INSTITUTE, W.VA. – West Virginia State Baseball impressed on their 2022 Opening Day, splitting the doubleheader with visiting Malone University by scores of 2-3 and 6-4 Sunday at Cal Bailey Field.

WVSU, ranked No. 23 nationally in the ABCA Poll, now sits at 1-1 on the year.

Freshman Nathan Paulsen was stellar in his debut, cranking out four hits on the afternoon, including a homerun in his first collegiate at bat. Senior transfer Andrew Sharp also homered, logging three RBI and scoring twice.

Graduate student Matthew Kline went 2-for-4 with a double and stolen base in Game 1, while classmate Andrew Stone tallied two hits in the nightcap with a run and RBI. He also swiped two bases and picked up the victory in two innings of relief.

Junior Trey Junkins also posted two hits with a run and RBI in the second game, while senior Foster Conis was superb in three innings of relief, striking out four and not allowing a hit.

Senior shorstop Brett Christian was dynamic in the field, tallying seven putouts and six assists across both games.

GAME 1: MALONE 3, WVSU 2
State broke the blank first, scoring in the opening frame after back-to-back doubles from Kline and Junkins. The Yellow Jackets looked poised to put up some cushion after Junkins advanced to third on a wild pitch, but he was stranded to end the inning after a pick off to freshman Dante Zamudio, who walked in his first career at bat.

The Pioneers wasted no time, plating three runs in the top of the second. Malone capitalized on a pair of errors and used three straight singles and a bases-loaded walk to take a 3-1 lead.

The Yellow Jackets trimmed the deficit after a leadoff long ball to deep left field from Paulsen.

WVSU threatened in the seventh, after Christian walked and advanced to second on a groundout. Stone walked to put two men on, and each advanced 90 feet on a passed ball to pressure the Pioneers before Malone escaped with the win.

GAME 2: WVSU 6, MALONE 4
Malone wasted no time getting on the board after a leadoff walk and two stolen bases brought home a Pioneer via a sacrifice fly.

State tied the contest the in the bottom of the first, after Stone walked and stole second, then came home on a connection from Junkins.

It was a game of cat-and-mouse, as Malone regained the lead after plating two runs in the second on a single and home run, taking a 3-1 lead, before State cut the lead to one run once more after Zamudio tallied his first hit as a Yellow Jacket- a double to deep center and scored on a RBI groundout from Sharp.

A two-run fourth inning for WVSU put State back on top, courtesy of a blast from Sharp that also brought home Junkins.

The back-and-forth continued as Malone scored in the top of the sixth on a bunt single, but the stalemate was short lived as State plated two runs in the bottom of the frame to take the lead and secure their first win of the season.

Paulsen led off the inning with a single through the right side, and then advanced to second after Sharp boarded via a walk. With two on, the Yellow Jackets used a situational pinch hit from freshman Peyton Stover, who boarded after a bunt single down the third base line. With bases loaded, Christian placed a ball perfectly into shallow right center to bring Paulsen home, and Sharp came home via a single to the outfield from Stone.