Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team opened Big 12 Conference play by topping Kansas, 11-0, on Friday night at Monongalia County Ballpark.
 
Senior left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf shined in the win, tossing 7.1 innings of shutout ball, while tying his career high with eight strikeouts. He allowed just four hits in 98 pitches, earning his second victory of the season.
 
The Mountaineers (9-8, 1-0 Big 12) scored two runs in the second, one in the fifth, three in the sixth, four in the seventh and one in the eighth. In all, WVU finished with 11 runs on 13 hits with no errors, while Kansas (13-7, 0-1 Big 12) tallied no runs on six hits with no errors.
 
KU's Ryan Cyr took the loss.
 
"I think the kids were really excited to start conference play," WVU assistant coach Steve Sabins said. "I feel like they believed it was a little bit of a fresh start and a new beginning with a new record. They definitely brought energy, and Wolf went out and set the tone early, so it was easy to get excited."
 
WVU opened the scoring with fifth-year senior first baseman/outfielder Hudson Byorick's solo home run to right center to make it 1-0. Then, freshman outfielder Braden Barry drove home another run with an RBI single to right to start building the Mountaineers' cushion.
 
In the fifth, sophomore outfielder Victor Scott made it 3-0 with an RBI fielder's choice, before junior outfielder Austin Davis' two-out RBI single in the sixth extended the lead to 4-0.
 
Senior infielder Tyler Doanes and Byorick added on with RBI hits in the sixth, bumping WVU's lead to 6-0.
 
Still, the Mountaineers weren't done offensively. In the seventh, senior catcher/outfielder Paul McIntosh smashed a solo homer, before Davis tallied his second RBI of the night with a double to right center. From there, Scott hit a two-run single, extending the lead to 10-0.

Scott finished with a team-high three RBI in the win.
 
Meanwhile, Wolf cruised all evening. The Gahanna, Ohio, native struck out eight through seven innings, before getting his final out in the eighth. Sophomore right-hander Skylar Gonzalez and junior lefty Beau Lowery finished off the game on the mound for the Mountaineers.
 
West Virginia's final run came in the eighth when freshman infielder/right-handed pitcher Nathan Blasick came on as a pinch hitter and smacked a sacrifice fly.
 
Davis went 3-for-4 with two RBI in the win, while Byorick and McIntosh also finished with a pair of hits. Additionally, WVU stole four bases in the win.
 
Friday's victory snapped Kansas' seven-game win streak. WVU now leads the all-time series over the Jayhawks, 14-10, including 9-4 in Morgantown. Friday also marked West Virginia's first shutout win since a 7-0 triumph over Liberty on March 11, 2020, in Morgantown.
 
Next up, the Mountaineers and Jayhawks conclude the conference-opening series with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch of Game 1 is set for 2 p.m. ET, with Game 2 slated to begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
 
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