The West Virginia University baseball team defeated Kansas State, 9-1, at Kendrick Family Ballpark on May 2. Sophomore Chansen Cole pitched a complete game for the Mountaineers, striking out nine batters and allowing just five hits and one walk.
This win brings the Mountaineers to a record of 30-12 overall and 15-8 in Big 12 play, while Kansas State falls to 26-21 and 9-14 in league games. The performance by Cole marks the first complete game for West Virginia this season and the first since Griffin Kirn achieved the feat during the Cincinnati matchup in the 2025 Big 12 Tournament. Cole now has eight wins this season, which is currently the most in the Big 12 conference.
At bat, West Virginia recorded fifteen hits with five players having multiple hits. Junior Armani Guzman led with three hits and drove in two runs. Sophomore Gavin Kelly and graduate student Sean Smith each hit home runs; Smith collected three runs batted in while both he and Kelly scored three times each.
The scoring began in the third inning when Kelly hit an opposite-field solo home run—his seventh of the year—followed by a two-run triple from Guzman after an error by Kansas State extended the inning. In defensive play during the fourth inning, senior Matthew Graveline secured his sixth outfield assist of this season, tying a mark last reached by Caleb McNeely in 2023.
Additional runs came from Matt Ineich’s sacrifice fly and Brodie Kresser’s run-scoring triple later in the game. Although Kansas State managed their first run with a solo home run in the sixth inning, Smith responded with a three-run homer for West Virginia to maintain their lead.
West Virginia will aim for a series sweep against Kansas State on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
