WVU-Pitt to Continue Baseball Series at Pittsburgh's PNC Park on Wednesday Night
April 17, 2023 11:34 AM | Baseball, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Baseball's version of the Backyard Brawl resumes Wednesday evening at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
It will be the 206th all-time meeting between these two diamond rivals and the third at PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
West Virginia began playing games at PNC Park six years ago when it faced Penn State on May 10, 2017, winning 4-2 before a crowd of 2,474.
In 2018, WVU edged the Nittany Lions 3-2 in 10 innings and then switched to playing games there against Pitt in 2019. WVU topped the Panthers 9-4 before 2,129 spectators that year before COVID-19 forced a pause on games at the facility until last season.
West Virginia won the 2022 meeting 3-2 in an exciting 11-inning contest. Last year's game was rescheduled to the afternoon of April 20 because of a rain out, which resulted in a crowd of only 861.
"This game is so dependent on having good weather," Matt Wells, West Virginia's executive senior associate athletics director and baseball's senior administrator, said.
West Virginia and Pitt also have some history at the Pirates' other venues: Three Rivers Stadium, Forbes Field and Exposition Park.
The Mountaineers and Panthers played twice at Three Rivers Stadium, the Pirates' home facility from 1970-2000, with Pitt winning the 1996 meeting 4-1 while WVU claiming the 1998 game 9-8.
The two rivals met twice at Forbes Field in Oakland near Pitt's campus in the early 1960s, West Virginia losing to Pitt 2-0 in 1962 and defeating Pitt 6-4 in 1964. West Virginia also played St. Vincent College at Forbes Field following a Pirates game for a special, no-admission affair on May 18, 1935. WVU won the contest 17-2.
Exposition Park, once located in the general vicinity of Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park on the North Side, was the home venue of the Pirates from 1891-1909 and was also the site of West Virginia-Pitt games before it was demolished.
West Virginia baseball's only other frequent action at a professional venue was in Washington, D.C.'s Griffith Stadium, home of the Washington Senators from 1911-60.
Senators owner and stadium namesake, Clark Griffith, allowed George Washington University's baseball team to play there because his son, Calvin, was a catcher for GW in the mid-1930s.
West Virginia and George Washington met at Griffith Stadium nine times from 1933 until 1953 with WVU winning there in 1933 and 1941.
Wednesday's game at PNC Park between West Virginia and Pitt pits the Big 12 against the ACC.
West Virginia, ranked 24th in the coaches' poll earlier this month and boasting an impressive 25-11 overall record, is coming off a series victory at 16th-ranked Oklahoma State last weekend. After claiming the first two games by scores of 6-3 and 9-5, the Mountaineers were six outs away from getting their first-ever series sweep in Stillwater.
However, Oklahoma State erupted for six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take an 11-6 victory.
Pitt, too, was hunting for a rare series sweep at Virginia when it took the first two games from the seventh-ranked Cavaliers by scores of 7-5 and 6-4 before losing Sunday's game 8-5.
Pitt used nine different pitchers during the three-game series, including closer Nash Bryan, who picked up save numbers three and four during Friday's and Saturday's triumphs.
The Panthers' top batter is senior DH Jack Anderson, hitting at a .301 clip with five home runs and 26 RBI. Pitt has blasted 49 home runs in 34 games, with junior outfielder CJ Funk leading the way with 12.
The Panthers, 16-18 overall, boosted their RPI to 108 following the series win at Virginia.
Meanwhile, West Virginia's RPI is sitting at 35 after taking two of three at Oklahoma State.
WVU second baseman JJ Wetherholt continues to rank among the top hitters in collegiate baseball with a .451 batting average, but the Mars, Pennsylvania, resident missed the last two games of the weekend after jamming his thumb in the seventh inning of Friday night's win at Oklahoma State.
He is listed as day-to-day.
Senior shortstop Tevin Tucker (.355), senior third baseman Caleb McNeely (.331) and junior leftfielder Landon Wallace (.319) are also hitting above .300 for the Mountaineers.
First pitch for Wednesday night's game is slated for 6 p.m. and the matchup will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
General admission tickets are priced at $10 and are available through the Pittsburgh Pirates website.
The two teams alternate hitting last in games played at PNC Park so West Virginia will be the team getting the final at bat in this year's game. The extended weather forecast in Pittsburgh is calling for sunny skies and temperatures reaching the high 60s during the daytime. Wednesday's date is available because the Pirates are in Colorado for a three-game series with the Rockies.
West Virginia and Pitt will meet again in Morgantown on Wednesday, May 3, and then a week later on Wednesday, May 10, at Pitt's campus facility, Charles L. Cost Field.
Look for more detailed information on the matchup Tuesday on WVUsports.com.
