West Virginia University
11-4, 0-1
Baylor
11-6, 1-0
Mountaineers Drop Big 12 Opener to Baylor
March 13, 2026 11:22 PM | Baseball
Graduate student Sean Smith went 3-for-4 with a home run, his second of the season. Sophomore Matt Ineich added his second home run of the season as well and reached base four times.
On the mound, junior Dawson Montesa got the start and allowed three runs in the 3.0 innings while graduate student Reese Bassinger suffered the loss with three runs allowed in an inning of work. Sophomore Mac Stiffler had a strong outing, striking out three in 1.2 scoreless innings.
Baylor jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second before the Mountaineers evened the score in the third.
In the fourth, WVU took the lead with three runs as juniors Armani Guzman and Tyrus Hall each bunted home a run. Sophomore Gavin Kelly capped the inning with an RBI single. However, the lead was short-lived as the Bears scored five in the home half to jump back in front.
After Baylor added another run in the fifth, Smith hit a solo home run in the sixth to cut the deficit back to two. Ineich cut the Bears lead to one with a home run in the ninth, but the rally for WVU stopped there.
The Mountaineers will look to even the series on Saturday with first pitch from Baylor Ballpark set for 3 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wallace, Zack (2-0)
L: Bassinger, Reese (1-1)
S: Bunch, Caleb (2)
Batting:
2B: Hall, Tyrus 1 ; Smith, Sean 1 ; Wills, Brock 1
HR: Smith, Sean 1 ; Ineich, Matt 1
RBI: Kelly, Gavin 1 ; Guzman, Armani 1 ; Hall, Tyrus 1 ; Smith, Sean 1 ; Ineich, Matt 1
SH: Hall, Tyrus 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Guzman, Armani 1 ; Hall, Tyrus 1 ; Smith, Sean 2 ; Wills, Brock 1 ; Ineich, Matt 1
SB: Guzman, Armani 1
Batting:
3B: Dodson, Cade 1 ; Armstrong, Tyce 1
RBI: Dodson, Cade 1 ; Riebock, Pearson 1 ; Sanders, Travis 4 ; Armstrong, Tyce 1
SF: Armstrong, Tyce 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Clements, Brytton 1 ; Dodson, Cade 2 ; Kennett, JJ 1 ; Sanders, Travis 1 ; Johnson, Ty 2
SB: Sanders, Travis 1 ; Johnson, Ty 1
HBP: Kennett, JJ 1 ; Riebock, Pearson 1
