Friday, April 29
Lawrence, Kan.
4:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
at
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Kansas
Mountaineers Finish Month in Kansas
April 28, 2022 05:13 PM | Baseball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team travels to Lawrence, Kansas, for a three-game, Big 12 Conference series at Kansas from April 29-May 1.
First pitch of Friday's series opener at Hoglund Ballpark is set for 4 p.m. ET, while Saturday and Sunday's games will begin at 3 p.m., and 1 p.m. respectively. Of note, Friday's game was originally scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., but has been moved up due to expected inclement weather in the evening.
Fans can follow all the action with live stats, found on WVUsports.com. Additionally, all three games can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, as well as heard on the Mountaineer Sports Network on 100.9 WZST-FM, as well as various affiliates throughout the state, the WVU Gameday app, the free Varsity Network app and WVUsports.com.
West Virginia will send junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Watters (2-3, 4.42 ERA) to the mound on Friday night, before sophomore left-hander Ben Hampton (6-3, 3.97 ERA) takes the hill on Saturday and fifth-year senior right-hander Zach Bravo (3-1, 5.73 ERA) follows on Sunday. The Jayhawks counter with left-hander Daniel Hegarty (4-4, 4.82 ERA) on Friday, right-hander Cole Larsen (1-6, 6.67 ERA) on Saturday and right-hander Ryan Vanderhei (5-3, 5.96 ERA) on Sunday.
The Mountaineers (24-15, 7-5 Big 12) are 16-11 all-time against Kansas. Last season, WVU took three of four games over the Jayhawks, including a win at the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship.
Prior to this weekend, West Virginia hasn't played in Lawrence since May 4-6, 2018. In all, the Mountaineers are 92-108 against Big 12 opponents since 2013.
WVU is coming off an 8-4 loss to Penn State on April 27, at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark in Morgantown. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 3-0 lead and outhit the Nittany Lions, 11-10, but allowed eight of the game's final nine runs in the setback.
Despite the loss, redshirt junior catcher Dayne Leonard and sophomore infielder Mikey Kluska each finished with three hits on the night.
Coach Randy Mazey is 287-223 with the Mountaineers since taking over in 2013 and owns 474 career wins in 16 seasons as a head coach. All 27 prior meetings with KU have come during the Mazey era.
The Mountaineers enter the weekend ranked No. 2 nationally in stolen bases, with 131. The mark is good for No. 1 in single-season program history. Individually, junior outfielder Victor Scott II's 30 stolen bases rank No. 5 in the nation and are the most in one season in WVU baseball history.
A pair of Mountaineers were honored leading into this weekend's series. On April 25, senior outfielder Austin Davis was named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week for the second time in three weeks. The Orlando, Florida, native had a five-hit effort with three doubles in April 24's win at then-No. 8 Texas Tech.
Additionally, fifth-year senior right-hander Trey Braithwaite was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List on April 27. The Winchester, Virginia, native became the fourth WVU pitcher to appear on the list since 2018.
Braithwaite has five saves on the year and has allowed just two hits with 13 strikeouts in his last 14.0 innings of work.
For the year, Davis leads the club with a .340 average. Three others – sophomore catcher McGwire Holbrook, sophomore outfielder Braden Barry and freshman infielder JJ Wetherholt – also are hitting above .300.
Kansas is led by 20th-year coach Ritch Price, who has the Jayhawks out to a 17-24 mark in 2022. KU also is 2-10 in Big 12 play.
Last weekend, Kansas was swept by Oklahoma at home. Earlier this week, the Jayhawks split a two-game series at Air Force. KU fell, 18-8, on April 26, but bounced back for a 13-9 win on April 27.
Kansas is led offensively by Maui Ahuna, who leads the Big 12 with a .411 average at the plate. He also leads the team with 14 doubles and 41 RBI. Additionally, Caleb Upshaw has a team-best eight home runs.
On the mound, Larsen has logged 59.1 innings, while Vanderhei has a team-best five wins and 63 strikeouts. Elsewhere, right-hander Jonah Ulane has five saves out of the bullpen.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
First pitch of Friday's series opener at Hoglund Ballpark is set for 4 p.m. ET, while Saturday and Sunday's games will begin at 3 p.m., and 1 p.m. respectively. Of note, Friday's game was originally scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., but has been moved up due to expected inclement weather in the evening.