It will be the 206th all-time meeting between these two diamond rivals and the third at PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
West Virginia began playing games at PNC Park six years ago when it faced Penn State on May 10, 2017, winning 4-2 before a crowd of 2,474.
In 2018, WVU edged the Nittany Lions 3-2 in 10 innings and then switched to playing games there against Pitt in 2019. WVU topped the Panthers 9-4 before 2,129 spectators that year before COVID-19 forced a pause on games at the facility until last season.
West Virginia won the 2022 meeting 3-2 in an exciting 11-inning contest. Last year's game was rescheduled to the afternoon of April 20 because of a rain out, which resulted in a crowd of only 861.
"This game is so dependent on having good weather," Matt Wells, West Virginia's executive senior associate athletics director and baseball's senior administrator, said.
West Virginia and Pitt also have some history at the Pirates' other venues: Three Rivers Stadium, Forbes Field and Exposition Park.
The Mountaineers and Panthers played twice at Three Rivers Stadium, the Pirates' home facility from 1970-2000, with Pitt winning the 1996 meeting 4-1 while WVU claiming the 1998 game 9-8.
The two rivals met twice at Forbes Field in Oakland near Pitt's campus in the early 1960s, West Virginia losing to Pitt 2-0 in 1962 and defeating Pitt 6-4 in 1964. West Virginia also played St. Vincent College at Forbes Field following a Pirates game for a special, no-admission affair on May 18, 1935. WVU won the contest 17-2.
Exposition Park, once located in the general vicinity of Three Rivers Stadium and PNC Park on the North Side, was the home venue of the Pirates from 1891-1909 and was also the site of West Virginia-Pitt games before it was demolished.
West Virginia baseball's only other frequent action at a professional venue was in Washington, D.C.'s Griffith Stadium, home of the Washington Senators from 1911-60.
Senators owner and stadium namesake, Clark Griffith, allowed George Washington University's baseball team to play there because his son, Calvin, was a catcher for GW in the mid-1930s.
West Virginia and George Washington met at Griffith Stadium nine times from 1933 until 1953 with WVU winning there in 1933 and 1941.
Wednesday's game at PNC Park between West Virginia and Pitt pits the Big 12 against the ACC.
West Virginia, ranked 24th in the coaches' poll earlier this month and boasting an impressive 25-11 overall record, is coming off a series victory at 16th-ranked Oklahoma State last weekend. After claiming the first two games by scores of 6-3 and 9-5, the Mountaineers were six outs away from getting their first-ever series sweep in Stillwater.
However, Oklahoma State erupted for six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take an 11-6 victory.
Pitt, too, was hunting for a rare series sweep at Virginia when it took the first two games from the seventh-ranked Cavaliers by scores of 7-5 and 6-4 before losing Sunday's game 8-5.
Pitt used nine different pitchers during the three-game series, including closer Nash Bryan, who picked up save numbers three and four during Friday's and Saturday's triumphs.
The Panthers' top batter is senior DH Jack Anderson, hitting at a .301 clip with five home runs and 26 RBI. Pitt has blasted 49 home runs in 34 games, with junior outfielder CJ Funk leading the way with 12.
The Panthers, 16-18 overall, boosted their RPI to 108 following the series win at Virginia.
Meanwhile, West Virginia's RPI is sitting at 35 after taking two of three at Oklahoma State.
WVU second baseman JJ Wetherholt continues to rank among the top hitters in collegiate baseball with a .451 batting average, but the Mars, Pennsylvania, resident missed the last two games of the weekend after jamming his thumb in the seventh inning of Friday night's win at Oklahoma State.
He is listed as day-to-day.
Senior shortstop Tevin Tucker (.355), senior third baseman Caleb McNeely (.331) and junior leftfielder Landon Wallace (.319) are also hitting above .300 for the Mountaineers.
First pitch for Wednesday night's game is slated for 6 p.m. and the matchup will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
General admission tickets are priced at $10 and are available through the Pittsburgh Pirates website.
The two teams alternate hitting last in games played at PNC Park so West Virginia will be the team getting the final at bat in this year's game. The extended weather forecast in Pittsburgh is calling for sunny skies and temperatures reaching the high 60s during the daytime. Wednesday's date is available because the Pirates are in Colorado for a three-game series with the Rockies.
West Virginia and Pitt will meet again in Morgantown on Wednesday, May 3, and then a week later on Wednesday, May 10, at Pitt's campus facility, Charles L. Cost Field.
Look for more detailed information on the matchup Tuesday on WVUsports.com.
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballMark Kellogg, Sydney Shaw & Gia Cooke | Arizona
Saturday, February 07
Alumni Series | Lori Sherlock
Saturday, February 07
Jimmy King & Tina Griffith | 25 Years of Rowing
Saturday, February 07
Rowing Facility Tour
Saturday, February 07
