AUSTIN, Texas — Alek Manoah provided another solid start, but No. 17 West Virginia needed some clutch power to take the series opener against Texas on Friday night.
After pinch-hitter T.J. Lake’s two-run homer in the eighth inning, Marques Inman ripped a tiebreaking solo shot in the ninth that propelled the Mountaineers to a 3-2 win.
Inman’s seventh homer of the season kept West Virginia (25-14, 9-7) squarely in the Big 12 chase, 1 1/2 games off the lead. It dealt another tough blow to Texas (24-20, 5-10), which has lost five straight games and fell into a last-place tie with Kansas.