INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- West Virginia State opened the season in Harrogate, Tenn. for a meeting with the 2-3 Railsplitters of Lincoln Memorial. The Yellow Jackets gave up a big inning early in both games of the doubleheader, ultimately leading to an 0-2 start of the 2026 season.

In the opener, WVSU (0-1) battled early before falling 10-2 in six innings. The Yellow Jackets collected four hits and pushed across single runs in the third and fourth. Sydney Shamblin sparked the third with a leadoff single and later scored on Erica Sigmon's RBI base hit to get State on the board. An inning later, Olivia Bell delivered a pinch-hit RBI double to plate Emily Bechtel and trim the deficit to 6-2. Bell finished 1 for 2 with a double and an RBI, while Sigmon also drove in a run. In the circle, Adrianna Green took the loss, and Hope Sizemore and Kaleigh Murphy combined for 3 2/3 innings of relief, with Murphy striking out three. Lincoln Memorial capitalized on six walks, four wild pitches and two WVSU errors to pull away late.

In Game 2, the Yellow Jackets again answered early pressure but ultimately dropped a 12-4 decision. After falling behind 6-0 in the first inning, State responded with three runs in the second. Brooke Christian highlighted the rally with a two-run triple and later scored on Elissa Hoffman's RBI single. Christian went 2 for 2 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Hoffman added two hits and an RBI. WVSU tacked on another run in the third when Autumn Hall lifted a sacrifice fly to score Kylie Price, cutting the deficit to 8-4. The Jackets finished with eight hits and did not issue a walk at the plate, but Lincoln Memorial used 14 hits and seven walks to steadily extend the lead. A. Hall was charged with the loss in the circle.

The Yellow Jackets will get another chance at this season's first win February 21 as they take on Gannon at 12:30pm, then D'Youville at 3:00pm.