West Virginia returns home riding an 11-game winning streak and sitting at 31-4 on the season, the best winning percentage in college baseball. Next up is a three-game series against Cincinnati starting Thursday at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, with Saturday’s finale scheduled for 2 p.m. The games will be carried by ESPN+.
The Mountaineers enter the weekend ranked in every major poll, highlighted by a No. 11 spot from Perfect Game and No. 24 by D1Baseball. They’re coming off a 5-4 midweek win at Marshall, capped by Chase Swain’s straight steal of home to break a 4-4 tie in the ninth.
Sam White leads WVU with a .375 average, while Jace Rinehart has driven in 34 runs and leads the team with six home runs. Logan Sauve, fresh off being named Big 12 Player of the Week, has added five homers of his own and is hitting .333.
Probable Pitching Matchups:
Thursday: LHP Griffin Kirn (4-0, 3.74 ERA) vs. RHP Nathan Taylor (4-0, 2.70 ERA)
Friday: RHP Gavin Van Kempen (2-0, 5.63 ERA) vs. LHP Kellen O’Connor (1-1, 4.62 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Jack Kartsonas (3-1, 2.22 ERA) vs. TBA
Cincinnati (21-15, 8-7 Big 12) enters the series after taking two of three from Arizona State, followed by a midweek loss to Xavier. The Bearcats are led by Kerrington Cross, who tops the Big 12 with a .417 batting average. Taylor, their Friday starter, has been the staff ace with a 2.70 ERA and 52 strikeouts.
This weekend marks Cincinnati’s first visit to Morgantown since 2011, when both programs were members of the Big East.
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