WVU Baseball Splits Doubleheader, Suffers First Loss

WVU Baseball concluded their weekend in a doubleheader split against Liberty, securing the first game 2-0 with their second straight shutout before losing the nightcap 4-1 with the go-ahead run at the plate.

The Mountaineers (5-1) allowed just three hits in Game 1, none of them later than the fifth inning, and allowed just one runner past second base. Their offense ran cold, however, managing just three runs in 18 innings the day after a 12-0 burst.

Paul Shoenfeld and Sean Smith keyed the offense for the second day in a row, beginning the fifth with consecutive doubles that put West Virginia in front. Gavin Kelly tacked on another run in the sixth, reaching base with one single and going first-to-third with another before a double play scraped him across.

Maxx Yehl got the start and lasted four innings on 75 pitches, fanning six batters in the process. D-II transfer Ian Korn took over from there, allowing two of the first three batters he faced to reach before rebounding to retire eight straight, and David Perez secured the save with three strikeouts in 1.1 innings.

Liberty punched first in the nightcap, loading the bases in the second inning and clearing them with a triple against Mountaineers’ right-hander Dawson Montesa. Matt Ineich hit an opposite field double down the line with two outs in the fifth, plating Brock Wills and pushing Brodie Kresser to third, but the rally died there.

The Flames regained a three-run lead the following frame on a sacrifice fly and, although West Virginia loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth inning, three straight strikeouts quashed any hope of a rally.

Up next, WVU Baseball will host Ohio in their 2026 home opener, set to begin at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25.