West Virginia University
4-0
Liberty
2-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 11 | 0 |
| Liberty | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Mountaineers Shut Out Liberty to Open Series
February 20, 2026 08:44 PM | Baseball
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Sophomore Chansen Cole earned the win with 5.1 scoreless innings, striking out seven and giving up just two hits. Graduate student Reese Bassinger tossed 1.2 innings with a pair of strikeouts while sophomores Joshua Surigao and Bryant Yoak each threw a scoreless innings with two and three strikeouts, respectively.
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At the plate, senior Paul Schoenfeld hit a grand slam and drove in five runs. Graduate student Sean Smith had a home run and two RBI while senior Brodie Kresser went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and two runs batted in.
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The Mountaineers ran wild on the bases as well, stealing six bags, already their second game of six steals this season and seventh occurrence in the last four years.
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The game started with four scoreless innings as Liberty's Ben Blair, one of the top mid-major pitching prospects in the nation, went toe-to-toe with Cole on the mound.
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In the fifth, WVU broke through with three runs. Senior Brock Wills opened the scoring with a single before Kresser doubled him home. Kresser then scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Matt Ineich to cap the inning.
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Smith added a run in the sixth with his first home run of the season. In the seventh, the Mountaineers put up a four-spot, beginning with a squeeze bunt by Schoenfeld. Smith followed with a run-scoring groundout before RBI singles by Kresser and junior Tyrus Hall.
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Schoenfeld put the exclamation point on the game in the eighth with a no-doubt grand slam, his first home run of the season.
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The two teams will be back on the diamond on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. to conclude the series.
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For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cole, Chansen (1-0)
L: Blair, B (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Kresser, Brodie 2
HR: Schoenfeld, Paul 1 ; Smith, Sean 1
RBI: Ineich, Matt 1 ; Schoenfeld, Paul 5 ; Smith, Sean 2 ; Wills, Brock 1 ; Kresser, Brodie 2 ; Hall, Tyrus 1
SH: Schoenfeld, Paul 1
SF: Ineich, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ineich, Matt 1 ; Guzman, Armani 1 ; Maggy, Ryan 1 ; Graveline, Matthew 1 ; Mazey, Weston 1 ; Schoenfeld, Paul 2 ; Smith, Sean 2 ; Wills, Brock 2 ; Kresser, Brodie 1
SB: Guzman, Armani 1 ; Graveline, Matthew 1 ; Schoenfeld, Paul 1 ; Smith, Sean 1 ; Wills, Brock 1 ; Hall, Tyrus 1
HBP: Graveline, Matthew 1 ; Wills, Brock 1 ; Kresser, Brodie 1 ; Hall, Tyrus 1
PO: Schoenfeld, Paul 1
Batting:
2B: Drumm, R 1 ; Sorenson, J 1
