WVU Baseball Sent Packing After 8-4 Big 12 Tournament Loss

WVU Baseball exited the Big 12 Tournament early on Wednesday, sent home empty handed in the double elimination bracket after an 8-4 comeback loss at the hands of underdog and No. 6 seed Kansas State.

West Virginia’s pitchers only had one bad inning, but it turned into a spectacular meltdown nonetheless. The No. 4 seeded Mountaineers managed as many hits as the Wildcats did, but WVU issued 11 walks—including four with the bases loaded—more than enough to sink their tournament hopes. 

The Mountaineers raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first, loading the bases with two singles and a hit batter. Brodie Kresser singled in two runs, then Sam White lifted a sacrifice fly to right field for the third. West Virginia managed just two base hits, both singles, until the ninth inning, when the game was well out of hand.

While West Virginia starter Hambleton Oliver faced the minimum through three innings, he ran into trouble his second time through the order. The first six Wildcats’ baserunners reached, with a double and a single pushing Kansas State ahead. Mountaineers’ head coach Randy Mazey gave Oliver the hook, but the Mountaineers issued five more walks before the inning finished, with Kansas State leading 7-3 when the dust settled.

The Wildcats added another run with two outs in the sixth inning, drawing a bases-loaded walk on a payoff pitch.

Michael Perazza stroked a pinch-hit double down the right-field line to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Skylar King doubled him home, but the Mountaineers’ push halted there.

WVU Baseball will now wait until Selection Monday, May 27, to find out if their season will continue with an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. This marks their third consecutive winless appearance in the Big 12 Tournament following strong regular seasons, one that even resulted in a share of the conference regular season title.