MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University baseball team will travel this weekend for a pivotal series against Big 12 foe Kansas at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kan.

 

Friday’s opener will begin at 7 p.m., Saturday’s game is set for 3 p.m. and Sunday’s finale will be at 2 p.m. All three contests will be streamed on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app.

 

All three games can be heard on the affiliates of the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG College with Jeff Culhane and Ernie Galusky on the call.

 

The Mountaineers (27-17, 9-8 Big 12) enter the weekend series in fourth place, trailing the Jayhawks (30-21, 12-9 Big 12) by one game in the Big 12 standings. Oklahoma State and TCU are tied for first place with 13-5 records in conference play.

 

Mazey will send junior left-hander Harrison Musgrave (5-3, 2.11 ERA) to the mound for Friday’s opener, while sophomore left-hander Ross Vance (3-1, 2.48 ERA) will start on Saturday and junior left-hander John Means (6-1, 2.34 ERA) will start on Sunday.

 

Musgrave picked up a win last Friday evening, allowing three runs on 10 hits in 7.0 innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. Junior right-hander Sean Carley made three relief appearances in the last four games with two saves.

 

WVU leads the Big 12 with a .294 batting average, while the team ERA of 3.33 is ranked fourth. Kansas is fourth in batting average (.287) and sixth in ERA (3.42).

 

Junior center fielder Bobby Boyd leads the Mountaineers and the Big 12 at the plate, batting .376 on the year with eight doubles, two triples, one home run, 22 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Junior second baseman Billy Fleming is hitting .361 with five doubles and 25 RBIs, while senior first baseman Ryan McBroom has a .360 batting average with 11 doubles, seven home runs and 43 RBIs.

 

Kansas coach Ritch Price is expected to start senior right-hander Jordan Piche (6-5, 4.65 ERA) on Friday, junior right-hander Robert Kahana (3-4, 2.95 ERA) on Saturday and senior right-hander Frank Duncan (6-2, 2.03 ERA) in Sunday’s finale.

 

The Jayhawks had a seven-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday, falling 5-3 at Missouri State. Kansas swept Texas Tech last weekend in Lawrence and has won six-consecutive Big 12 games.

 

Kansas is led at the plate by sophomore infielder Colby Wright, who is hitting .336 with nine doubles, one triple, one home run and 19 RBIs. Junior outfielder Connor McKay is hitting .270 with seven doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 41 RBIs, while junior outfielder Michael Suiter is batting .328 with 10 doubles, one triple, two homers and 34 RBIs.

 

West Virginia leads the all-time series (3-1), as the Mountaineers swept the Jayhawks last season in Beckley.