Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (April 14, 2018) – The West Virginia University baseball team jumped out with six runs in the first inning and put the game away with a two-run home run in the eighth inning to beat Oklahoma State, 10-7, on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Mountaineers (16-16, 2-6 Big 12) batted around and scored six first-inning runs to take a 6-1 lead. The Cowboys (19-13-1, 8-3), who entered the day in first place in the Big 12 standings, rallied to cut the WVU deficit to one, at 8-7, before junior first baseman Marques Inman launched a two-run home run with two outs in the eighth inning.
 
West Virginia scored 10 runs on 13 hits, while Oklahoma State scored seven runs on 10 hits. Five of WVU's 10 runs came with two outs. Six Mountaineer starters had at least two hits in the win.
 
"Another 21 balls we smashed in the middle of the field today," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "When you do that, you're going to score a lot of runs, you're going to win a lot of games. We had some big hits. The first inning really set the tone for the game. Normally, after you have an inning like that you kind of die for a little while offensively, but I didn't think we did. Every time they scored, we kind of came back with an answer, and Marques Inman's home run in the eighth, words can't even describe how much better a three-run lead is than a one-run lead in the eighth inning. Yesterday, they got all the hits with two outs. They scored six runs with two outs, and today I think we scored five with two outs."

The win came in front of a crowd of 2,558 at Monongalia County Ballpark, the ninth-largest crowd in program history and the 25th time the Mountaineers have drawn more than 2,500 at home.
 
Inman led the way offensively with a career-best four RBIs on two hits with two runs scored. His biggest hit came in the eighth inning, after OSU cut WVU's lead to one, at 8-7. Inman launched a two-run home run down the left-field line with two outs, his fifth home run of the season and eighth of his career.
 
Freshman third baseman Tyler Doanes also swung a hot bat, driving in three runs on two hits, all with two outs. A two-RBI triple in the first inning gave Doanes his first career RBIs, while he turned in his first career multi-hit and multi-RBI games of his career.
 
On the mound, sophomore right-handed starter Kade Strowd allowed a run in the first inning but settled down to earn the win to improve to 3-3. He struck out 10 batters in 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with two walks. It was the second time this season Strowd struck out at least 10 batters.
 
For the second consecutive game, OSU and WVU scored in the first inning. The Cowboys took a 1-0 lead on a two-out RBI single. However, just like on Friday night, the Mountaineers answered back, this time by batting around to score six runs on five hits. It is the 14th time this season West Virginia has scored in the first inning.
 
The first five batters in the inning reached, as junior left fielder Braden Zarbnisky walked for the first of four times and sophomore center fielder Brandon White singled through the right side. Junior right fielder Darius Hill and Inman each followed with RBI singles to drive Zarbnisky and White in, respectively. With the Mountaineers ahead 2-0 with no outs, a hit batter loaded the bases. With one out, sophomore designated hitter Chase Illig singled through the left side to bring home a pair. After a strikeout, Doanes, the ninth batter in the inning, hit the first pitch he saw through the right side for a two-RBI triple to plate the fifth and sixth runs of the inning. It was Doanes' first career RBI and second triple in as many at-bats.
 
Strowd allowed a triple in the second, but struck out the side for the second consecutive inning to prevent a run from scoring. In the bottom half, Ryan Van Leeuwen relieved Oklahoma State starter Carson Teel on the mound and proceeded to hold West Virginia off the scoreboard in the second, third and fourth innings.
 
OSU cut into the 6-1 deficit with a run in the fourth, on a groundout after a leadoff double.
 
Strowd got another two strikeouts in the fifth, and the Mountaineers scored one in the bottom of the frame to take a 7-2 lead. Doanes again delivered with another two-out hit with an RBI single to center that scored junior second baseman Kyle Gray.
 
Oklahoma State scored two in the sixth off of sophomore right-handed reliever Sam Kessler before Kessler got the second and third outs of the inning to strand a pair. That cut the West Virginia lead to 7-4, but the Mountaineers got a run back in the bottom half, on a groundout by Inman.
 
The Cowboys answered with a run in the top of the seventh, to again make it a three-run game at 8-5. A one-out single and wild pitch was followed by an RBI double. WVU's lead was cut to one in the eighth, at 8-7, off of sophomore right-handed reliever Alek Manoah. An RBI single scored the first run before a bases-loaded walk brought in the second, with two outs. Manoah then got a fly out to end the inning and strand the bases loaded.
 
West Virginia bounced right back with two big insurance runs, thanks to Inman's mammoth two-run home run to left field with two outs. Scoring Zarbnisky, that gave WVU a 10-7 lead and came after Oklahoma State had scored six of the last eight runs in the game.
 
Manoah nailed down the win, and his first save of the season, with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
 
The series concludes on Sunday, with first pitch now at noon ET, due to inclement weather expected in the area. Tickets are available at WVUGAME.com, and on game day at Monongalia County Ballpark. Sunday is the first trading card giveaway of the season, along with Kids Day and postgame autographs. Kids Day features a new Kids Zone Presented by WVU Medicine Children's and Mr. Twister's Balloon Art and Face Painting, while kids can run the bases after the game and get postgame autographs from the Mountaineers.
 
NOTES: West Virginia improves to 16-16 on the season and 7-3 at home … WVU has won five of its last six games … The Mountaineers are 8-14 all-time vs. Oklahoma State and 6-6 since 2015 … West Virginia scored in the first inning for the 14th time this season … Today's attendance of 2,558 is the ninth-largest crowd in program history and the 25th time the Mountaineers have drawn more than 2,500 at home … Marques Inman had a career-high four RBIs with two hits He hit his eighth career home run and fifth of the season in the eighth inning … Tyler Doanes had his first career RBI and first career multi-hit and multi-RBI game, with two hits and three RBIs, all with two outs … Kade Strowd pitched 5.0 innings and struck out 10 batters, the second time this season he has notched double-digit strikeouts … Strowd allowed three earned runs on five hits with two walks and improved to 3-3 on the season … Alek Manoah earned the save and allowed two runs on one hit with two strikeouts and two walks in the final 2.0 innings … It was his first save of the year and third of his career.
 
Single game tickets and mini-packages for the 2018 season are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets at WVUGAME.com, call 1-800-WVU GAME or visit the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum. The 2018 schedule, with game times, can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com. A printable PDF and schedule breakdown also are available on WVUsports.com.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit WVUsports.com.