As Kansas State struggled to find wins in the latter half of the season, they found a way, getting them to the No. 11 seed in the Big 12 Tournament.
Fighting during every pitch and at-bat, the Wildcats surpassed Utah (9-5) and TCU (9-4) to make their way to the quarterfinals. However, the purple and white had a skilled and competitive matchup ahead as they faced No. 2 seed West Virginia, which also ranked No. 9 in the NCAA.
During their regular-season matchup in early May, the Mountaineers — ranked No. 18 at the time — hosted the ‘Cats and swept them.
Just like the previous game against TCU, it was another chance for K-State to find redemption and show its true baseball IQ. Despite the fight, the Wildcats fell short 4-2 in a back-and-forth matchup.
West Virginia came prepared with a very focused mindset. Starting Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Maxx Yehl on the mound, the Mountaineers had an easy three-up, three-down inning consisting of two Wildcats grounding out and the third striking out. Yehl took the win for West Virginia, moving his record to 8-2. Across 6.1 innings, he gave up two runs on three hits, striking out seven K-State batters.
Then, going to work in the box, Mountaineers’ Gavin Kelly hit a homer off K-State ace Lincoln Sheffield. The left-handed hurler took the loss for the Wildcats, throwing 5.1 innings and giving up four runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts.
The second through fifth innings would be an exchange of pitches and bat contact, but nothing significant enough to find a gap in defenses.
In the bottom half of the sixth, however, West Virginia extended their lead to 4-0. After two singles, which allowed runners to score, a wild pitch by K-State scored the third run.
Since the Mountaineers had found a consistent rhythm with Sheffield, the Wildcats replaced him with Miles Smith to set a new tempo. Smith went 2.2 innings on the hill, didn’t give up any runs on one hit and struck out two batters.
Finding some fight, K-State catcher Bear Madliak got the bats going, singling through the left side of the infield. But with a little too much aggressiveness, Madliak was caught stealing second base.
Remaining patient at the plate, Shintaro Inoue walked after seeing eight pitches, causing West Virginia to make a mound visit. Following the brief pause in play, Grant Gallagher kept the Wildcats in the game, hitting a 433ft two-run home run and putting K-State within two, 4-2.
After Gallagher’s homer, the Mountaineers replaced Yehl with Ian Korn, who finished out the half-inning along with the remainder of the game.
Despite the Wildcats’ fight and contact, it wasn’t enough to overpower West Virginia’s defense, ending the contest with a 4-2 outcome.
K-State ends the season with a 30-27 overall record and 11-19 in conference play.
