Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team rallied with two runs in the seventh inning and three in the eighth to beat Kansas State, 8-5, in the series opener on Friday night at Monongalia County Ballpark.
 
The Mountaineers (18-17, 3-7 Big 12) trailed 4-0 in the third inning and 5-3 in the middle of the seventh before they rallied with two runs in the seventh inning, one on a wild pitch and another unearned to tie the game. The rally continued with three runs in the eighth, one on another wild pitch to take the lead and the next two on a two-run home run by junior right fielder Darius Hill.
 
West Virginia pitchers held the Wildcats (16-22, 2-11 Big 12) to five runs on six hits. WVU's eight runs came one 14 hits. West Virginia committed two errors, while K-State had three.
 
"Our offensive approach has been really good here lately," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "The guys are really buying in with what we're trying to do, and it shows. Even the games we've lost recently, we've out-hit our opponents, or most of them. The offense is starting to come around. We just need to get more and more pitching performances. BJ (Myers) threw pretty well tonight. For a guy that's learning something new, and they (Kansas State) throw seven left-handers at him, that's a pretty good outing for him."
 
The win is WVU's eighth in its last 11 games.
 
Sophomore first baseman Marques Inman led the offensive attacked with a career-high-tying four hits, while Hill had three hits and a team-best two RBIs. His eighth-inning home run was his 10th of his career and third of the year.
 
On the mound, senior right-handed starter BJ Myers got the start and allowed five runs, three earned, on five hits in 6.0 innings. He struck out six and walked five. Sophomore righty Sam Kessler pitched the final 1.1 innings and did not allow a hit while striking out two and walking one. He earned the win to improve to 3-0 in 2018.
 
K-State took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The first run came with two outs on a throwing error by Myers on a failed pickoff attempt, while the second run, which was unearned, came on an RBI single to left field.
 
After WVU stranded two on in the first and second, the Wildcats extended their lead to 4-0 with a two-out, two-RBI double in the third inning.
 
The Mountaineers chipped away at the deficit with a run in the third inning. Three straight singles led off the inning before a double play groundout by junior second baseman Kyle Gray scored sophomore center fielder Brandon White.
 
West Virginia got two more in the fifth to make it a one-run game, at 4-3. White and Hill led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Inman then singled home White, and Gray followed with an RBI single to bring home Hill.
 
Meanwhile, Myers retired 10 in a row before giving up a leadoff single and walk in the seventh inning. Senior righty Shane Ennis relieved Myers and got a pair of outs. An unearned run scored after a throwing error on a failed pickoff attempt by junior catcher Ivan Gonzalez to third base before Ennis got a strikeout to end the inning and strand two.
 
WVU answered right back to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs, one unearned, on one hit with an error. Inman led off the inning with a double, Gray walked and freshman third baseman Tyler Doanes reached to load the bases on a sacrifice bunt and fielding error. A wild pitch then plated Inman, and a groundout by Gonzalez scored Gray.
 
The eighth began with a single by junior left fielder Braden Zarbnisky. He then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Zarbnisky scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, and with a runner on, Hill launched a two-run home run to right field.
 
Kessler, who relieved Ennis and got a strikeout to end the eighth, stranded a runner on second in the ninth to secure the victory.
 
The series continues on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, at Monongalia County Ballpark. Sunday's series finale will begin at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at WVUGAME.com or on game day at Monongalia County Ballpark.
 
Saturday is a True Blue game and Family Day, where fans can purchase four tickets and receive a $10 concession voucher for just $25. An exclusive WVU baseball t-shirt will be given away to the first 500 fans at Saturday's game, while 3,000 blue shakers also will be given away. Finally, Sunday is the first trading card giveaway of the season, along with Kids Day, postgame autographs and running the bases, with a new Kids Zone Presented By WVU Medicine Children's and Mr. Twister's Balloon Art and Face Painting.
 
NOTES: West Virginia improves to 18-17 and 3-7 in Big 12 play … WVU has won eight of its last 11 games … The Mountaineers lead the all-time series vs. K-State, 9-7, and are 5-2 in Morgantown … Darius Hill hit his third home run of the season and 10th of his career in the eighth inning … Marques Inman had a career-high-tying four hits … Sam Kessler improved to 3-0 with 1.1 no-hit innings … Kyle Gray extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games, while Darius Hill's hitting streak reached 11 games … Gray's reached-base streak was extended to a team-high 13 consecutive games, Braden Zarbnisky's is at 12 games and Hill's is now at 11.
 
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.