GRANVILLE — No. 18 West Virginia needed a big series this weekend against Kansas State to get the season back on track after going 1-3 over four games last week. The Mountaineers bounced back and took the series over Kansas State in the first two games, which was the first time since the middle of March against BYU.
WVU pitcher Chansen Cole went the distance and pitched a complete game to help WVU win 9-1 over the Wildcats to take Game 2, making the season trend back in the right direction. The Mountaineers have a chance to sweep Kansas State on Sunday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. WVU hasn’t swept a team since it won the first two games against BYU.
With the win, WVU won its 30th game of the season, 30-12, and is now 15-8 in the Big 12. Kansas State dropped to 26-21 on the year and 9-14 in conference.
“Fun game today,” head coach Steve Sabins said. “It’s really good for the team. Have a chance to sweep a talented Kansas State team. Obviously that’s our goal… Going 1-2 last week. You feel like you have a chance to sweep, you can basically continue winning.”
Cole got the nod in Game 2 for the second straight week. Maxx Yehl’s performance Friday night was hard to top, but Cole managed to one-up him and showed command right from the start. Cole was striking out batters and forcing outs. There were times when Kansas State would hit the balls on the screws, but it’d be right to the fielders, and Cole kept dealing.
“I felt better as the game went on,” Cole said. “My body and my arm. They felt fine.”
Cole had just one blemish on his scorecard, and it didn’t come until the sixth inning. Cole allowed a home run to deep left, which was the second hit he allowed all game. He shrugged it off and kept chugging along.
“It’s just one of those moments where you live, and you learn,” Cole said. “What pitch you threw and how you reacted to it. What he did. Just don’t do it again.”
Cole pitched into the ninth inning and finished the game with two strikeouts. He ended with a season-high nine strikeouts, walked just one batter, let up five hits and allowed just the one run. It was WVU’s first complete game this season. Cole threw 120 pitches.
“Incredible performance by Chansen Cole,” Sabins said. “One of the best I’ve seen in a long time.”
The Division II transfer had elite defense behind him to help. Paul Schoenfeld made a diving play in center to prevent a hit, and Graveline doubled up a runner at first from left field. Tyrus Hall stretched out to get a runner in the final innings, too.
On the other side, WVU’s offense kept it going from Friday night’s 7-0 win. The offense kicked into gear in the third inning, and Gavin Kelly started it off by hitting a high fly ball to right. The ball kept drifting slowly and just managed to get over the fence for his seventh home run of the season. The homer put the Mountaineers on the board first. Kelly’s homer set up for an eventual three-run inning. Armani Guzman tripled later in the inning to score Sean Smith and Matthew Graveline. WVU was up 3-0 after three.
“Off the bat, I thought I missed it,” Gavin Kelly said. “I hit it well, and spotted it well.”
The Mountaineers kept tacking on more the next inning. With some small ball and some hits with runners in scoring position, WVU scored two more runs. Through four innings, WVU had eight hits and a 5-0 lead over Kansas State. In the bottom of the sixth, Smith rocked a home run to right field, too, but it was a lot more sure-fire than Kelly’s, traveling 353 feet. WVU was up 9-1.
The Mountaineers offense tallied 15 hits, and everyone in the starting lineup registered one. Five WVU batters had two hits, and Smith led with three RBIs. Guzman led with three hits and two RBIs.
“Really good performance offensively,” Sabins said. “We had so many players play well and have good at-bats… I was proud of the at-bats and how we approached it.”
Kansas State’s defense also helped WVU’s offense. The Wildcats had three errors, which was more than they had runs.
Through two games, WVU used three pitchers. Dawson Montesa is on the mound for the Mountaineers in Game 3 for the sweep. Montesa has struggled in his last two outings.
Depsite winning the first two games for the first time in a while, there’s still pressure to get the sweep now, which is the goal every week.
“We’re going for the sweep,” Kelly said. “So that’s all. Doesn’t really matter if we win the first two. We want three every weekend.”
