GOLDSBORO, N.C. – The Mansfield Mountaineers baseball team (1-2) opened the 2025 season with an opening weekend series in a neutral three-game series with Fairmont State (2-1) in their first trip to North Carolina, with the Falcons picking up game one, 14-7, and squeaking by in a 10-9 game two, while the Mounties picked up their first win of the year with a 13-5 victory in game three.  

Jacob Houtz and newcomer Hunter Smith highlighted the two offensive sluggers for Mansfield on the opening weekend, combining for four home runs, 13 RBI's, nine runs, and seven extra-base hits, while holding up a clinic at the plate with a .550 (11-20) batting average.

Luke Raho was credited with the first victory of the season for the Mounties in his debut on the mound. 

GAME 1: Fairmont State 14 – Mansfield 7 (9 innings)

Austin Lewis started off his 2025 campaign, marking strikeouts for the first seven outs of the Falcons lineup. 

Fairmont State scored their first run of their 2025 season in an aggressive six run inning to take the 6-0 push through the top of the fourth inning. 

Mansfield played the long and patient method, finding their strike zone and using their zone to their edge. 

Ryan Verbonitz was credited with the first RBI with a bases-loaded walk, bringing in Shane Stossel. Jerry Crispino copied the script with a bases-loaded walk.

Kahale Burns, Ryan Scott, and Stossel saw the small strike zone and used it to their advantage, earning the Mounties three more RBIs from at-bat walks. 

Jacob Houtz cemented the first live RBIs for the Mountaineers, with a two-RBI double, scoring Burns and Scott to give the red and black their first lead at 7-6 after the fourth inning.

The Falcons rattled off two runs in the sixth inning to retake the 8-7 advantage, before adding six more runs across the final three innings, including two dingers to seal their first game with a 14-7 victory. 

Houtz finished as the only Mountie with multiple hits and RBIs, each at two. 

GAME 2: Fairmont State 10 – Mansfield 9

Game two saw an exciting thriller with the Falcons posting the first three runs on the scoreboard, heading into the third inning. 

Houtz delivered a two run single, driving in Scott and Ryan Sekulski to bring the Mounties to within one through the third inning. 

Looking to strengthen their lead, Fairmont State sent a two run shot over the wall to build another three run lead at 5-2.

Houtz blasted his fifth RBI of the series to that point with a solo shot in the top of the fifth.

The Falcons used the fifth inning to stamp three more uns off a two run blast and an RBI single to hold the 8-3 edge into the final two innings. 

Mansfield stormed back with a six run sixth inning to take the 9-8 lead before taking back to the field. A Sekulski single scored Jerry Crispino, a Scott single scored Burns, and a ground out by Houtz scored Sekulski to bring the red and black to within two.

Smith came in clutch in his opening weekend dawning the Mountaineer uniform with his only at-bat in the game scoring Cole Serfass and Scott to tie the Mounties at 8-8 before Jeffrey Coakley delivered the potential go-ahead RBI, scoring Smith for the 9-8 lead. 

Fairmont State tied the game up in the bottom of the sixth before a first at-bat in the final inning soared over the wall for a 10-9 Falcons walk-off to seal game two. 

Houtz posted four RBI's in game two off his two hits and Sekulski marked the first Mountie with three hits in a game on the year. 

GAME 3: Mansfield 13 – Fairmont State 5

Mansfield looked to earn a victory before closing the weekend and used their early long ball offense to find their first win.

Stossel scored Sekulski for the first run of the game off a grounder, before Houtz smacked a solo home run to double their lead of 2-0 after the first inning.

Conner Adams landed his first hit of the year in the second with a two run blast over the left field wall, scoring Smith to bring the Mountie lead to 4-0.

Errors and a sacrifice bunt led to the Falcons scoring two runs in the bottom of the second to cut the deficit to 4-3.

Smith found his first home run of the season in the third inning, blasting in Stossel to bring lead to 6-3. An error on a Sekulski at-bat brought in Coakley for another run.

Serfass continued the offensive onslaught by opening the fourth inning with a two run double, pushing in Houtz and Stossel, followed by a Sekulski bases-loaded walk to score Serfass, bringing the Mansfield advantage to 10-3. 

Scott finished the inning with a two RBI double to score Burns and Smith for a 12-3 hold on the game. 

Smith doubled his home run count on the day and the season, blasting another two run shot for an astounding four RBI, four run, and three hit day to cement Mansfield's first victory of the season in a 14-5 victory. 

Tyler Swineford started game three, giving up just one earned run through 3.2 innings of work and struck out six in his season debut. Raho's pitching debut could not have went better, earning his first victory in a 3.1 inning appearance, giving up one run with three strikeouts to his name.

UP NEXT:  
Mansfield is back in action this weekend for a four game-series with Glenville State University, starting on Saturday (Mar. 1). First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m., followed by game two with the Pioneers expected to start at 3:30 p.m.