Sports@DominionPost.com
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team opens Big 12 Conference play with a three-game series against Kansas this weekend at Monongalia County Ballpark.
Friday’s series opener is slated for 6:30 p.m. while Saturday’s game will begin at 4 p.m. Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for noon.
Senior left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf (1-2, 2.61 ERA) gets the call for the Mountaineers for Friday’s series opener, while Kansas counters with redshirt senior right-hander Ryan Cyr (3-1, 3.94 ERA). On Saturday, left-handed pitcher Adam Tulloch (0-0, 6.00 ERA) goes for WVU against Kansas redshirt junior righty Cole Larsen (3-1, 0.79 ERA), while freshman left-hander Ben Hampton (2-0, 1.04 ERA) battles redshirt sophomore lefty Eli Davis (3-1, 2.90 ERA) of Kansas on Sunday.
WVU (8-8) owns a 13-10 record against Kansas (13-6) all time, including 8-4 in Morgantown. In all, the Mountaineers are 77-87 in Big 12 play since joining the conference in 2013.
This weekend marks just the second time West Virginia begins Big 12 play at home, including the first since 2014. WVU is 12-8 in Big 12-opening series at home.
Last time out, the Mountaineers fell to Marshall, 7-1, on March 23, at the Kennedy Center YMCA in Huntington, West Virginia. The loss snapped WVU’s seven-game win streak in the in-state matchup. Senior infielder Tyler Doanes tallied West Virginia’s lone RBI with an infield single in the eighth inning.
This week, the Mountaineers check in at No. 30 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 30 Poll, which was released on Monday. The squad enters the weekend ranked No. 27 nationally in triples (6) and No. 28 in strikeouts per nine innings (10.8).
Freshman infielder Mikey Kluska continues to lead the WVU offense with a .339 average, 21 hits and 12 RBI. Fifth-year senior infielder Kevin Brophy and sophomore catcher/infielder Matt McCormick are tied for the team lead with four home runs, while junior outfielder Austin Davis and sophomore outfielder Victor Scott co-lead the club with six stolen bases.
On the mound, Hampton and junior right-hander Madison Jeffrey each have two victories on the year, while Wolf has tallied a team-best 20.2 innings pitched.
Kansas is led by 19th-year coach Ritch Price, who holds a record of 551-498-3 during his time in Lawrence. The Jayhawks enter this weekend’s series on a seven-game win streak, dating back to March 13.
KU is 7-5 on the road this season, including 6-1 in its last seven games away from home. Last time out, Kansas took down Lafayette, 20-5, on March 23, in Easton, Pa.
The Jayhawks are led offensively by redshirt junior infielder Skyler Messinger, who is hitting .403 in 67 at-bats this season. He co-leads the club with 18 RBI. Additionally, redshirt junior catcher/infielder Nolan Metcalf has hit a team-leading three homers and 18 RBI for KU so far this spring. In all, Kansas features five players with 10 or more RBI.
On the mound, all three of this weekend’s starting pitchers – Cyr, Larsen and Davis – have tallied at least 31.0 innings of work so far this season. The trio is a combined 9-3 on the year.
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