Box Score ARLINGTON, Texas – The West Virginia University baseball team fell to Kansas State, 8-5, in Thursday afternoon's 2022 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship elimination game at Globe Life Field.
 
No. 6-seed WVU (33-22) fell behind early, tied it in the third inning but allowed five of the game's final seven runs in the setback. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Ben Hampton took the loss on the mound, dropping his record to 8-5, while Blake Adams was awarded the win for K-State (28-28).
 
"When you look back at the season we've had, it has really been a great year considering we were picked to finish eighth in the league," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "But you have no idea going into (the season) how good you're going to be. So, for us to be able to do what we've done this season says a lot about our kids.
 
"As good as we've played this year, I think we've put ourselves in a position to play in the postseason. If we don't, someone is going to have to really explain to me how that happened. So, we don't think the season is over."
 
The seventh-seeded Wildcats took an early lead with a two-run, first inning. Then, KSU added its third run of the day in the second on a bases-loaded walk, but Hampton limited the damage with an inning-ending strikeout to halt the threat.
 
The Mountaineers quickly battled back, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 3. WVU used three straight two-out, RBI singles by sophomore catcher McGwire Holbrook, sophomore outfielder Braden Barry and redshirt junior catcher/infielder Dayne Leonard to draw even.
 
In the fifth, Kansas State took its second lead with a run to make it 4-3. Then, the Wildcats scored two more in the sixth and another in the seventh to stretch their advantage to four.
 
Junior outfielder Victor Scott II hit a double off the wall in right field to score a run in the seventh, getting WVU to within three of the lead at 7-4. From there, KSU tallied a ninth-inning run on a sacrifice bunt, adding insurance to the score line.
 
The Mountaineers got their first two hitters aboard in the bottom of the ninth and scored a run on freshman infielder JJ Wetherholt's sacrifice fly, but the squad could do no further damage.
 
Six different Mountaineers recorded a hit in the setback, while five tallied an RBI. On the mound, Hampton allowed four runs on six hits with four strikeouts and four walks in five innings of work.
 
Thursday's game marked the fourth between West Virginia and Kansas State in the last eight days. It also was the first time the two schools had ever met in postseason play.
 
The loss marked just the sixth time WVU has fallen in back-to-back games all season. It also dropped West Virginia to 15-16 all-time at the Big 12 Championship.
 
Up next, the Mountaineers head home to await their NCAA Tournament fate with the Division I Baseball Selection Show scheduled for Monday, May 30, at 12 p.m. ET. The show will air on ESPN2.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.