Regional Baseball Returns to Morgantown as No. 16 West Virginia Faces Binghamton

The 16 national seed West Virginia Mountaineers (39-14) host the Binghamton Bearcats (31-20) in the opening round of the Morgantown regional at Kendrick Family Ballpark. The first pitch is set for approximately 5:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.

West Virginia enters the weekend having won 11 of their last 13 games, including an appearance in the Big 12 Baseball Championship. The Mountaineers finished second in the conference standings with a program record setting 21 league wins.

Gavin Kelly is leading the Mountaineers at the plate with a .379 batting average, 13 home runs and 48 RBI, while sitting second in doubles (16), triples (3), and runs (54). The sophomore's production dipped in the final weekend of the regular season and into the Big 12 Championship, hitting .263 with a home run and two RBI in the last six games.

Paul Schoenfeld is second on the team, batting .350, and 21 steals, while recording a team-leading 17 doubles and four triples. He also sits third with 43 RBI. The senior has also had a tough six game stretch, hitting .208 with an RBI.

Chansen Cole will take the mound for the Mountaineers. The sophomore right-hander owns an 8-1 record with a 3.04 ERA and 83 strikeouts.

Binghamton overcame a slow start to the season before capturing their first series of the season at Richmond. Then, after the Bearcats dropped the America Eastern Conference opening series of the, they rattled off 11 straight league wins to rise to the top of the league standings.

The Bearcats dropped the next two series before ending the regular season, claiming consecutive series to claim the program's seventh regular season title and followed with three-straight wins in the AEC tournament for team's seventh AEC tournament title.

Matt Bolton leads the Bearcats offensively with a .349 batting average while also pacing the club in doubles (16), triples (4), and stolen bases (15). The sophomore ranks second on the team in home runs (6), RBI (44), and runs scored (46) and enters Friday riding a seven-game hitting streak.

Sophomores Tommy Popoff and Grunt Hunter share the team lead with seven home runs apiece. Popoff also leads Binghamton with 52 RBI, while Hunter has provided a spark despite appearing in just 33 games with 26 starts.

Junior right-hander Connor Griffin has anchored the Binghamton rotation. Griffin owns a 3-3 record with a 4.87 ERA and a team-high 62 strikeouts in 14 starts. He has thrown five scoreless innings in two of his last three outings while recording 11 combined strikeouts in those performances.

Friday’s matchup marks the first meeting between the two programs.

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