No. 11 West Virginia Hosts Game 2 of the Backyard Brawl

The No. 11Mountaineers square off against the Panthers in the second game of the Backyard Brawl

Morgantown, WV - The No. 11 West Virginia Mountaineers (33-11) are set to host the second game of the three-game series of the Backyard Brawl versus the Pitt Panthers (20-21) Wednesday night, with the first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. and streaming on ESPN+.

In the first meeting between the two rivals, West Virginia trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning then produced five runs on six hits to take a 5-4 advantage into fourth before cruising to a 9-4 decision. Senior shortstop Tevin Tucker led the Mountaineers at the plate, collecting three of his eight hits in a four-game span to earn Big 12 Baseball Player of the Week while Braden Barry and Caleb McNeely notched a pair of hits with a couple of RBIs apiece, including McNeely’s game sealing solo-home run in the sixth.

West Virginia’s win over Pitt was the start of the current eight-game winning streak for the Mountaineers, and for their efforts, sit atop the Big 12 standings, and made a signifigant jump in the national rankings. Additionally, J.J. Wetherholt and Tevin Tucker have claimed Big 12 Baseball Player of the Week honors, along with starting pitcher Blaine Traxel tabbed as Big 12 Pitcher and Newcomer of the Week.

Wetherholt leads the Big 12 in batting average (.463), slugging percentage (.796), OBP (.523), OPS (1.319), runs (55), hits (75) and stolen bases (31) and holds two conference honors on the year.

Since Pitt’s loss to the Mountaineers, the Panthers dropped a series to Wake Forest before sweeping California at home.

Kyle Hess leads the team with a .333 batting average while Noah Martinez has 42 RBI and CJ Funk has a team-high 12 home runs.

West Virginia freshman right-hander Carson Estridge (2-0, 2.87) will get the start while Pitt will counter with Erubiel Candelario will get the start against the Mountaineers and is currently 2-1 with a 5.80 ERA. 

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