MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team opens the 2016 season with a weekend series at Charleston Southern from Feb. 19-21.

 

Game times have been adjusted for all three games, with the season lidlifter now set for 11 a.m. ET, on Friday, Feb. 19. The series continues on Saturday at 11 a.m. and concludes Sunday at 10 a.m.

 

Season Preview | Davis Feature Story | Game Notes | Live Stats: Friday, Saturday, Sunday

 

Due to field conditions at CSU’s home ballpark, the series will be played at Joseph P. Riley Park, in Charleston, South Carolina. The 6,000-seat venue is the home of the Single A Charleston Riverdogs and The Citadel.

 

For fans unable to cheer on the Mountaineers in person, there are several ways to follow the action live. Live stats can be found at CSUsports.com, and updates and notes from the team’s trip to Charleston, South Carolina, will be available on social media by following and connecting with @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. @WVUBaseball also plans on live streaming batting practice and several innings of each game to followers on Facebook and Twitter/Periscope.

 

WVU coach Randy Mazey was head coach of Charleston Southern from 1994-96. In his final season, he led the Buccaneers to their first NCAA Tournament, with a 30-24-1 record. Mazey was named the Big South Coach of the Year as CSU won the Big South title. In his first season, Mazey coached current CSU head coach Stuart Lake in 1994. It was Lake’s senior season for Charleston Southern.

 

A late change in venues for this weekend’s series puts WVU in a familiar place. The Mountaineers’ last visit to Charleston, South Carolina, came in 2014, at Riley Park. WVU opened the season with a 7-6 loss in 10 innings to No. 8 Louisville before a 3-1 loss to Delaware. West Virginia concluded the weekend with a 10-2 victory over The Citadel.

 

Four current Mountaineers played in the 2014 series at Riley Park: Jackson Cramer, Ray Guerrini, Ross Vance and Shaun Wood. Wood went 5-10 at the plate with one RBI and one run scored. Cramer had two hits and Guerrini made one start at catcher. Vance pitched 0.2 innings in relief and did not allow a hit.

 

Charleston Southern is coming off a 23-30 2015 season. The Buccaneers finished seventh in the Big South with a 10-14 mark. CSU returns 20 of 31 letterwinners from a season ago. The Buccaneers return 13 position players and seven pitchers.

 

Charleston Southern is not ranked in a preseason poll, and finished the 2015 season ranked No. 195 in the RPI. The Buccaneers went 0-6 vs. ranked teams a year ago, including a 5-4, 11-inning loss at No. 25 Radford.

 

The Buccaneers are coached by Stuart Lake, in his eighth season in Charleston. In his first seven seasons, Lake owns a 157-231 mark. A 1994 Charleston Southern graduate, Lake is third in CSU history in wins and is first in program history with 76 wins in Big South action. In 2014, Lake guided CSU to a 30-win season, its first winning season in 18 years.

 

West Virginia owns a 9-4 advantage all-time in the series vs. Charleston Southern. WVU is 6-4 in road contests, and 3-0 under coach Randy Mazey.

 

Last season, in the first meeting since 1977, WVU swept CSU in Washington, Pennsylvania. The Mountaineers posted back-to-back 9-2 victories before an 8-0 win in the series finale.

 

Before last year, WVU and CSU met 10 times between 1969 and 1977, all in Charleston, South Carolina. The Mountaineers posted the first five victories in the series before the two teams split the series in 1974 and ‘76. The Buccaneers won the last two games in Charleston, 4-2 and 6-5 wins in 1977.

 

The Mountaineers return to the road for an 11-day roadtrip before the March 11 home opener. WVU first plays three games at UNLV on Feb. 26-28, before traveling to Scottsdale, Arizona, for an exhibition contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Feb. 29. The Mountaineers will then go to Hawaii for a four game series against the Rainbow Warriors, on March 3-6.

 

Season and single game tickets for the 2016 WVU baseball season are on sale now. Fans can join the excitement of WVU baseball and contribute to the home field advantage at Monongalia County Ballpark by calling 1-800-WVU GAME, purchasing tickets at WVUGAME.com or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum. More information on season tickets and the 30-game home schedule can be found at WVUsports.com, while single game ticket information is available here.

 

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.