MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Ross Vance didn’t have his sinker and West Virginia was sunk.
The left-hander with a knack for coaxing groundballs surrendered a three-run homer in the first inning and recorded only five outs as Kansas State buried the Mountaineers 15-2 on Saturday to clinch the series.
More than 2,300 fans turned out at Monongalia County Ballpark only to see the Big 12’s last-place team crush West Virginia (17-16, 4-6).
Tyler Wolfe drove in four runs, including the homer that started the romp for Kansas State (16-19, 3-8), which enjoyed the widest margin of victory in a Big 12 game this season.
“When you play 56 games in a season there’s a good chance, no matter who you are, that one time you’re going to get this,” West Virginia coach Randy Mazey said. “It’s unfortunate that it happened today for us.
“To see all these young guys out here trying as hard as they can is super encouraging. There are going to be games like this, and we have to learn how to overcome adversity and play with distractions. We’re not getting down on this group at all. We’re just going to keep fighting.”
In his shortest stint of the season, Vance (4-3) failed to last past the fourth inning for third time. His ERA climbed to 4.86 after yielding seven runs, four earned, on six hits—including four for extra bases.
Vance won both previous starts against K-State, including a three-hit complete game last season in Manhattan.
“What a great approach against a guy who has given us fits for two years,” said Wildcats coach Brad Hill. “We almost knew what every pitch was coming. We took a lot of pitches that we have swung at against him over the last couple of years.”
K-State roughed up the bullpen too on its way to 16 hits. Michael Grove allowed an inherited runner to score in the second inning and gave up one of his own in the third.
Tanner Campbell let in two runs in the fourth, and Shane Ennis issued three straight walks—and two wild pitches—on his way to allowing two runs in the fifth.
After Jacob Potock allowed three runs over the fifth and sixth, Jacob Brewer finished up with three shutout innings.
Levi McVorhis (4-3) scattered eight hits over eight innings for the Wildcats, retiring Jackson Cramer all four times to snap the first baseman’s 50-game streak of reaching base.
Braden Zarnisky’s 3-for-5 day paced West Virginia, which stranded 11 runners and saw its RPI dip to 109.