Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
SURPRISE, Ariz. -Maxx Yehl and Ian Korn combined to strike out 12 batters as No. 2-seed West Virginia held off No. 11-seed Kansas State 4-2 on Thursday night in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.
Yehl (8-2), the Big 12 Player of the Year, picked up the win for the Mountaineers (38-13) after pitching 6 1/3 innings and allowing two runs on three hits while striking out seven. Korn earned his second save of the season, finishing the final 2 2/3 innings while allowing just one hit and striking out five.
Lincoln Sheffield (8-4) suffered the loss for the Wildcats (30-27). He gave up 10 hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Sean Smith had three hits and scored a run, while Gavin Kelly hit his 13th home run of the season for WVU.
In the first inning, Kelly hit a solo home run to give the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead.
Armani Guzman laid down a successful suicide squeeze in the sixth, scoring Smith from third to push WVU ahead 2-0. Guzman later advanced to third on Brodie Kresser’s base hit and scored on a wild pitch. Brock Wills then singled to right field, plating Kresser and extending the lead to 4-0.
Grant Gallagher blasted a two-run home run in the seventh, cutting K-State’s deficit to 4-2.
With the win, the Mountaineers will play either No. 3-seed Arizona State or No. 6-seed Cincinnati on Friday night in the semifinals. First pitch is scheduled for 11 p.m. ET.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
