West Virginia baseball’s red-hot offense continues to shine in 11-1 win over Queens (NC)

Did someone say 11-0?

West Virginia baseball fans certainly did on Sunday, as the Mountaineers remained undefeated after securing an 11-1 win over Queens University (NC) on Sunday. Powered by their explosive offense, the WVU is riding high on their perfect start to the 2025 season.

The WVU offense, which has shown incredible capability at the plate thus far, remained high-powered on Sunday -- WVU scored nine runs during the final three innings of the third contest in a four-game series against Queens.

The Mountaineer offense shows no signs of slowing down as it continues to combine hitting for average and hitting for power. WVU's all-time home run leader Grant Hussey added his 39th career home run and second of the 2025 season in the win.

Meanwhile, starting infielder Brodie Kresser also added a home run (his first of the season) in the top of the eighth. Kresser finished the game going 2-of-5 at the plate, scoring three runs and chipping in an RBI. He has been a force to be reckoned with at the top of the lineup, continuing his early-season dominance during this series.

Jace “Rhino” Rinehart is a player new to the WVU lineup from last season who has also made a big impact, early and that continued on Sunday as well. Rinehart only collected one hit, but it turned out an influential play in the game. With bases loaded, “Rhino” smoked a double to right-center and cleared the bases. Rinehart’s three RBI-double increased the lead to 6-1 in favor of the Mountaineers.

Sam White also collected a hit at the plate, extending his hit streak to eight games and demonstrating why remains an important piece to the WVU offense,

Taking the mound for Game Three in the series, pitcher Gavin Van Kempen earned his second win of the season. Van Kempen completed five innings, only allowed one earned run, two hits, three walks, and five strikeouts.

The one mistake from Van Kempen’s outing came in the bottom of the second when the Preseason All-American gave up a solo home run. After allowing a leadoff walk, Van Kempen struck out the side in the fifth inning to end his outing.

Two nice defensive plays in the field for WVU were also worth showcasing. Leftfielder Michael Perazza gunned a would-be runner out at the plate trying to score on a base hit in the third inning. Van Kempen, meanwhile, made a diving play in foul territory to record the final out of the first inning.

The 2024 Gatorade West Virginia Player of the Year, Bryant Yoak, also worked a great inning in relief on Sunday. The Big Bend, West Virginia native struck out the side in his lone inning of work, only allowing two baserunners on one walk and one error committed by the Mountaineers’ defense.

WVU will be going for their third straight sweep in as many series on Monday against Queens. The final game will start at 1 p.m. on Monday to wrap up the four-game set.