Pitching struggles as WVU is eliminated from Big 12 Tournament
West Virginia couldn’t sustain their hot start, as their pitching staff fell apart in the fourth inning, and the Mountaineers were eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament with an 8-4 loss to Kansas State.
It was an early start for WVU (33-22) and Kansas State at Globe Life Park on Wednesday morning, with first pitch happening right around 9:00 a.m. local time.
The early start did not phase the Mountaineers as they quickly put three runs on the board in the first inning.
It started on the first pitch of the game for WVU, as JJ Wetherholt ripped a single. Logan Sauve followed suit, before Reed Chumley was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Brodie Kresser got WVU on the board with a two-run single, as Sam White then hit a sacrifice-fly, to give the Mountaineers a 3-0 lead.
WVU sent Hambleton Oliver to the mound to make his first start of the season, and he was perfect through three innings, facing the minimum of nine batters. In the fourth, things flipped upside down for Oliver and WVU’s pitching staff, as they surrendered seven runs in the inning, walking six Wildcat hitters, while the Wildcats had only four hits.
Oliver started the inning walking the leadoff batter, and then gave up a bunt single, and an infield single on a ball that tipped off his glove. The first big at-bat for Kansas State then came on a double to score two, and then a single to score two more, as they took a 4-3 lead and Oliver’s day was done.
After Oliver, WVU was reaching deep into their somewhat depleted bullpen and it showed.
The Mountaineers turned to Robbie Porco, who walked a batter to load the bases, before walking another to score a run for Kansas State. The Wildcats added two more runs on two more bases-loaded walks, as they had 13 batters come to the plate in the inning.
Trailing 7-3, the Mountaineers hit two balls extremely hard, but they weren’t rewarded for their efforts. Kyle West sent a ball to right field which was caught crashing into the wall before JJ Wetherholt hit a line drive to the warning track which was caught to end the inning.
From that point on it would be all K-State, as starting pitcher Owen Boerema began to cruise, as he pitched a career-high 9.0 innings, striking out 10, and only allowing four hits after the first inning.
Mountaineer pitchers walked 11 batters, which was the second-most they’ve walked all season. Both teams had seven hits on the day, but Boerema walked nine fewer batters than Mountaineer pitchers.
WVU is now 0-6 in the Big 12 Tournament over the last three seasons, with all of those games happening since the tournament moved to Globe Life Park.
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