The West Virginia University baseball team defeated Penn State, 3-1, at Meritus Park in Hagerstown, Md., on April 15. The Mountaineers, ranked No. 15, improved their record to 25-8 while the Nittany Lions fell to 10-24.
The game drew over 4,000 fans and featured strong performances from several Mountaineer players. Senior Paul Schoenfeld recorded two hits including a home run. Senior Brock Wills also had two hits, while sophomore Gavin Kelly and graduate student Sean Smith each drove in a run.
Sophomore David Hagen started for West Virginia and pitched three innings, allowing one run with one strikeout. The bullpen finished the game effectively; graduate student Ian Korn struck out three batters in two innings before freshman Weston Smith tossed a scoreless inning. Graduate student Reese Bassinger closed out the final three innings with four strikeouts and did not allow a run, earning his second save of the year.
Schoenfeld put West Virginia ahead early with his second home run of the season in the first inning. Penn State tied it up with a solo home run in the second inning before West Virginia scored twice more in the third on contributions from Wills, Kelly, Schoenfeld and Smith.
Bassinger faced only nine batters across his three innings thanks to double plays turned by the defense in both the eighth and ninth frames.
West Virginia will return home to Kendrick Family Ballpark for a series against Houston from April 17 through April 19. The first pitch is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 p.m.