MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A pair of marquee midweek matchups are on tap for the West Virginia University baseball team, with a trip to PNC Park to play Penn State on Tuesday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. ET, before the Backyard Brawl on Wednesday, April 11, at 6 p.m., at home vs. Pitt at Monongalia County Ballpark.
 
Tuesday, April 10 vs. Penn State (PNC Park) 6:30 p.m. – Tickets | Radio | Stats
Wednesday, April 11 vs. Pitt, 6 p.m. – Tickets | Video | Radio | Stats
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Tickets for Tuesday's contest at PNC Park are available at Pirates.com/CollegeBaseball. Mountaineer fans can purchase tickets for $7 by using the promo code "WVU."
 
Tickets for the Backyard Brawl are available at WVUGAME.com, by calling 1-800-WVU GAME, at the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum or on game day at Monongalia County Ballpark. Tickets to the originally-scheduled game, on March 27, will be good for the rescheduled game on April 11. The first 200 fans will receive a free fleece blanket, and all fans can play Baseball Bingo.
 
West Virginia returns to PNC Park on Tuesday to play Penn State after beating the Nittany Lions there last year, 4-2. The trip to the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates is the Mountaineers' third visit to an MLB facility in as many years, after playing an exhibition game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at their Spring Training ballpark in 2016 and last year's inaugural college baseball game at PNC Park.
 
Wednesday's Backyard Brawl resumes WVU's oldest and most-played rivalry. West Virginia is 106-88 all-time against Pitt and has won three in a row in the series and eight of the last 11
 
The Mountaineers (13-15) have won two in a row and three of their last four. WVU owns the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country, according to WarrenNolen.com, and is No. 23 in the NCAA RPI after a series win against then-No. 28 UNLV.
 
The Mountaineers rank among the NCAA and Big 12 leaders in several statistical categories. West Virginia is No. 2 in the Big 12 with 28 home runs and ranks third with 41 stolen bases and two shutouts.
 
Individually, Darius Hill continue to pace the Big 12 with 0.43 doubles per game and is No. 17 in the country and second in the Big 12 with an average of 16.9 at-bats per strikeout. Kyle Gray is third in the conference with three triples. On the mound, Alek Manoah has made eight starts, tied for No. 2 in the league and No. 9 nationally.
 
Freshman left-hander Jackson Wolf (1-0, 3.09) will start for West Virginia on Tuesday against Penn State sophomore right-hander Eric Mock (0-0, 5.40). Wednesday's Mountaineer starter has not been determined, while sophomore righty Dan Hammer (2-2, 11.70) will start for Pitt.
 
FOLLOWING ALONG
There are a number of ways to follow along for both Tuesday and Wednesday's game, with Dan Zangrilli and Ernie Galusky calling the action.

• Fans can listen to both games on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG on various affiliates throughout the state, while fans across the country can tune in to the broadcasts online at WVUsports.com and on the WVU Gameday App and the TuneIn App on their mobile device.
• Wednesday's game will feature a free video stream, available on WVUsports.com and the WVU Gameday App. New this season, fans also can also watch the video streams via Roku by downloading the West Virginia Mountaineers channel.
• Direct links to the radio broadcasts video stream and live stats can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com.
• Additional behind-the-scenes updates, news and notes from PNC Park and the Backyard Brawl can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @WVUBaseball.

 
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State is 7-18 on the season and 1-8 in Big Ten action. The Nittany Lions own a 2-5 mark at home while they are 5-7 on the road and 0-6 at a neutral site. PSU was swept by Minnesota last weekend in a series played in West Lafayette, Indiana. Penn State has lost seven in a row after both of last week's midweek contests, including one against WVU, was postponed.
 
Ryan Sloniger has a team-best .274 batting average and 19 RBIs and shares the team lead of 26 hits with Jordan Bowersox. Connor Klemann has hit a team-best four home runs.
 
On the mound, Justin Hagenman has a 3.33 ERA in 46.0 innings pitched with 42 strikeouts, and he is one of three pitchers with two wins. Mason Mellott and Eric Mock each have three saves.
 
In his 5th season at Penn State, Rob Cooper has compiled a record of 375-374 in 14 years as a head coach. Ten Penn State players have been drafted in his four seasons, while 39 players have earned Academic All-Big Ten honors.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE NITTANY LIONS
West Virginia is 42-69 all-time against Penn State and 1-4 in coach Randy Mazey's six seasons. The Mountaineers won the last meeting, 4-2 at PNC Park in 2017, which snapped a four-game losing streak against the Nittany Lions.
 
The series began in 1904, a 9-5 Penn State win in Morgantown. Former Atlantic 10 rivals, WVU and PSU have met at least once every year since 2014.
 
Last year, West Virginia and Penn State split a pair of games. PSU won the opener, 6-5 in Morgantown, before WVU claimed a 4-2 the following day at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
 
Playing their first-ever game at PNC Park, the Mountaineers scored single runs in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings to come away victorious on the North Shore in Pittsburgh.
 
The WVU pitching staff put together a strong outing, beginning with starter Sam Kessler. The righty allowed one run on five hits with five strikeouts and a walk in 4.0 innings. Cody Wood followed with 3.1 innings to earn the win, allowing just one run on five hits with a strikeout. Braden Zarbnisky closed it out with 1.2 innings of no-hit ball to pick up the save.
 
Offensively, catcher Chase Illig led the team with two hits and drove in two runs, including the eventual game-winner in the fourth inning. Zarbnisky also added a hit and an RBI, extending his hitting streak to a career-best nine games.
 
