The Kansas State Wildcats wrapped up another series, but the outcome was not what the purple and white had hoped for. On the road against No. 18 West Virginia, the Mountaineers added a third win against the Wildcats, 13-6, sweeping the series.
“We played poorly in every phase of the game,” K-State head coach Pete Hughes said. “We created big innings for our opponents. We gave them big innings that we could not damage control.”
After the Wildcats committed an error, Matt Ineich scored the first run for the Mountaineers in the bottom of the first. However, K-State tied the game, 1-1, in the top of the third, when Bear Madliak walked with the bases loaded, sending Shintaro Inoue home.
West Virginia’s bats were just getting started, though, as they took back the lead on an RBI double in the bottom of the third and went on to score five runs during the fourth to extend their lead, 7-1.
Despite the Mountaineers’ offensive onslaught, they went the next three innings without scoring, as did K-State. The Wildcats, however, knew they had to respond to the deficit, which they did with a three-run eighth inning.
Starting the inning was Rohan Putz, who singled to left field and advanced to second after Grant Gallagher drew a walk. Then, thanks to Shea McGahan’s three-run blast, K-State cut the deficit to 7-4.
“I’m happy for Rohan Putz, who was ready when called upon,” Hughes said. “Good things happen to ‘team first’ guys.”
But the gap only expanded in the bottom of the eighth after the Mountaineers put up a six-run inning. The Wildcats tried to rally back, scoring two runs in the top of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to combat the damage West Virginia had already inflicted.
James Guyette took the loss for K-State, moving his record to 5-2 on the season.
“We played losing baseball across the board,” Hughes said. “ I say ‘we’ because we all have ownership. Our injuries had nothing to do with today. We played well below our skill level and were poor fundamentally. That’s on me, and it’ll be fixed. You can have injuries as an excuse, but you can’t be poor fundamentally.”
The final loss against West Virginia marked K-State’s longest losing streak — seven games — under Hughes. The Wildcats will return to the road Tuesday against Missouri State. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. as the purple and white scrounge for a win in the current drought.
