JACK KARTSONAS

GRANVILLE, W.Va. — For a moment, flash back to last Thanksgiving.

While most were thinking turkey and stuffing, Jack Kartsonas was just beginning to step on a pitcher’s mound again.

“Every pitch means a lot to me,” Kartsonas said after pitching seven shutout innings Sunday to lead No. 13 WVU to a 5-0 victory against Texas Tech inside Kendrick Family Ballpark. “I’ve gained a really cool perspective on how fragile baseball is.”

Coming off elbow surgery last season while pitching for Kent State — “I felt like I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night if I didn’t get the surgery and give it one more go,” Kartsonas said. — WVU head coach Steve Sabins has said it was “taking a chance” going after Kartsonas in the transfer portal.

That gamble has paid major dividends for both Kartsonas and WVU (39-7, 18-4 Big 12).

For the Mountaineers, they now find themselves inching closer to an outright Big 12 title. WVU’s magic number for a league championship is down to three with six Big 12 games remaining.

That means either three wins by WVU or three losses by Arizona State — or some type of combination of the two — secures a title for WVU and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big 12 tournament.

For Kartsonas, he’s transitioned himself to one of the best pitching stories in the Big 12.

“Kartsonas has been excellent consistently the entire season, regardless of role,” Sabins said. “He’s got a 1.59 ERA on the year. I think the numbers speak for themselves.

“The kid, the personality, the persona, the confidence, the want-to and the desire all match up with his ERA and his numbers.”

Texas Tech (16-28, 11-13) was shut out for the first time this season, as WVU secured its eighth Big 12 series win.

It was WVU’s first shutout against a Big 12 team since beating Kansas State 13-0 last May.

Kartsonas has been a major reason why. While he still needs a few more innings to register with the Big 12 and NCAA leaders, his role as a Sunday starter has been solidified.

“I’ve had a super unorthodox journey,” said Kartsonas, who actually began his career as a pitcher at the Division III level. “I had shoulder surgery in 2021 and missed a year. I had the elbow procedure this summer.

“I’m super appreciative of Sabins and the whole staff for believing in me and taking me on, but also for the trust they show in me every time I go out there.”

Only in the sixth inning did Texas Tech have a runner reach as far as third base.

Carson Estridge came on in the eighth to complete the shutout with two more scoreless innings.

WVU broke the game open in the seventh inning, following Kyle West’s two-run home run that sailed 421 feet onto the roof of the new performance center.

It was West’s 50th career home run in college, which includes the 30 he hit while playing for the University of Charleston.

“There’s been a lot of growth over those 50 home runs,” West said. “Each one has been different. Each one means a little something to me. Just looking over all 50, it’s been a lot of growth.”

WVU, which travels to Pitt at 6 p.m. Tuesday to conclude the nonconference schedule, took a 3-0 lead in the fourth after Brodie Kresser drove in two runs with a double down the left-field line. Grant Hussey also doubled to score Kresser.

Turns out, that was all Kresser needed, as he picked up his sixth win of the season.

“It was great, shutting a team out is awesome,” Kartsonas said. “I knew our guys were going to score eventually. It was really fun.”