West Virginia and Arizona Battle to Remain atop the Big 12 Standings

The Mountaineers and the Wildcats look to get the early edge in the league standings

Christopher Hall | Mar 21, 2025

West Virginia University catcher Gavin Kelley / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Morgantown, WV - West Virginia will host Arizona for a three-game series March 21-23. Game one is set for Friday, 6:30 p.m. EST, game two is slated for Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EST and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday at Noon. All the action will stream on ESPN+.

The Mountaineers (18-1, 1-0) are currently riding a five-game winning streak after taking the lone game against in the opening Big 12 series at Oklahoma State and swept a two-game midweek series against James Madison.

Sophomore Chase Meyer was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after throwing 5.2 hitless innings with 12 strikeouts in two outings, notching nine Ks and collecting his fourth win of the season in 3.2 innings in relief against Oklahoma State.

Junior Skylar King leads WVU at the plate with a .444 batting average to go with a home run and 12 RBI.

Junior Sam White has a team-high 27 hits (.391) on the season with a club-bests 19 RBI and seven doubles.

Seniors Jace Rinehart and Grant Hussey, along with sophomore Spencer Barnett leads the team with three home runs apiece.

Senior lefty Griffin Kirn (3-0, 3.42 ERA, 30 K) is slated to start game one, senior right-hander Gavin Van Kempen (2-0, 3.78 ERA, 19 K) will take the mound in game two, and junior right-hander, Carson Estridge (2-0, 0.96 ERA, 13 K) is scheduled for game three.

Arizona is expected to counter sophomore righty Collin McKinney (0-1, 1.29 ERA, 21 K). In game two, sophomore right-hander Owen Kramkowski (3-1, 4.84 ERA, 25 K) will take the hill and freshman righty Smith Bailey (1-1, 1.80 ERA, 25 K) will make the start in the season finale.

The Wildcats (16-4, 3-0) lead the nation with 16 triples. Junior Brendan Summerhill paces the team with six triples and holds a team-high .427 batting average and leads the nation with six triples.

Mason White has clubbed team-best three home runs. The junior’s 32 career home runs are currently tied for ninth on the Wildcats career leaderboard.

Senior Garen Caulfield is batting .312 with team-highs seven doubles and 24 RBI.

West Virginia and Arizona met for a weekend series in the early portion of the 2023 schedule in Tucson, Arizona. The Mountaineers grabbed the first two games to take the series before falling in the series finale.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI