MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 17 West Virginia University baseball team heads to the Sunshine State to take on UCF for a Big 12 series, April 25-27. First pitch from John Euliano Park on Friday and Saturday is set for 6 p.m. while Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Mountaineer fans can watch the games on
ESPN+, listen on
Mountaineer Sports Network, and can follow along with live stats at
WVUsports.com.
West Virginia is 34-5 on the season and sit in first place in the Big 12 at 13-3 after recording three straight sweeps against Utah, Houston, and Cincinnati. The Mountaineers saw their 14-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday when they fell at Penn State, 3-2.
The Mountaineers have the highest winning percentage in the country at .872 along with No. 1 Texas. In the latest polls, West Virginia sits at No. 9 in Perfect Game, No. 10 in NCBWA, No. 14 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, No. 14 in Baseball America, No. 18 in The Athletic, and No. 17 by D1Baseball, which is recognized by the NCAA.
WVU is currently No. 1 in the Big 12 and ninth in the country with a 3.66 ERA and are second in the conference with a .314 batting average. The Mountaineers are tops in the Big 12 in hits allowed/9 (7.01), stolen bases (90), and WHIP (1.26).
Pitching Probables
LHP
Griffin Kirn (4-0, 3.68 ERA, 61 K, 20 BB, 51.1 IP) vs. RHP Camden Wicker (0-1, 5.29 ERA, 19 K, 5 BB, 17.0 IP)
RHP
Gavin Van Kempen (2-0, 5.25 ERA, 33 K, 22 BB, 36.0 IP) vs. RHP Russell Sandefer (2-2, 1.47 ERA, 35 K, 8 BB, 30.2 IP)
RHP
Jack Kartsonas (4-1, 1.78 ERA, 39 K, 9 BB, 30.1 IP ) vs. RHP Matt Sauser (3-0, 1.82 ERA, 21 K, 5 BB, 24.2 IP)
Led by 2nd-year head coach Rich Wallace, UCF is 23-17 after defeating FAU in a midweek contest on Tuesday. In the Big 12, the Knights sit in 12th place at 6-12 but are coming off a series victory over TCU last weekend.
UCF leads the Big 12 in hitting led by Edian Espinal at .352. The Knights are also second in the conference in ERA with three pitchers having ERAs under two.
It is the first time the Mountaineers will ever make the trip to UCF. Last season, West Virginia swept the Knights in Morgantown.
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