Box Score MANHATTAN, Kan. – The No. 20 West Virginia University baseball team rallied with a four-run eighth inning to beat Kansas State, 7-4, on Sunday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.
 
The Mountaineers (31-18, 13-11 Big 12) won their sixth Big 12 Conference series of the season, its most conference series victories since they won six Big East series in 2003. WVU also secured its 13th Big 12 win of the season, its most since it also posted a 13-11 record in 2013, its inaugural season in the league.
 
"What a huge game," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "I knew it was huge, I tried not to let the players know how huge it was, but it gives us a chance, a legitimate chance, to finish in third place in the league. After starting the conference season 0-4, to come back to 13-11 and put ourselves in this position, it's been a great, great regular season."
 
West Virginia jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning in Sunday's Big 12 regular-season finale, but the Wildcats (25-28, 8-13 Big 12) rallied to take a 4-3 lead in the seventh. However, WVU came right back with four runs in the eighth to regain a 7-4 advantage.
 
WVU's seven runs came on 15 hits. Junior center fielder Brandon White led the way with three hits and two RBIs, and sophomore second baseman Tyler Doanes had three hits with one RBI. Junior first baseman Marques Inman had two hits and two RBIs, with the help of a two-run home run in the first inning, his team-high-tying ninth long ball of the season.
 
"We out-hit them the whole game, but didn't get any breaks," Mazey added. "We hit three balls right to the fence, that they were touching the fence when they were caught. Darius (Hill) got robbed of a double early in the game down the right-field line, so we actually deserved to win that game, but we had to earn it. That inning we scored four in late, after they punched us in the mouth, was a testament to how our guys have played the whole season."
 
Junior right-hander Sam Kessler pitched the final 2.0 innings and picked up the save. It was his eighth of the season, tied for second-most in a single season in program history, and 13th of his career, tied for third in the Mountaineer record books. After WVU took the lead, Kessler held K-State to one hit with a strikeout and no walks.
 
Freshman righty Zach Ottinger collected the win and improved to 2-0 on the season. He came in and got the final out of the seventh inning, leaving two runners on base. Junior right-handed starter Kade Strowd gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 6.2 innings. He earned his fifth quality start of the season.
 
For the third consecutive day, a home run gave the Mountaineers a first-inning lead. Sunday's was courtesy of Inman's two-run shot with two outs. That scored senior right fielder Darius Hill, who reached on an infield single to set up Inman.
 
Kansas State got a run back in the bottom half of the first, as a two-out single made it 2-1. The base hit came after a throwing error, and the run was unearned.
 
Strowd retired the next eight batters he faced, with perfect innings in the second and third. He gave up a one-out single in the fourth, but stranded the runner at third.
 
West Virginia took a 3-1 lead in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by White that scored junior left fielder TJ Lake, who led off the inning with a single.
 
K-State cut the lead back to one, at 3-2, with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and took a 4-3 lead in the seventh. A two-out single scored the tying run before Ottinger relieved Strowd with two on. He allowed an RBI single, but escaped further damage with a groundout to end the inning and leave runners on the corners.
 
The Mountaineers answered right back with four runs on four hits in the eighth inning to regain a 7-4 lead. The inning began with a leadoff single by Inman, and sophomore designated hitter Paul McIntosh walked to put two on. Senior catcher Ivan Gonzalez then singled to right-center to score freshman pinch runner Austin Davis from second to tie the game. Another walk loaded the bases for Lake, who hit a sacrifice fly that allowed McIntosh to score with the help of an obstruction call on K-State's catcher. That gave West Virginia a 5-4 lead, but another sacrifice fly, this one by Doanes, made it 6-4, and White followed with an RBI single for WVU's fourth run of the inning.
 
Kessler came in and stranded a runner on third in the eighth inning and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the win.
 
WVU travels to PNC Park in Pittsburgh for the Backyard Brawl against Pitt on Tuesday, May 14, at 6 p.m. ET. Tickets are available at Pirates.com/CollegeBaseball, and Mountaineer fans can purchase tickets for $7 by using the promo code "WVU." West Virginia will play at the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the third consecutive year, after wins in 2017 and 2018.
 
Notes: West Virginia improves to 31-18 on the season, 13-11 in Big 12 play and 16-13 on the road … WVU won six Big 12 series, its most conference series wins in a single season since winning six Big East series in 2003 … The Mountaineers' 13 Big 12 wins and 13-11 record is tied for their best Big 12 mark, matching a 13-11 slate in 2013 … Sam Kessler earned his eighth save of the season, tied for second-most in a single season in program history, while it was the 13th of his career, tied for third-most in WVU history … Marques Inman hit his team-high-tying ninth home run of the season and team-best 18th of his career in the first inning … WVU homered in the first inning in all three games of the series … Kade Strowd gave up four runs, three earned, in 6.2 innings and earned his fifth quality start of the season.
 
Single game tickets and flex plan mini-packages for the 2019 season are on sale now. Fans can join the excitement of WVU baseball and support the Mountaineers by purchasing tickets at WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU GAME or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum.
 
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