MORGANTOWN — West Virginia climbed three spots to No. 17 in the latest D1Baseball.com poll released Monday — their highest ranking since 1982 — and Alek Manoah three-peated as Big 12 pitcher of the week.
After taking two of three game from Kansas during a weekend set, the Mountaineers (24-14, 8-7) have won four consecutive Big 12 series for the first time in their six-year history within the league.
West Virginia was 19th in the RPI entering Monday night’s action and could be in line to host an NCAA regional should it finish the next month in strong fashion.
Randy Mazey’s club is tied for third in the Big 12, two games back of front-runner Oklahoma State.
Manoah beat Kansas 1-0 in the series opener, striking out 15 batters for the second consecutive game and extending his scoreless streak to 31 2/3 innings.
With a 6-2 record and a 1.81 ERA, the junior right-hander has struck out 41 batters and walked none across his last three starts.
The Mountaineers host Penn State (17-18) in a nonconference game Tuesday night at 7 p.m., before visiting Texas for a three-game series that opens Friday.
