MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Feb. 28, 2024) – In its 2024 home opener on Wednesday, the West Virginia University baseball team defeated Canisius, 10-3, at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark. The Mountaineers improve to 5-4 on the season while the Golden Griffins fall to 2-3.
Sophomore Ellis Garcia had two hits and two RBI for the Mountaineers. Senior Reed Chumley also knocked in a pair of runs while sophomore Logan Sauve walked twice and scored three runs.
On the mound, sophomore Gavin Van Kempen got the start and struck out four while allowing two runs. Sophomore Maxx Yehl had a strikeout in a scoreless inning to earn the win while freshmen Chase Meyer and Aidan Smith each had two strikeouts in their collegiate debuts.
Garcia gave the Mountaineers the lead in the first inning as his single to left scored Sauve before sophomore Skylar King tacked on a second run in the second inning with a single of his own.
Canisius hit a two-run home run in the third to even up the game, but in the home half, Chumley put West Virginia back on top with a two-run triple off the wall.
WVU added two more runs in the fourth on a single from sophomore Benjamin Lumsden and squeeze bunt by Garcia. In the fifth, the Mountaineers added three unearned runs to extend their lead to 9-2.
Junior Tyler Cox put West Virginia in double digits with an RBI single in the seventh to score freshman Aaron Jamison.
The Mountaineers will now head back on the road for a four-game series at Western Kentucky this weekend with first pitch on Friday set for 4 p.m. ET. The games will not have a video stream but can be heard on the radio on The Varsity Network.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Sophomore Ellis Garcia had two hits and two RBI for the Mountaineers. Senior Reed Chumley also knocked in a pair of runs while sophomore Logan Sauve walked twice and scored three runs.
On the mound, sophomore Gavin Van Kempen got the start and struck out four while allowing two runs. Sophomore Maxx Yehl had a strikeout in a scoreless inning to earn the win while freshmen Chase Meyer and Aidan Smith each had two strikeouts in their collegiate debuts.
Garcia gave the Mountaineers the lead in the first inning as his single to left scored Sauve before sophomore Skylar King tacked on a second run in the second inning with a single of his own.
Canisius hit a two-run home run in the third to even up the game, but in the home half, Chumley put West Virginia back on top with a two-run triple off the wall.
WVU added two more runs in the fourth on a single from sophomore Benjamin Lumsden and squeeze bunt by Garcia. In the fifth, the Mountaineers added three unearned runs to extend their lead to 9-2.
Junior Tyler Cox put West Virginia in double digits with an RBI single in the seventh to score freshman Aaron Jamison.
The Mountaineers will now head back on the road for a four-game series at Western Kentucky this weekend with first pitch on Friday set for 4 p.m. ET. The games will not have a video stream but can be heard on the radio on The Varsity Network.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
