Griffin Kirn gave West Virginia everything he had on Thursday night.
With the Mountaineers needing one win to clinch the Big 12 regular season title, WVU’s ace gave them 127 pitches of two-run baseball across eight total innings. Their bats couldn’t match Kirn’s performance, though, as Kansas starting pitcher Dominic Voegele tossed seven shutout innings himself, as WVU fell, 3-0, to the Jayhawks from Kendrick Family Ballpark.
Kansas scored one run in the top of the first, a run that at the time did not seem as consequential as it ended up being at the time.
KU led off the game with a double, before a fly out, moved Derek Cerda to third base with one out. The Mountaineers would then be close to getting out of the inning, but the Jayhawks scored Cerda on a fielder’s choice, going ahead 1-0.
Kirn would settle in right after, stranding two runners on base in the second, one in the third, and two in the fourth. Kirn would begin to cruise into the later innings of the game, while the Mountaineers couldn’t figure out Voegele.
West Virginia got runners on base in the first and third innings, as a lineout from Skylar King ended the threat in the third.
In the fourth, WVU had one of their best scoring chances of the night as Kyle West singled, advancing to second on a wild pitch. Sam White then struck out swinging with one out and West on third, before Jace Rinehart grounded out to end the inning.
Kansas entered the weekend, 10th in the country in home runs, and Kirn was able to keep them in the ballpark for the majority of the night.
As Kirn’s pitch count continued to climb, Kirn stayed in the game. In the eighth, as he threw his 121st pitch of the evening, Michael Brooks homered to left field, doubling Kansas’ lead to make it 2-0. Voegele’s night ended, and in came Alex Breckheimer. He would fall behind each of the first two hitters he faced, 2-0, and 3-0, respectively, before Brodie Kresser grounded out and King struck out swinging. West then ended the eighth as he went down on strikes as well.
Voegele finished the night with seven shutout innings, striking out six and giving up six hits as well.
Kirn’s night ended after eight innings, finishing with 127 pitches thrown, giving up two runs on seven hits, walking three, and striking out 10.
Reese Bassinger came into pitch in the ninth, and he would surrender a long ball as well. Ian Francis homered to left, putting Kansas in front, 3-0.
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