Fans can follow all the action with live stats, found on WVUsports.com. Additionally, all three games can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, as well as heard on the Mountaineer Sports Network on 100.9 WZST-FM, as well as various affiliates throughout the state, the WVU Gameday app, the free Varsity Network app and WVUsports.com.
West Virginia will send junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Watters (2-3, 4.42 ERA) to the mound on Friday night, before sophomore left-hander Ben Hampton (6-3, 3.97 ERA) takes the hill on Saturday and fifth-year senior right-hander Zach Bravo (3-1, 5.73 ERA) follows on Sunday. The Jayhawks counter with left-hander Daniel Hegarty (4-4, 4.82 ERA) on Friday, right-hander Cole Larsen (1-6, 6.67 ERA) on Saturday and right-hander Ryan Vanderhei (5-3, 5.96 ERA) on Sunday.
The Mountaineers (24-15, 7-5 Big 12) are 16-11 all-time against Kansas. Last season, WVU took three of four games over the Jayhawks, including a win at the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship.
Prior to this weekend, West Virginia hasn't played in Lawrence since May 4-6, 2018. In all, the Mountaineers are 92-108 against Big 12 opponents since 2013.
WVU is coming off an 8-4 loss to Penn State on April 27, at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark in Morgantown. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 3-0 lead and outhit the Nittany Lions, 11-10, but allowed eight of the game's final nine runs in the setback.
Despite the loss, redshirt junior catcher Dayne Leonard and sophomore infielder Mikey Kluska each finished with three hits on the night.
Coach Randy Mazey is 287-223 with the Mountaineers since taking over in 2013 and owns 474 career wins in 16 seasons as a head coach. All 27 prior meetings with KU have come during the Mazey era.
The Mountaineers enter the weekend ranked No. 2 nationally in stolen bases, with 131. The mark is good for No. 1 in single-season program history. Individually, junior outfielder Victor Scott II's 30 stolen bases rank No. 5 in the nation and are the most in one season in WVU baseball history.
A pair of Mountaineers were honored leading into this weekend's series. On April 25, senior outfielder Austin Davis was named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week for the second time in three weeks. The Orlando, Florida, native had a five-hit effort with three doubles in April 24's win at then-No. 8 Texas Tech.
Additionally, fifth-year senior right-hander Trey Braithwaite was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List on April 27. The Winchester, Virginia, native became the fourth WVU pitcher to appear on the list since 2018.
Braithwaite has five saves on the year and has allowed just two hits with 13 strikeouts in his last 14.0 innings of work.
For the year, Davis leads the club with a .340 average. Three others – sophomore catcher McGwire Holbrook, sophomore outfielder Braden Barry and freshman infielder JJ Wetherholt – also are hitting above .300.
Kansas is led by 20th-year coach Ritch Price, who has the Jayhawks out to a 17-24 mark in 2022. KU also is 2-10 in Big 12 play.
Last weekend, Kansas was swept by Oklahoma at home. Earlier this week, the Jayhawks split a two-game series at Air Force. KU fell, 18-8, on April 26, but bounced back for a 13-9 win on April 27.
Kansas is led offensively by Maui Ahuna, who leads the Big 12 with a .411 average at the plate. He also leads the team with 14 doubles and 41 RBI. Additionally, Caleb Upshaw has a team-best eight home runs.
On the mound, Larsen has logged 59.1 innings, while Vanderhei has a team-best five wins and 63 strikeouts. Elsewhere, right-hander Jonah Ulane has five saves out of the bullpen.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C/INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballSteve Sabins | Oct. 29
Wednesday, October 29
Kentucky TV Highlights (NCAA Clemson Regional Final) | June 1
Monday, June 02
Clemson TV Highlights (NCAA Clemson Regional) | May 31
Saturday, May 31
BSB: Clemson Regional Game 1 Recap (vs. Kentucky)
Saturday, May 31
