MANHATTAN, Kan. – The No. 20 West Virginia University baseball team plays its final Big 12 Conference series of the season this weekend at Kansas State, from May 10-12 in Manhattan, Kansas.
 
The series commences on Friday, May 10, at 7 p.m. ET, and continues on Saturday, May 11, at 5 p.m. ET. The finale at Tointon Family Stadium is slated for Sunday, at noon ET.
 
The Mountaineers (29-17, 11-10 Big 12) are looking for their sixth conference series win of the season, which would be their most since they won six Big East series in 2003. Coming off a 7-2 victory at Virginia Tech on Wednesday night, West Virginia is ranked for the fourth consecutive week and checks in as high as No. 20 in this week's Perfect Game poll.
 
The Wildcats (24-26, 7-11 Big 12) have won two in a row after an 11-5 win over Texas Southern on Tuesday. This weekend's series marks Kansas State's final home games of the season.
 
WVU enters its final weekend of Big 12 play in fourth place in the league's standings with an 11-10 record. K-State, one of five teams with two conference series remaining, is 7-11 and in eighth place in the Big 12.
 
Friday night will feature two junior right-handers on the mound, as WVU's Alek Manoah (6-3, 2.07 ERA) faces Caleb Littlejim (5-2, 4.95 ERA). On Saturday, sophomore left-hander Jackson Wolf (2-3, 4.07 ERA) toes the rubber for the Mountaineers against Griffin Hassall (2-2, 3.12 ERA). In Sunday's finale, junior righty Kade Strowd (4-5, 4.71 ERA) gets the ball for West Virginia, while freshman lefty Jordan Wicks (6-1, 2.69 ERA) will start for K-State.
 
Statistically, the West Virginia pitching staff is No. 11 nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.39) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.1), No. 25 in WHIP (1.29), No. 28 in ERA (3.61) and No. 30 in shutouts (4). WVU also is second in the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.42). Additionally, the Mountaineers' 81 stolen bases are No. 28 in the country and the most in the Big 12.
 
Individually, Manoah is No. 8 nationally in strikeouts (108), No. 24 in WHIP (0.93), No. 28 in complete games (2), No. 34 in hits allowed per nine innings (6.10) and No. 38 with in ERA (2.07). Junior left-hander Nick Snyder ranks No. 6 in strikeouts per nine innings (13.97), No. 11 in hits allowed per nine innings (5.03), No. 35 in wins (7) and No. 36 in ERA (2.05), which all lead the Big 12. Junior center fielder Brandon White is second in the league in stolen bases (21) and sophomore second baseman Tyler Doanes is third (17).
 
FOLLOWING ALONG
There are a number of ways to follow along with this weekend's action.

• The games will be streamed on WatchESPN.
• Fans can listen to the game on the Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College on various affiliates throughout the state, while fans across the country can tune into the broadcast online at WVUsports.com/Watch and on the WVU Gameday and TuneIn Radio Apps.
• Additionally, Saturday and Sunday's game at K-State will air on XM/Sirius Radio. Fans can listen to Saturday's contest on channel 375 and Sunday's game on channel 84.
• Live stats can be found at KStateSports.com.
• Direct links to video and radio streams and live stats are available on the baseball schedule page on WVUsports.com.
• Additional behind-the-scenes updates, news and notes can be found on social media by following and connecting with the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @WVUBaseball.

 
SCOUTING KANSAS STATE
Kansas State is 24-26 on the season, 7-11 in Big 12 play and 13-10 at home. Last weekend, K-State lost a series at No. 15 Baylor. After dropping the first two games, 4-3 and 11-6, the Wildcats avoided the sweep on Sunday with a 10-3 victory.
 
Zach Kokoska leads the team with a .337 batting average, 35 runs scored and a .527 slugging percentage, while Chris Ceballos has a team-best eight home runs. On the mound, Mitch Zubradt has a team-leading 2.08 ERA in 20 appearances and 26.0 innings pitched. Jordan Wicks paces the pitching staff with 74 strikeouts along with six victories in a team-high 73.2 innings pitched.
 
Pete Hughes is in his first season with the Wildcats and boasts a 676-518-3 record in 21 years as a head coach. Hughes served as a volunteer assistant at Georgia in 2018 after a four-year stint as the head coach at Oklahoma.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WILDCATS
West Virginia is 10-8 all-time against Kansas State and 4-5 in Manhattan, with all 18 contests coming in regular-season play since WVU joined the Big 12 in 2013. West Virginia won last year's series in Morgantown.
 
The Mountaineers won the first two games in 2018, 8-5 and 6-0, before a 7-4 loss in the finale. WVU trailed 5-3 in the middle of the seventh inning in the opener but rallied with two in the bottom half and three in the eighth, capped by a two-run home run by Darius Hill. The next day, WVU held K-State to just four hits, as Kade Strowd allowed two hits in 5.2 shutout innings with seven strikeouts. In Sunday's finale, the Mountaineers trailed 7-1 in the eighth inning but rallied to send the tying run to the plate in the ninth with two outs before a lineout ended the game.
 
LAST TIME OUT: MIDWEEK WIN AT VT
West Virginia improved to 9-1 in midweek contests thanks to a 7-2 victory at Virginia Tech on Wednesday night in Blacksburg, Virginia.

• Two home runs and another strong start by junior left-handed starter Nick Snyder powered the way, as the Mountaineers won their fourth consecutive game against the Hokies and improved to 10-4 in the series since 2003.
• WVU scored two in the second inning on a two-run home run by junior third baseman Kevin Brophy and extended its lead to 4-0 in the fourth. Junior first baseman Marques Inman added a three-run homer in the eighth inning after VT cut the deficit in half, at 4-2, with runs in the fifth and seventh.
• In the victory, senior right fielder Darius Hill played in and started his 221st career game, both the most in program history.
• Snyder collected his team-leading seventh win of the season and recorded his second quality start in as many weeks and third of the season. In 6.1 innings, he held the Hokies to two runs on five hits with 12 strikeouts and four walks. Snyder and four relievers held Virginia Tech to two runs on five hits and left 10 Hokies on base.

 
ON DECK: BACKYARD BRAWL AT PNC PARK
WVU travels to PNC Park in Pittsburgh for the Backyard Brawl against Pitt on Tuesday, May 14, at 6 p.m. ET. Tickets are available at Pirates.com/CollegeBaseball, and Mountaineer fans can purchase tickets for $7 by using the promo code "WVU." West Virginia will play at the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the third consecutive year, after wins in 2017 and 2018.
 
Single game tickets and flex plan mini-packages for the 2019 season are on sale now. Fans can join the excitement of WVU baseball and support the Mountaineers by purchasing tickets at WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU GAME or visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office at the WVU Coliseum.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow WVU Baseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.