WVU baseball’s offense erupts for massive 16 run performance to stay undefeated

WVU baseball used another offensive eruption to carry themselves to their 13th win of the season on Friday. The Mountaineer hitters have been quite difficult for opposing pitchers to get out at the plate recently.

In Game One of a three-game home series, WVU (13-0) used a 16-run outpour to propel them to a 16-2 win over Kennesaw State (5-10). Slugging an incredible 18 hits over eight innings, the WVU offense was not slowed down in the slightest by the Owls’ pitching.

Leading the way offensively, Sam White and Skylar King both collected four hits apiece. First-year Mountaineer Jace “Rhino” Rinhart hit his second home run of the year and added two RBIs, going 2-4 on Friday.

Getting the start for Game One, Griffin Krin (3-0) was good enough to earn his third win of the season. After being named Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week just a few days prior, Kirn posted yet another quality start.

10 different WVU hitters recorded a hit in the 16-2 win over Kennesaw State. The final score looked more like a football score (well, a safety-filled game, maybe) rather than a baseball score. Almost everyone was getting a piece of the action.

In addition to the 10 Mountaineer batters that earned a hit, nine of those batters were able to produce an RBI on Friday. Consistently having a positive impact on the lineup, White had another great day at the plate -- he went 4-of-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs. White has now extended his hitting streak to 10 games this season. King, meanwhile, went 4-of-5 at the plate with four runs scored and four RBIs added to the scorecard.

Rinehart also gave a huge effort at the plate and finished the game hitting 2-of-4 with two RBIs and one run scored on his home run in the third inning. The newcomer Mountaineer is red hot at the plate, extending his hitting streak to eight games. Rinehart has had 27 at-bats during the 2025 season, and in those at-bats, has had 12 hits, four doubles, and two home runs. That is good for an unbelievable team-leading 1.331 OPS.

Kirn made his fourth start of the season on the mound; the only weakness for him was the solo homer. Kirn gave up two solo home runs, one in the third and one in the fifth inning. The graduate transfer was able to work out of some traffic on the base paths, though, stranding five runners in the first two innings. The winning pitcher’s final line read 5.1 innings pitched, two earned runs, four hits, four walks, and six strikeouts.

Relievers Reese Bassinger and Bryant Yoak were great out of the WVU bullpen. Bassinger, who leads the team with three saves, entered the game a little earlier than usual. Bassinger got out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth and finished 1.2 innings pitched with one strikeout and zero runs, hits, and walks allowed. 2024 WV Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year Yoak recorded another strong outing -- he threw one inning with two strikeouts and zero hits, runs, or walks allowed.

Winning 13 games in a row is no joke. Regardless of the opponent, that type of streak is not an easy task for any team to manage. WVU will have an opportunity to extend the win streak to 14 when they take on Kennesaw State for Game Two on Saturday. The action scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN+. Starter Gavin Van Kempen is scheduled to start.