West Virginia baseball sweeps fourth consecutive series in massive effort on the road

West Virginia baseball seems nearly unstoppable in conference play right now.

The Mountaineers travelled to The Sunshine State for their final series in the month of April, and were able to extend their Big 12 win streak to 14 games as they swept their fourth consecutive conference series.

It was UCF’s turn to go up against surging WVU baseball, and similar to the last three series opponents for the Mountaineers (Utah, Houston, and Cincinnati), the Knights were unable to come away with even one game on the weekend. The team's only series loss this season came against Arizona, when West Virginia hosted the Wildcats in late March.

The theme for WVU baseball this weekend was simple: find a way to win. And despite a pair of close games to open and close the series -- and a Saturday shootout sandwiched in between -- that is exactly what the Mountaineers did.

Game One: WVU 4, UCF 3

The story of Game One on Friday was pitching and defense. Four West Virginia baseball pitchers were used and combined, they only allowed one unearned run to cross the plate in the fifth inning. The run came against starter and former Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week Griffin Kirn. The Quincy, Illinois, native finished with a final stat line that read 4.2 innings pitched, four hits allowed, 1 unearned run allowed, zero walks, and one strikeout.

Kirn was helped by yet another great defensive play in the third inning by true freshman Gavin Kelly. Kelly, in the right spot at the right time, was able to turn a double play after catching a line drive and tossing out a UCF base runner before he was able to get back to second base.

Relievers Chase Meyer and Reese Bassinger showcased why they were named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award watch list. Both had 1.2 innings of scoreless work on Friday. Mountaineer reliever turned starter turned reliever again, Carson Estridge, pitched the last inning (adding one strikeout) and earned his fourth save on the season.

Offensively, the Mountaineers achieved an impressive feat as they mustered four runs on just one hit. But that fit with the theme of the weekend -- just find a way to win. Southpaw infielder Kyle West was the only WVU batter to record a hit. A fly ball turned into a double-play in the fifth inning drove home the team's first run after a pair of batters were hit by pitches and another was walked to load the bases.

The team's second run came after West's sole hit placed him on first. Armani Guzman took the bases as a pinch runner, and Grant Hussey was walked. The pair each stole a base to set up a Guzman run off a fly out. Then in the next inning, a walked batter, a hit by pitch, and a pitcher error loaded the bases to set up a pair of runs off a fly out and ground out.

Game Two: WVU 15, UCF 10

Unlike Game One, pitching was not at a premium on Saturday. The Mountaineer offense exploded for 15 runs off 13 hits and jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning. Slugger Skylar King, Kyle West, Grant Hussey, and Brodie Kresser all recorded multiple hits on Saturday.

Freshmen Kelly (1-3) and Ben Lumsden (1-1) led the team in RBIs on Saturday, with both having three on the night. Lumsden hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning to extend WVU’s lead to 15-10. In a game that saw three lead changes and WVU surrender a 5-0  lead, Lumsden's bomb helped seal the deal in an almost five-hour game.

In a very long and odd game, a UCF pitcher got the attention of the national media for the wrong reason -- well, right reasons for WVU fans. After making an out at first base, UCF’s pitcher tossed the ball away, mistakenly believing he had made the third out. Unfortunately for him, it was only the second out and allowed Armani Guzman to score, bringing it to a 7-7 tie.

Starter Gavin Van Kempen only managed to get one out before being removed from the game. Sabins had to use eight pitchers to finish the game. UCF also used a lot of pitchers, burning six arms in the loss.

The big three bullpen arms of Meyers, Bassinger, and Estridge nailed down the last 3.2 innings of the last five innings for WVU. Estridge earned his fifth save of the season.

Outfielders West and Lumsden both made diving catches in the outfield. In an offensive game, both West and Lumsden made an impact in the field and at the plate.

Game Three: WVU 4, UCF 3

Getting his third start of the season to close the series, Jack Kartsonas started his third contest of the year and went deep into the game to help keep WVU alive. Going 6.2 innings with over 100 pitches, Kartsonas allowed for relievers' arms to be rested after the eight pitchers used the day before. Kartsonas' final line after 6.2 innings read three earned runs, nine hits allowed, two walks, and five strikeouts.

The only other pitcher used for WVU was left-hander Ben McDougal. McDougal has not seen a lot of action so far in 2025, but he was crucial in Sunday’s game. Before Sunday, McDougal only had 8.2 innings of work on the season. McDougal earned the save (first of the season for him), retiring the only seven hitters he faced with a final line that read 2.1 innings pitched, zero runs, zero hits, and zero walks.

Slugging outfielder Rinehart tallied three of the four RBIs in Sunday's for WVU baseball, with White getting the other RBI on the night. Starting with an RBI double in the first inning, he added his second double of the game, this time scoring two in the fifth inning, earning a 3-2 lead for the Mountaineers. White singled in the same inning, bringing Rinehart home to extend the lead to 4-2.

Looking to keep their conference winning streak alive, West Virginia baseball will host the Texas Tech Raiders for three games beginning on Friday. After Tech, WVU will have some tough opponents for their last two conference series, Kansas State and Kansas, who are third and sixth in the current conference rankings, respectively.

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