GRANVILLE, W.Va. — West Virginia scored runs in six of their eight innings at the plate to take the rubber game of their weekend series with Columbia in emphatic fashion, 16-1. After dropping Friday’s series opener, 7-4, the Mountaineers scored 25 runs in the final two games to win their fourth weekend series in four tries this season.
“I think the guys probably played their best baseball of the weekend today,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins. “Yesterday was a really gritty win where I think we had to fight through a lot of things and we did it defensively.”
Leadoff batter and shortstop Matt Ineich broke the game open with a grand slam to cap a six-run second inning. Ineich added a two-run single in the third inning to finish the game with six runs batted in.
“It is a really good ballpark here with the win blowing out to left field. It definitely rewards misses for left-handed hitters. To be able to see a fastball like that and stay through it to the backside, I let the wind do the rest,” Ineich said of his grand slam.
Gavin Kelly, Brodie Kresser and Sean Smith also had two hits each. Kresser drove in three runs.
“The consistency of that kid as a human is what I like the most,” Sabins said of Kresser. “He is a Mountaineer through and through. He shows up everyday poised and confident. He is team-oriented. Regardless of the results, he is going to give you host best effort every single day.”
Redshirt junior southpaw Maxx Yehl authored another impressive start for the Mountaineers. He allowed just one run in a season-high six innings of work. He yielded five hits and struck out a season-high nine batters. Yehl has allowed one run in 17 innings of work over four appearances this season. Yehl has increased his innings in each of his four starts.
“It was just the confidence with everything,” Yehl said. “Every time I looked down and saw the pitch called, I was convicted with everything I threw. It just felt good and I kept running positive thoughts through my head.”
“Maxx Yehl gave us an incredible start,” Sabins said. “That was the longest outing of his career. He has now done that for four consecutive weekends.”
Hurricane High School graduate and 2025 West Virginia Player of the Year Weston Smith made his collegiate debut for the Mountaineers in the eighth inning. Smith allowed two hits but he later induced an inning-ending double play to put up a scoreless frame.
“He had been banged up to start the season,” Sabins said. “He had an injury and he had been back and available for about seven days. As a freshman coming back from injury, obviously that is a lot of trust in a coaching staff to then put you in a real game. We have ultimate trust in Weston Smith.
Joshua Suriago and JD Costanzo also posted scoreless innings in relief for West Virginia.
West Virginia (10-3) will host Maryland Tuesday at 2 p.m.