MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 25-ranked West Virginia University baseball team travels to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for three games at the 2022 Cambria College Classic at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, from March 4-6.
 
The Mountaineers (6-2) open the weekend against event host Minnesota on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET. From there, WVU battles Illinois on Saturday at 4 p.m., before taking on Michigan State on Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
Fans can follow along with all the action this weekend with live stats, found at WVUsports.com. Additionally, all three games will air live on Big Ten Plus.
 
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Carlson Reed (0-0, 6.75 ERA) gets the start against the Golden Gophers on Friday night, while Minnesota counters with right-hander Sam Ireland (2-0, 1.46 ERA). On Saturday, sophomore left-hander Ben Hampton (2-0, 2.53 ERA) gets the ball against Illinois' right-hander Riley Gowens (0-0, 0.00 ERA), before freshman righty Chris Sleeper (1-0, 1.00 ERA) goes against righty Ryan Szczepaniak (1-0, 3.68 ERA) of Michigan State on Sunday.
 
WVU is set to meet Minnesota for the first time since 2012, which also was the last time the club played a game in Minneapolis. Additionally, WVU last played Illinois in 2020 and Michigan State in 2010. Overall, West Virginia is 118-195-2 against members of the Big Ten Conference.
 
Last time out, the Mountaineers topped Canisius, 17-3, in the 2022 home opener on March 1, at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark in Morgantown. WVU scored in five different innings and slugged 16 total hits in the win, improving to 7-1 in home openers since the ballpark opened in 2015.
 
Junior outfielder Victor Scott II smacked a pair of home runs, including a grand slam, against the Golden Griffins, finishing with seven RBI on the day. Freshman infielder JJ Wetherholt also had a big day, going 4-for-5 at the plate with four runs scored and three RBI.
 
On the mound, freshman right-hander Michael Kilker earned the win in relief, the first of his career.
 
The Mountaineers, who are slotted at No. 25 in this week's Perfect Game Top 25 poll, enter the weekend ranked No. 5 nationally in stolen bases (25). The squad also is No. 1 in the Big 12 in a variety of offensive categories, including batting average (.308), runs (73) and slugging percentage (.473).
 
Individually, four Mountaineers enter the weekend hitting better than .400 at the plate this season. Redshirt junior catcher/infielder Dayne Leonard leads the way with a .476 average (10-for-21).
 
Minnesota is led by longtime coach John Anderson, who is the Big Ten's all-time wins leader in baseball. The Golden Gophers are off to a 3-7 start to the spring and fell to South Dakota State, 7-5, on Wednesday.
 
Dan Hartleb leads Illinois, which is 2-4 to start the year. The Fighting Illini dropped a series to Kansas to begin the new campaign and are coming off a 6-2 loss at Coastal Carolina on Feb. 26.
 
Michigan State is led by coach Jack Boss Jr., who has the Spartans out to a 3-4 start to the season. MSU took three-of-four games at UNLV to begin the year but were swept by Abilene Christian last weekend.
 
All three teams had Big Ten Preseason Honors List members prior to the start of the season – Minnesota: Ireland, catcher Chase Stanke and first baseman Ronald Sweeny; Illinois: infielder Branden Comia, infielder Justin Janas and left-handed pitcher Cole Kirschsieper; Michigan State: infielder Trent Farquhar, infielder Mitch Jebb and outfielder Zaid Walker.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.