No. 17 West Virginia Grabs Series Opener Against UCF

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Christopher Hall | Last updated Apr 25, 2025 9:31 PM ET

ORLANDO – The No. 17 West Virginia Mountaineers (35-5, 14-3) registered one hit but took advantage of nine free passes to put four runs on the board and knock off the UCF Knights (23-18, 6-13) Friday night 4-1.

After four scoreless innings, West Virginia put a run on the board in the fifth. UCF sophomore Camden Wicker beaned seniors Grant Hussey and Brodie Kresser and walked freshman Gavin Kelley to load the bases with one out on the board. Then, sophomore Spencer Barnett hit a deep sacrifice fly to right field for a 1-0 lead.

UCF tied the game in the bottom of the inning after a ground ball to short from redshirt junior Braden Calise over to short put him on first following a low throw from Kresser and the usual sure-gloved Hussey was unable to pick it out of the dirt cleanly.

West Virginia starting pitcher Griffin Kirn beaned redshirt junior Dylan King before junior DeAmez Ross lined an RBI single to shallow centerfield to knot the game at one.

Senior reliever Reese Bassinger took the mound to record the final out of the fifth. Kirn registered one strikeout and allowed one run on four hits in 4.2 innings of work.

West Virginia reclaimed the lead in the seventh after senior Kyle West recorded the only hit for the Mountaineers on the night, Hussey worked a one-out walk, and a double steal set up and RBI sacrifice fly to right field for Kresser for the 2-1 edge.

The Mountaineers added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth when Chase Swain hit a chopping ground ball into the hole on the right side and senior reliever Dominic Castellano missed the bag at first to put the redshirt junior on to lead off the inning.

Junior Skylar King was hit by the 0-2 pitch for the third time during the evening and senior Logan Sauve received a four-pitch walk to load the bases before junior Same White delivered a deep fly ball to right field for the RBI.

A double steal put runners at second and third, then Rinehart hit a high chopper to short, scoring King for the 4-1 advantage.

After West Virginia reliever Chase Meyer got himself in a jam in the ninth, loading the bases with no outs, the sophomore struck out two and ended the inning with a routine ground ball to second to keep the three-run lead.

Meyer put the lead off hitter on in the ninth with a walk. WVU head coach Steve Sabins went to the bullpen for Carson Estridge. The junior hit Ross, but bounced back with a strikeout and the defense ended the game on a 6-4-3 double play for the 4-1 decision.

West Virginia and UCF will meet in game two on Saturday. The first pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.