Box Score DELAND, Fla. – Sophomore Benjamin Lumsden hit two home runs in his Mountaineer debut, including a go-ahead two-run shot in the eighth inning as the West Virginia University baseball team defeated Stetson, 6-4, on the opening night of the 2024 season.
 
Lumsden finished the night with three hits and three RBI to lead WVU. Sophomore Sam White also collected three hits while junior JJ Wetherholt reached base three times, stole three bases, and scored two runs.
 
On the mound, junior Aidan Major put together a quality start, throwing 6.0 innings with seven strikeouts while allowing three runs. Graduate student Hambleton Oliver earned the win with 2.1 perfect innings to finish the game, striking out three.
 
Wetherholt got the game going in the first with a leadoff walk before stealing second and third and finally scoring on a single from White.
 
In the second, Lumsden connected on the first home run of the season for the Mountaineers, a solo shot to right-center field. Wetherholt got his first hit of the season a few batters later, stole second, and came around to score from second on an infield single to deep third by Sauve.
 
Stetson got on the board in the second, but the Mountaineers answered in the fourth as sophomore Skylar King came around to score on an errant pickoff attempt after hitting a double.
 
The Hatters clawed back to tie to the game with a two-run home run in the sixth and a solo shot in the seventh.
 
In the eighth, Stetson brought in a lefty to face the left-handed hitting Lumsden, but the UT Arlington transfer was ready and clocked a two-run home run to nearly the same spot as his first, putting the Mountaineers back out in front.
 
Oliver locked it down in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning to secure the opening night victory.
 
The two teams will be back on the field Saturday morning for game two of the series. In an attempt to beat the rain, the game has been moved up to a 10:30 a.m. start.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.