West Virginia

West Virginia splits doubleheader on Saturday against Texas Tech

Published

7 months ago

May 4, 2025

West Virginia splits doubleheader on Saturday against Texas Tech

West Virginia split their doubleheader on Saturday against Texas Tech, losing game one 6-4, before taking game two, 3-2.

Game One

West Virginia suffered their first back-to-back loss of the season as they lost game one 6-4 on Saturday.

After falling to Marshall on Wednesday, WVU’s offense took a while to get going on Saturday afternoon. The Mountaineers totaled three hits in the first six innings with a weather delay splitting the start of the game to the middle innings.

Griffin Kirn got the start on the mound for the Mountaineers, as the Red Raiders jumped on him early. Tech scored two in the first inning, but neither came on a big mistake from Kirn. The first run came off an error, and the second came off a balk with runners on first and third, putting Texas Tech ahead 2-0.

WVU head coach Steve Sabins would be ejected following the top half of the inning, while the Mountaineers struggled to figure out TTU starter Mac Heuer.

Heuer would toss 4.0 innings on the afternoon, his only run he gave up being a solo home run to Grant Hussey, which cut Texas Tech’s lead to 2-1. He struck out three and walked two while only giving up two hits.

Kirn would stay in the game to pitch following the delay, which lasted from 1:20 p.m. until 2:16 p.m. Kirn gave up a run in the sixth on a sac-fly, he loaded the bases before being taken out as Texas Tech then cleared the bases with a double from Damian Bravo to take a 6-1 lead.

West Virginia cut into that lead in the seventh, scoring one on a fielder’s choice and then two more on a home run from Skylar King, cutting WVU’s deficit to 6-4.

WVU got one on in the eighth and then loaded the bases in the ninth, before Kyle West flied out to end the game.

WVU pitching walked six batters and gave up another 10 hits in the loss. Dating back to Wednesday’s loss over Marshall, it was the first two-game stretch of two losses for the Mountaineers this season.

Game Two

Game two shaped up to be a lower-scoring affair, as Reese Bassinger was just what WVU needed out of the bullpen for the Mountaineers, allowing West Virginia to bounce back with a 3-2 victory.

Gavin Van Kempen got the start for WVU but exited the game prematurely. He allowed no runs and one hit in two innings before he gave the ball to Bassinger, leaving the game with an apparent injury.

So far this season, Bassinger has been able to give West Virginia a lot of innings out of the bullpen while limiting the scoring from opponents. That’s just what he did on Saturday. Bassinger gave up eight hits, but allowed only two runs while striking out four, as he did not come out of the game, while he helped deliver the win.

The Red Raiders scored one run in the third inning on a solo home run, before they added another in the fourth as they compiled three hits in the inning, before Bassinger was able to strand two runners. Bassinger stranded two more runners in the fifth, and another seventh as WVU held onto their 3-2 lead heading into the final innings.

That lead was built as West Virginia scored in the first on a double from Sam White to score Logan Sauve, who reached base on an error.

West Virginia added another run on a double from White in the third, before Jace Rinehart singled up the middle to plate White and put West Virginia in front 3-1.

Texas Tech starting pitcher Tyler Bourdreau tossed 4.1 innings and allowed all of those three runs on seven hits, while he walked two and struck out two others.

Despite it being a one-run game and WVU having all of their options in the bullpen, Bassinger stayed in the game, tallying a season-high in innings pitched in the process.

WVU’s offense was out-hit 9-8 by the Red Raiders as White had two of the eight hits.

The rubber match of the series is set for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. from Kendrick Family Ballpark in Morgantown.

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West Virginia

West Virginia First Foundation lauds Wheeling police for crisis intervention success

Published

7 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

West Virginia First Foundation lauds Wheeling police for crisis intervention success

WHEELING, W.Va. — The West Virginia First Foundation visited the Wheeling Police Department to commend its efforts in addressing the area’s mental health and opioid crisis.

Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger presented to the WVFF board, highlighting the department’s progress.

Schwertfeger attributed a 14% decrease in Group A crimes from 2024 to 2025 to the department’s crisis intervention program.

“Just another great partnership,” he said. “More collaboration in this area that we are very proud of and we want to keep the momentum going,.”

WVFF Executive Director Jonathan Board praised the program’s success.

