith. Sophomore Gavin Kelly hit his team-leading 13th home run of the season while junior Armani Guzman and senior Brock Wills each collected an RBI.
Fresh off taking home Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors, redshirt junior Maxx Yehl earned the win on Thursday, throwing 6.1 innings and allowing just two runs. He struck out seven on the night and did not allow a hit until the sixth inning. Graduate student Ian Korn closed out the game with five strikeouts in 2.2 scoreless innings to earn his second save of the season.
After a 1-2-3 top of the first, Kelly got the Mountaineers on the board in the home half of the first frame with a solo shot to center field.
The Mountaineers held on to a one-run lead until they scored three in the sixth inning. Smith got the inning started with a single before stealing second and advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt. Guzman brought him home with a bunt single as the KSU pitcher and third baseman ran into each other trying to field the ball.
Guzman advanced to third on a single by graduate student Brodie Kresser and came home to score on a wild pitch. Wills then brought home Kresser with an RBI single.
The Wildcats got on the board in the seventh with a two-run home run before Korn came in and retired the next two batters to end the inning and then went 1-2-3 in the eighth. In the ninth, he allowed a leadoff single before a strikeout, fly out, and another strikeout ended the game
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
With the win, WVU will play either No. 3-seed Arizona State or No. 6-seed Cincinnati on Friday night with first pitch scheduled for 11 p.m. ET.
Every player in the Mountaineer lineup had at least one hit on the night, led by three from graduate student Sean Smith. Sophomore Gavin Kelly hit his team-leading 13th home run of the season while junior Armani Guzman and senior Brock Wills each collected an RBI.
Fresh off taking home Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors, redshirt junior Maxx Yehl earned the win on Thursday, throwing 6.1 innings and allowing just two runs. He struck out seven on the night and did not allow a hit until the sixth inning. Graduate student Ian Korn closed out the game with five strikeouts in 2.2 scoreless innings to earn his second save of the season.
After a 1-2-3 top of the first, Kelly got the Mountaineers on the board in the home half of the first frame with a solo shot to center field.
The Mountaineers held on to a one-run lead until they scored three in the sixth inning. Smith got the inning started with a single before stealing second and advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt. Guzman brought him home with a bunt single as the KSU pitcher and third baseman ran into each other trying to field the ball.
Guzman advanced to third on a single by graduate student Brodie Kresser and came home to score on a wild pitch. Wills then brought home Kresser with an RBI single.
The Wildcats got on the board in the seventh with a two-run home run before Korn came in and retired the next two batters to end the inning and then went 1-2-3 in the eighth. In the ninth, he allowed a leadoff single before a strikeout, fly out, and another strikeout ended the game
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Yehl, Maxx (8-2)
L: Sheffield, Lincoln (8-4)
S: Korn, Ian (2)
Batting:
HR: Gallagher, Grant 1
RBI: Gallagher, Grant 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Inoue, Shintaro 1 ; Gallagher, Grant 1
SB: Smolinski, Ty 1
CS: Madliak, Bear 1
HBP: Vasquez, Carlos 1
Batting:
2B: Schoenfeld, Paul 1
HR: Kelly, Gavin 1
RBI: Kelly, Gavin 1 ; Guzman, Armani 1 ; Wills, Brock 1
SH: Graveline, Matthew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kelly, Gavin 1 ; Guzman, Armani 1 ; Smith, Sean 1 ; Kresser, Brodie 1
SB: Smith, Sean 1 ; Kresser, Brodie 1
Players Mentioned
UTL
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UTL
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RHP
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