WVU Baseball Piles On in 2026 Season Opener

WVU Baseball showed no signs of rust in their 2026 season opener on Friday, Feb. 13, dominating Georgia Southern 15-3 on the road.

The Mountaineers (1-0) piled on in the late innings, trailing 3-2 after five frames before blowing the game open with a two-out rally in the sixth. Ben Lumsden tied the game with a sacrifice fly, then Brodie Kresser helped the go-ahead run cross as he strayed away from second base and drew a balk from Eagles’ reliever Craig Kalkbrenner.

Even in their second season under head coach Steve Sabins, West Virginia remained true to their Mazeyball roots, accumulating 12 hits, eight walks, four hit batters and no home runs in their double digit win. Third baseman Tyrus Hall hit three singles and wore a pitch, stealing a pair of bases and scoring a team-high four runs.

Gavin Kelly — playing at second instead of catcher — continued the rally with a two-run single, then Armani Guzman doubled home two more runs. The Mountaineers added seven runs across the final two innings, with Weston Mazey notching his first collegiate run as a pinch-runner for catcher Matthew Graveline in the eighth.

6-foot-4 West Virginia right-hander Chansen Cole, a sophomore transfer from Newberry College (D-II) battled through 2.2 innings, throwing 63 pitches across 16 batters faced, striking out three and allowing four runs. Reese Bassinger continued to excel in relief, fanning five in 3.2 scoreless frames on the way to the win.

The series will continue for WVU Baseball at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14 in the first leg of a doubleheader.