HAGERSTOWN, Md. — A pair of runs in the third inning and a sterling pitching performance from four Mountaineers allowed West Virginia to defeat Penn State, 3-1 in front of a crowd of 4,748 fans at Meritus Park.
In a briskly-paced game that took just 2 hours and 19 minutes to complete, West Virginia improved to 6-0 in “mid-week” non-conference contests this season.
“I thought it was the best situation it could have possibly been. It was a sellout crowd. Mountaineers were all over the place. This place was juiced. I couldn’t thank the fans enough. We got to cut a little time out from going to Penn State. So you get the win in front of a huge crowd. We are out of here by eight o’clock. We get to get home at a reasonable time and rest and get ready for a big series,” said WVU head coach Steve Sabins.
“I know they sold the absolute hell out of some beer and hot dogs. We’ve got to come back here and do this more often.”
“We travel well and it is just a blessed experience and an awesome experience and an awesome environment,” said WVU outfielder Paul Schoenfeld.
Schoenfeld gave WVU an early lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning, his second homer of the season.
“I had a feeling, yeah. I thought I was going to hook it foul. But the wind kind of helped it back,” Schoenfeld said. “I felt good. The swing felt good. I got all of that ball and it barely went out.”
Penn State (10-24) pulled even when Jack Porter delivered a solo home run in the second inning. However, West Virginia (25-8) took a lead they would not relinquish by scoring a pair of runs in the third inning. A Gavin Kelly sacrifice fly sent Brock Wills to the plate and Sean Smith’s run-scoring single sent Matt Ineich to score.
“A great squad over there and they came out and competed,” Schoenfeld said. “Our staff threw really well. We had a lot of barrel outs. But that’s baseball.”
WV National Guard Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, who was shot while on duty in Washington, DC in November, throws out the first pitch prior to the WVU-Penn State game: pic.twitter.com/0mq4Hz6y5k
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) April 15, 2026
WVU starting pitcher David Hagen improved to 3-0 on the season by earning the victory. He allowed one run in three innings of work.
“I thought our defense and pitching was tremendous. We actually barreled quite a few balls today and had good at bats. But our defense has been suffocating lately. Even with some baserunners, we turned multiple double plays,” Sabins said.
Ian Korn posted scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth innings for West Virginia. In his fifth appearance of the season, Hurricane High School graduate Weston Smith worked around a one-out double to post a scoreless sixth inning.
“He’s a West Virginia kid with a huge arm that has really been trending in the right direction,” Sabins said. “For him to get that inning, it is kind of like a guy in the future that we are going to be able to turn to, and hopefully this season.”
Reese Bassinger went the rest of the way for West Virginia to earn the save. He allowed leadoff batters to reach in the eighth and ninth innings but he erased them both with double plays.
“Bassinger hadn’t been quite as sharp for us. He came out and had three of his best innings all year,” Sabins said. “With a couple baserunners on, he got a double play both times. That’s what he is, sinker, slider, but he had been up in the zone a bit.”
Schoenfeld and Wills each had two hits for WVU as the Mountaineers outhit Penn State 6-5. The two teams will meet again at Penn State on April 29.
West Virginia opens a three-game series with Houston Friday night at Kendrick Family Ballpark. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.