STATESBORO, Ga. (Interstat) — In a wild opening game of a Saturday doubleheader at J.I. Clements Stadium, the West Virginia Mountaineers survived a furious Georgia Southern rally to secure an 11-10 victory.

The Mountaineers, now 3-0, appeared to have the game in hand after a dominant first inning, sending 13 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs on six hits. The onslaught began with a leadoff double from Gavin Kelly, who later scored on a wild pitch. Matthew Ineich and Armani Guzman followed with key hits, and Matthew Graveline and Paul Schoenfeld contributed run-scoring groundouts. The inning was capped by a two-run single from Ineich, forcing Georgia Southern starter Burke from the game after recording just one out.

West Virginia added three more runs in the fourth inning to extend its lead to 11-0. Guzman scored on an RBI single from Sean Smith, and Graveline followed with a two-run home run to deep center field, his first of the season.

The game’s complexion changed dramatically in the bottom of the second and seventh innings. Georgia Southern, now 0-3, capitalized on a West Virginia error to plate four unearned runs in the second, cutting the deficit to 11-4. The Eagles then mounted a serious threat in the seventh, loading the bases with one out before Sam Senese cleared them with a three-run double down the left field line. The hit brought Georgia Southern within a single run at 11-10, capping a six-run inning that saw three West Virginia pitchers take the mound.

The most important sequence of the game, however, came in the top of the eighth inning with West Virginia clinging to its one-run lead. With two outs and nobody on, Gavin Kelly sparked the Mountaineers with his second double of the game. After a pitching change and a strikeout, Kelly aggressively stole third base and then scored what proved to be the decisive run on a throwing error by Georgia Southern catcher White. The unearned insurance run provided a critical cushion.

Georgia Southern threatened in both the eighth and ninth innings, putting the tying run in scoring position each time. In the ninth, the Eagles loaded the bases with two outs on a walk, a single and a hit-by-pitch against West Virginia reliever Estridge. But Estridge induced a game-ending groundout to shortstop from McCoy to strand all three runners and seal the victory.

West Virginia finished with 12 hits, led by multi-hit games from Kelly and Ineich, who combined for four hits and three RBIs. Georgia Southern out-hit the Mountaineers with 13, including three hits and three RBIs from Senese and three hits from McCoy. Five Georgia Southern pitchers combined to issue seven walks and hit three batters.

The teams were scheduled to conclude the doubleheader later Saturday. West Virginia will travel to face Liberty next Friday, while Georgia Southern hosts Georgia Tech on Tuesday. According to Interstat’s ELO system, West Virginia entered the game with a 66.90 percent probability to win.