D2 transfer Griffin Kirn flashes signs of dominance as WVU baseball opens season victorious

It did not take long at all for West Virginia baseball newcomer Griffin Kirn to impress fans. Even in his first inning of work for his new team, the Quincy University transfer showed signs of greatness.

The left-handed pitcher did not waste any time when making his first impression with Mountaineers fans. Kirn was blowing the fastball by hitters in the first inning of the game, and it was noticeable. WVU (1-0) would secure a 4-2 win over Jacksonville (0-1) and it was Kirn who set the tone for the season in his first appearance with the Mountaineers.

After just the first couple of hitters stepped up to bat for the Dolphins, an ESPN+ broadcaster made a comment about Kirn’s fastball -- with no radar gun being available for the broadcast in Jacksonville, the commentator got creative to describe the speed of the pitch.

"His fastballs have some life to it,” said the commentator. "You can just tell his fastball has some extra life to it”.

Kirn worked a great first inning, only needing seven pitches to set the side down in order while picking up his first strikeout in a WVU uniform. The only blemish in the box score for Kirn was a sacrifice fly he surrendered in the bottom of the fifth.

Kirn finished the night with 5.2 innings pitched with 1 H, 1 ER, 4 Ks, and 3 BBs -- he threw 73 pitches on Friday night. The senior starter had an impressive three innings where he retired all three hitters to come to the plate in each inning. Of course, Kirn had some help from outfielder Armani Guzman in the bottom of the third. Guzman made a terrific diving play in shallow right field to prevent a base runner from reaching base in Kirn’s third inning of work.  

Kirn was aided by some help from WVU relief pitchers -- first out of the bullpen for WVU was sophomore right-handed pitcher Chase Meyer. Meyer did his job and prevented any runners from scoring in the sixth. Meyer showcased a swoping 12-6 curveball and was heavily reliant on his breaking pitches to be effective Friday night.

Next up for WVU was reliever Jack Kartsonas. The Kent State graduate transfer did his fair share of flaunting his skills on the mound. The right-hander went four-up-and-four-down to begin his campaign for WVU. Kartsonas finished with a line of 1.2 IP, 2 Hs, 1 R, and 3 Ks.

Lastly for the Mountaineers, senior Reese Bassinger picked up a double play to end the game using just one pitch.

On the offensive side of the ball, WVU managed to score two runs in both of the first two innings. Luckily, that was enough, because WVU was shutout the rest of the game. In the top of the first, catcher Logan Sauve did not take any time collecting his first hit as he connected with the first pitch of the game, driving it up the middle for a base hit. Sauve could be a candidate for a breakout player for the Mountaineers in 2025. After the three pitches of the game, Sam White followed with a base hit of his own, and Sauve ended up at third with some good base running. Kyle West drove in the first run of the game with a RBI ground out, and Michael Perazza followed West with a sacrifice fly for the second run.

The defense also looked very good for the opening game of the 2025 season. Guzman, in addition to the above-mentioned diving play in the third inning, also made a nice catch at the wall in the eighth. Kirn also helped his own cause by getting off the mound quickly and throwing out a runner at first on a bunt play in the sixth. Grant Hussey made a good defensive play at first in the ninth before Bassinger got the double pay to end the game.

Steve Sabins got his first win as head coach of WVU on Friday night. After taking over for long-time head coach Randy Mazey, Sabins looks to continue this good run for Mountaineer baseball.
Game two of the series is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday and will be aired on ESPN+.