West Virginia Makes First Appearance in D1Baseball's Top 25 Rankings

A big weekend leads to a number next to the Mountaineers' name.

West Virginia University utility player Gavin Kelly | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

What an opening weekend it was for the West Virginia Mountaineers, who swept a three-game series at Georgia Southern, which was full of action. Because of the impressive start to the season, WVU will enter Week 2 of the season as the 25th-best team in the country, according to D1Baseball's new batch of rankings.

This week's Top 25 (per D1Baseball)

1. UCLA
2. LSU
3. Texas
4. Mississippi State
5. Georgia Tech
6. Coastal Carolina
7. TCU
8. Arkansas
9. Auburn
10. North Carolina
11. Oregon State
12. Florida
13. Tennessee
14. Georgia
15. Louisville
16. Florida State
17. North Carolina State
18. Kentucky
19. Clemson
20. Southern Miss
21. Oklahoma
22. Wake Forest
23. Miami
24. Texas A&M
25. West Virginia

Game 1

West Virginia trailed 3-2 entering the sixth inning, giving the fans a bit of an early scare. The bats woke up in the sixth for a six-run frame, and then a four-run eighth and three-run ninth really broke it open, taking the season opener by a 15-3 score. Centerfielder Armani Guzman went 2/5 with 3 RBI.

Game 2

The Mountaineers jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first inning, but lefty Maxx Yehl pitched into some trouble in his first game back in over a year. He missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. The Eagles tied the game up at 10 apiece in the seventh with a 3 RBI double to left. WVU would escape with an 11-10 victory, thanks to a throwing error in the 8th, plating Gavin Kelly.

Game 3

Because of bad weather, the final game of this series was moved to Saturday, creating a doubleheader. Division II transfer Dawson Montesa had the best performance of the weekend on the bump for the Mountaineers, tossing six innings of quality ball, giving up just two runs while striking out seven batters. Matthew Graveline was the difference-maker offensively, hitting his first homer of the year and finishing 2/3 with a walk and 3 RBI, helping WVU to a 5-2 win.

Up next

WVU will head to Lynchburg, Virginia, later this week for a three-game series against Liberty, beginning on Friday at 4 p.m. ET.

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