Good pitching, an offensive outburst in Game 2, and Skylar King’s incredible Saturday performance led to West Virginia baseball getting a three-game series sweep over the Jacksonville Dolphins. Game 4 of the series, originally scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, was canceled after being delayed an hour due to inclement weather.
The Mountaineers (3-0) have started their 2025 season on the best foot possible. The Mountaineers were on the winning side of scores 4-2, 10-3, and 3-2 in their first three podcasts. Pitching prowess, stout defense, and hot bats were all displayed at various moments during this three-game sweep.
WVU gets the series sweep at Jacksonville, starting their season perfectly
Starting with WVU’s hottest hitter on the team early this season, King had himself a spectacular series against Jacksonville (0-3). The Columbia, South Carolina native, thrived in the Florida environment over the weekend. King started the series going 1-3 in Game 1, and that was the worst game the junior outfielder would have during this series.
King returned to the lineup for game one of the doubleheader on Saturday and almost immediately made an impact on the game. King drove in two RBIs in the top of the second with a huge triple to begin an exceptional scoring outburst. The junior outfielder finished the game going 3-4 with three RBIs and one run.
King was likely the worst nightmare of the Jacksonville pitching staff on Saturday, but it was not over after Game 2. The break between games during the weekend double-header was not enough to cool off King. He backed up his Game 2 performance by going 2-3 with two RBIs and a huge homer to right field in game two.
On the flip side, WVU’s starting pitching rotation had three quality outings highlighted by an impressive performance from Division 2 Quincy University transfer Griffin Kirn. Kirn immediately began his outing in the first inning by launching fastballs past Jacksonville hitters. His fastballs were noticed by the ESPN+ commentator who commented that they had “some extra life to them”.
Kirn worked 5.2 innings with one hit, one run, three walks, and five strikeouts. The left-handed pitcher started his season on the right foot by impressing West Virginia fans.
Game 2 saw Robby Porco on the hill for the Mountaineers. Porco went 3.2 innings with two runs allowed (one earned). Mountaineer reliever Carson Estridge was fantastic out of the bullpen going 4.2 innings with no runs allowed, three hits, and four strikeouts. The right-handed pitcher was great out of the pen and was pivotal for the Mountaineers to get a win in game two.
Preseason All-American Gavin Van Kempen started his season with some good moments. The junior right-hander got out of some tight spots and stranded some baserunners in the series finale. Van Kempen went 4 innings with two earned runs and six strikeouts. Senior Reese Bassinger was excellent in relief. Bassinger worked 2.2 innings with no runs allowed and only one hit allowed with four strikeouts. Bassinger earned his second save on the season and showed some great emotion after getting the final out of the series.
The Mountaineer defense made some nice plays when they were needed. Armani Guzman made a great play in right field on Friday during Game 1. A number of WVU pitchers made significant plays getting off the mound and fielding their position on bunt attempts. And catcher Logan Sauve threw out a potential base stealer in Game 2 of the series.
WVU will be off until Friday when they travel to Nashville, Tennessee to take on the Lipscomb Bison in another weekend series. The Bison are 1-1 after a doubleheader against Kentucky. The Mountaineers will hope to continue their success in the early season. Game 1 on Friday and Game 3 on Sunday are scheduled to be aired on ESPN+, with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. EST and 1 p.m. EST, respectively.