“This in particular, the CIT program, that isn’t just in the ether, but is showing success – actual scientific success about de-escalation, about bringing together services providers and to boots on the ground and first responders, this is vitally important to not only this region but the entire state,” Board said.

The visit was part of WVFF’s ‘Hold the Line’ tour across the state.

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West Virginia

Where West Virginia’s Decommits in the 2026 Recruiting Class Signed & What Happened

Published

19 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Where West Virginia’s Decommits in the 2026 Recruiting Class Signed & What Happened

Now that you know about West Virginia’s 2026 recruiting class, I figured it’d be a good time to give a little insight into those who were once committed to the Mountaineers and landed elsewhere.

What happened, and where did they go?

QB Brodie McWhorter (Mississippi State)

McWhorter committed to Neal Brown and his coaching staff, but reopened his recruitment when the coaching change was made. Rich Rodriguez did recruit him at the beginning, holding several conversations with him before backing off and pursuing Jyron Hughley and Legend Bey. Hughley committed, Bey committed to Ohio State (signed with Tennessee), while WVU added two more quarterbacks in Wyatt Brown and John Johnson III.

RB Jett Walker (Texas)

Walker fit the bill for what Rodriguez wanted in the backfield. A big, physical presence who could absorb contact and hammer it in between the tackles. With multiple backs committed and feeling good about a few others, WVU didn’t feel pressed to hold onto him. Walker flipped to Minnesota and then flipped to Texas just three weeks later

WR Jeffar Jean-Noel (Georgia Tech)

Jean-Noel was the second recruit to commit to Rodriguez in the 2026 class, but reopened his recruitment in mid-April. He then considered Purdue, Pitt, Kentucky, UCF, and Florida State before landing at Georgia Tech.

OL Justyn Lyles (Marshall)

The Mountaineers had a number of offensive line commits, and with the late additions of Kevin Brown and Aidan Woods, and their chances of securing Jonas Muya, Lyles took a visit to Marshall and flipped his commitment.

LB Caleb Gordon (North Carolina)

Gordon’s commitment to WVU was very brief. As a matter of fact, it was the shortest of the bunch, announcing his pledge on November 24th and then flipping to NC State on the first day of the early signing period (December 3rd).

LB Daiveon Taylor (Kent State)

Taylor was the first commit in the class; however, it was so early that he was committed to Neal Brown’s staff, announcing his decision in April of 2024. He backed off that pledge the very day Brown was fired (December 1st) and eventually signed with Kent State.

CB Emari Peterson (unsigned)

Peterson decommitted from WVU just days before signing day, likely due to the Mountaineers zeroing in on a pair of JUCO corners in Rayshawn Reynolds and Da’Mun Allen. He will sign in February and currently has offers from Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Bowling Green, Charlotte, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky, Liberty, LSU, South Florida, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, Toledo, Wake Forest, and a few others.

S Aaron Edwards (committed to Tulsa)

West Virginia chose to part ways with Edwards and ultimately replaced his spot with fellow JUCO safety Da’Mare Williams.

S Jaylon Jones (undecided)

Jones decommitted in late October and did not sign during the early signing period. He will likely choose between Central Michigan, Hawai’i, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, and Texas State.

S Taj Powell (Louisville)

Taj is the brother of former Mountaineer basketball guard Jonathan Powell, who is now at North Carolina. He decommitted the day after West Virginia lost to Ohio and flipped to Louisville that same day.

West Virginia

West Virginia National Guard member killed in DC laid to rest

Published

1 day ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

West Virginia National Guard member killed in DC laid to rest

A West Virginia National Guard member who was fatally shot last month in the nation’s capital was laid to rest with full military honors in a private ceremony.

Spc. Sarah Beckstrom’s funeral took place Tuesday at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in a statement.

“The ceremony was deeply moving and reflected the strength, grace, and love of a remarkable young woman and the family and friends who surrounded her,” Morrisey said.

Beckstrom graduated with honors from Webster County High School in 2023 and joined the National Guard several weeks later. She served in the 863rd Military Police Company.

Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe were ambushed as they patrolled a subway station three blocks from the White House on Nov. 26. She died the next day.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who was also shot during the confrontation, has been charged with murder. He pleaded not guilty.

Morrisey has said Wolfe, who remains in a hospital in Washington, is slowly healing and his family expects he will be in acute care for another few weeks.

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