West Virginia departs Big 12 Tournament after 2nd loss in 2 days
West Virginia was eliminated Wednesday from the Big 12 Tournament, losing to Kansas State, 8-4, in Arlington, Texas.
It was the Mountaineers’ second loss in two days after dropping a 5-2 decision to TCU on Monday.
Junior Brodie Kresser drove in two runs for the Mountaineers (33-22) on Wednesday and sophomore Skylar King had two hits and an RBI. Sophomore Sam White also recorded an RBI.
West Virginia’s first four batters reached base on the way to a 3-0 lead after one inning. Graduate Hambleton Oliver started for WVU and faced the minimum through three innings.
In the fourth, however, Kansas State (32-23) scored seven runs while four West Virginia pitchers combined to walk six batters and surrender four hits in the inning. The Wildcats added an eighth run in the sixth inning.
West Virginia scored another run in the ninth on doubles by freshman Michael Perazza and King. Shortstop JJ Wetherholt, a projected first-round MLB draft choice in July, was 1 for 8 in the two games.
WVU hopes to receive a berth in the NCAA Regional and will learn its fate during the ESPN2 selection show at noon Monday.
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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