With JJ Wetherholt not playing due to a hand injury, West Virginia and No. 18 Oklahoma State were both playing without their best player Saturday night. Wetherholt is considered day-to-day, while OK State slugger and closer Nolan McLean has not played since April 1.

The Mountaineers (25-10, 5-3 Big 12) survived Blaine Traxel’s shortest outing of the year, and logged their third victory over a Top 25 opponent in three tries this season.

Aidan Major was excellent in relief, and Landon Wallace collected four runs batted in on the night as part of WVU’s 9-5 victory over the nationally-ranked Cowboys.

Eighteenth-ranked Oklahoma State (23-13, 7-7 Big 12) struck first with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Traxel, who entered the game having issued just 10 walks on the season, issued a pair of free passes in the frame. Both runs came in on an error committed with two outs.

Traxel was pulled from the game in the fourth, and issued a season-high five walks in just 3 2/3 innings on the mound.

West Virginia tied the game in the third inning, doing so with the help of the Cowboys.

Dayne Leonard drove in one run on a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. Moments after the ball was thrown back into the infield, third base umpire Mike Morris waved Braden Barry home. Barry scored to tie the game, causing some confusion. It was announced that Barry scored on a balk that was issued by Morris, as a result of a failed hidden ball trick by Oklahoma State.

A pair of RBI doubles gave the Cowboys a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth. West Virginia responded in the next half-inning.

Two singles and a walk once again loaded the bases with zero outs for the Mountaineers. Wallace brought WVU to within one on an RBI single. Leonard tied the game while hitting into a double play. One batter later, Caleb McNeely gave West Virginia its first lead of the game with an RBI single to right.

WVU took that 5-4 lead into the seventh inning, but Oklahoma State tied the game following the seventh-inning stretch.

Once again, the Mountaineers responded immediately.

Barry, batting with two men on and two out, hit a single that produced a run thanks to an error by Oklahoma State that kept the inning alive. Wallace made the Cowboys pay just one pitch later. Wallace clobbered the first pitch of his at-bat well over the fence in right field.

The three-run blast gave WVU a 9-5 lead. Wallace finished the contest 2 for 4 with four RBI. He was one of three Mountaineer hitters to have a multi-hit night.

Tevin Tucker was a perfect 3 for 3 with three runs scored and a steal from the ninth spot in the order.

Major was nearly unhittable out of the bullpen.

The sophomore right-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up just one run on two hits. He struck out eight hitters in the outing and pitched four 1-2-3 frames. Major tallied one strikeout in every inning he was on the mound, and collected multiple punchouts in two innings, including the ninth. His eight strikeouts tied a career-high.

West Virginia claimed its seventh series victory of the year with the win on Saturday. Oklahoma State, meanwhile, is now on a five-game losing streak.

WVU will go for the series sweep on Sunday, beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Freshman Robby Porco will get the start for the Mountaineers.