Four runs scored in the eighth inning, including TJ Lake stealing home, lifted the 21st-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers over Kansas State, 9-7.
The Mountaineers (23-13, 9-4 Big 12) were down 7-5 after the Wildcats (19-19, 2-11 Big 12) scored on three consecutive at-bats after the stretch. Cole Austin singled to start the inning, then advanced to second on a wild pitch by K-State pitcher Hudson Treu. Darius Hill then flied out to left, allowing Austin to advance to third. Kyle Davis brought Austin home with an RBI single up the middle to cut the deficit to one run.
With one out and a man on, Wildcat coach Brad Hill went to his bullpen and Tyler Eckberg came to the mound. TJ Lake came in to pinch run for for Davis.
Eckberg’s first at-bat was a single to center by pitcher Braden Zarbinsky. At the next at-bat, Lake would score on a couple of wild pitches and Zarbinsky would advance to third and the game was tied at 7.
Zarbinsky would come home on a fielder’s choice by Jimmy Galusky to give the Mountaineers the lead 8-7. Galusky would come home a couple of at-bats later, when Gray got caught trying to stretch a single into a double to give West Virginia the decisive advantage of 9-7.
Zarbinsky picked up the win on the mound to move to 5-0 on the season. He pitched 2 2⁄3 innings, allowing only two hits.
The Mountaineers and the Wildcats will resume the series on Saturday at 5:00 PM ET. The game will be available to stream on WatchESPN.