Starting Lineups Revealed for Game 1 Between WVU and Columbia

Back-to-back Ivy League Conference champion Columbia has made their way to Morgantown and will open up a three-game series with the West Virginia Mountaineers, which will begin Friday afternoon.

It's been a week full of drama surrounding the Mountaineers with the departure of veteran right-handed pitcher Chase Meyer, who, according to his mother, was dismissed from the team via text. WVU will certainly miss his presence on the mound and the electrifying stuff he has in his arsenal, but even without Meyer, West Virginia has several quality power arms that can get them out of jams and close out games.

Moments ago, both head coaches submitted their starting lineups for game one of this series.

West Virginia

1. SS Matt Ineich (.450)
2. 2B Gavin Kelly (.409)
3. RF Armani Guzman (.205)
4. C Matthew Graveline (.364)
5. CF Paul Schoenfeld (.324)
6. DH Sean Smith (.188)
7. LF Brock Wills (.296)
8. 1B Brodie Kresser (.346)
9. 3B Tyrus Hall (.310)

SP Dawson Montesa (2-1, 17 IP, 26K, 4 BB, 3.18 ERA, 0.94 WHIP)

Montesa has been phenomenal for the Mountaineers so far this year, allowing just six earned runs through his first three starts. He has a live fastball that sits mid-90s and a nasty breaking ball that keeps hitters honest and is a strong put-away pitch. Last week against Kennesaw State, Montesa tossed a strong seven innings, giving up just one run on four hits while punching out 11 batters on the evening.

Columbia

1. 3B Jimmy Chadwell (.333)
2. RF Jackson Brewer (.333)
3. SS Jack Kail (.143)
4. C Owen Estabrook (.389)
5. LF Cole Fellows (.318)
6. DH Anthony Temesvary (.208)
7. 1B Tate Vogler (.217)
8. CF Ben Fishel (.208)
9. 2B Hunter Snyder (.269)

SP Alex Sotiropoulos (0-0, 8 IP, 9K, 9 BB, 3.38 ERA, 1.50 WHIP)

In two appearances, Sotiropoulos has tossed a combined eight innings, giving up three earned runs. So far, the problem for him has been finding the zone consistently. As you can see in the stat line above, he's walked more than one batter per inning pitched. He threw 71 pitches in his first outing and 89 last week against Kansas State — not very efficient, constantly getting deep into counts. If WVU is patient and drives that pitch count up again, they'll eventually get some stuff out over the middle of the plate that they can hammer.

First pitch between the Mountaineers and Lions is set for 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.