SCOUTING PITT
Pitt owns a 17-11 record with a 6-9 mark in ACC play. The Panthers are 4-3 at home, 4-6 in road contests and 9-2 at a neutral site. Pitt has won back-to-back ACC series, vs. Virginia and at Boston College. The Panthers won last weekend's midweek contest vs. Youngstown State, 9-5.
 
Frank Maldonado has a team-high .316 batting average and shares the team lead with 31 hits. Liam Sabino also has 31 hits and a team-best seven home runs. David Yanni leads the Panthers with 25 RBIs.
 
Yaya Chentouf has a 1.88 ERA in 24.0 innings pitched with five saves, while RJ Freure paces the squad with 51 strikeouts in 33.1 innings. Matt Pidich and Chentouf each have four wins.
 
In his 21st season at Pitt, Joe Jordano is the winningest coach in program history with a record of 576-507-2. During his tenure, Jordano has coached 13 All-Americans and 53 All-Conference selections.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. PANTHERS
West Virginia is 106-88 all-time against Pitt. In the Mountaineers' oldest and most-played rivalry, WVU is 62-38 at home, 41-48 on the road and 3-2 at a neutral site. West Virginia has won three in a row in the series and eight of the last 11. WVU and Pitt have met every season since 2008 and twice a year since 2013.
 
The two teams first met in WVU's fourth season, 1895. The Mountaineers won that first game, 13-6, in Pittsburgh.
 
In 1981 and '82, and again from 1996-2012, West Virginia and Pitt were conference rivals. First in the Eastern 8, and then in the Big East. As conference foes, the series is knotted at 27-27.
 
West Virginia recorded a season series sweep last year, the first by either team since the Mountaineers won both games in 2014. In an 8-4 win on March 28 at Pitt, WVU scored two runs on a suicide squeeze and added five unearned runs. In front of 2,815 fans on May 16, the Mountaineers added a 2-0 home win thanks to an RBI triple and RBI single in the sixth inning and stellar pitching from Isaiah Kearns and Jackson Sigman.
 
ON DECK: BIG 12 HOME OPENER
In the Big 12 home opener, West Virginia hosts Oklahoma State this weekend at Monongalia County Ballpark. First pitch set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 13, and the series continues on Saturday at 4 p.m. Sunday's finale is at 1 p.m.
 
Tickets for all three games are available at WVUGAME.com, by calling 1-800-WVU GAME, at the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum or on game day at Monongalia County Ballpark.
 
Friday's promotions include a Gold Rush, Friday Night Happy Hour, with half-off beverages from 5:30-6:30, and Baseball Bingo. Bucket hats, courtesy of Coca-Cola, will be given away to the first 1,000 fans before Saturday's contest, which also is Family Day, and fans can purchase four tickets and receive a $10 concession voucher for just $25. Sunday is the first trading card giveaway of the season, along with Kids Day and postgame autographs, with a new Kids Zone Presented by WVU Medicine Children's and Mr. Twister's Balloon Art and Face Painting.
 
LAST TIME OUT: SERIES VICTORY
West Virginia is coming off a weekend series win vs. UNLV in a matchup of two top-30 RPI squads. The Mountaineers and Rebels split a doubleheader on Friday, as UNLV won the opener, 11-4, before WVU walked off with an 8-7 victory in the second game. West Virginia won the series with a 7-5 win on Sunday.

• West Virginia lost the first game, 11-4 in seven innings. Marques Inman homered and had a team-high two hits and was one of nine Mountaineers with at least one hit.
• A five-run eighth inning and a walk-off two-out single in the ninth sent WVU to an 8-7 victory Friday's second game. The Mountaineers trailed 7-1 at one point, but scored a run in the sixth and five in the eighth before Kyle Gray singled home the game-winning run with two outs in the ninth inning. The WVU bullpen held the Rebels hitless in the final 4.0 innings. In the eighth, pinch hitter Chase Illig hit a three-run double before a groundout tied the game at 7-7. Shane Ennis pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the win and improve to 4-2 on the season. His outing came after Christian Young pitched 2.0 scoreless innings and Dillon Meadows got all three outs in the eighth.
• Inman hit his third home run of the series and went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs as WVU beat UNLV, 7-5, in Sunday's finale. The top four hitters in WVU's lineup combined for 10 of WVU's 13 hits, five RBIs and six runs scored. That included leadoff hitter and right-handed starter Braden Zarbnisky, who had a team-high-tying three hits and three runs scored to go along with 5.0 innings on the mound. He gave up two runs, one earned, on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks to improve to 2-1 on the season. Ennis earned his third save of the year.

 
INMAN TABBED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Following an impressive offensive showing vs. UNLV, Marques Inman was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on April 9.

• It is the first award of any kind in Inman's career, and he also was named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week.
• Inman swung a hot bat to lead WVU to a series win vs. UNLV. In three games, he hit .750 with a 1.875 slugging percentage and a .833 on-base percentage with six hits in eight at-bats, including a home run in every game. He drove in five runs, scored five runs and added three walks, 15 total bases and was hit by a pitch once.
• In four games last week, Inman led the Big 12 with a .667 batting average, nearly .100 points higher than the next-highest in the league and had a Big 12-best three home runs and 15 total bases. The Elyria, Ohio, native tied for third with five runs scored and tied for fourth with five RBIs.

 
Season tickets, single game tickets and mini-packages for the 2018 season are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets at WVUGAME.com, call 1-800-WVU GAME or visit the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum. The 2018 schedule, with game times, can be found on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com. A printable PDF and schedule breakdown also are available on WVUsports.com.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and visit WVUsports.com.