Mountaineers stun Jayhawks with walk-off

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia first baseman Marques Inman hit a walk-off home run, as the Kansas baseball team fell in the series opener, 1-0, Saturday afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark.

Inman hit a 1-2 fastball off Kansas (19-17, 4-9 Big 12) starting pitcher Ryan Cyr (2-5) with no outs in the bottom of the ninth. That swing capped off a pitchers’ duel with the 20th-ranked Mountaineers (23-13, 7-6 Big 12) finishing on the winning side.

WVU hurler Alek Manoah (6-2) showed why he is one of the best pitchers in the country, striking out 15 Jayhawks in the complete-game shutout. Kansas tagged Manoah for three hits, including two in the top of the ninth.

Redshirt-freshman first baseman Dylan Ditzenberger led off the ninth with a single to short before junior catcher Jaxx Groshans followed with a double down the left-field line. However, with runners on second and third and no outs, Kansas was unable to score.

Cyr matched Manoah’s effort with a complete game of his own – his second of the season – with his only blemish coming via the home run by Inman.

NOTES

• The walk-off home run by Marques Inman marked the second time this season the Jayhawks lost a contest that way, with the last coming at Wichita State in 13 innings (March 20).
• Kansas struck out 15 times at the plate marking the 11th time the Jayhawks swung and missed 10 or more times in a contest this season.
• Redshirt-junior righty Ryan Cyr tossed his second complete game of the season matching his career-high in innings pitched (8.0).
• Redshirt-freshman Eli Davis – the Jayhawks’ Sunday starting pitcher – made his debut in center field in the ninth inning.
• The 1-0 loss marked the ninth one-run game Kansas has played in 2019 and the Jayhawks hold a record of 3-6 in those contests.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks and Mountaineers face off again at 2 p.m. in game two of the Saturday doubleheader at Monongalia County Ballpark.

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