West Virginia Looks to Keep Pace in the Big 12 Standings Against Houston

Houston, TX – West Virginia is back on the road in a Big 12 Conference matchup against Houston for the first meeting between the two programs. Game one is set for Friday at 7:30 p.m. EST, game two is slated for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 12:30 p.m. EST.

The Mountaineers (27-4) have won seven-straight after a clean sweep of Utah last weekend, outscoring the Utes 26-11 in three games to move into second place in the league standings.

Senior Brodie Kresser had a strong series, going 6-10 at the plate with a home run, a double, and five RBI in games two and three, senior Jace Rinehart was 4-8 with a pair of doubles and three RBI during that span, and sophomore Spencer Barnett was 4-4 with a double and an RBI in game three.

West Virginia ranks 15th nationally, and fourth among Power Four programs, with a .320 team batting average, and is 14th in the country with a Power Four-leading 82 stolen bases on the year.

Junior Skylar King is hitting a team-best .365 with two home runs and four doubles and is tied with Kresser for the team lead in stolen bases with 12.

Jace Rinehart is leading is leading the team in home runs (6), doubles (12), RBI (33), and slugging percentage (.667) while ranking second on the team with a batting average of .354.

The Mountaineer pitching staff is statistically one of the best in the country, sitting 15th nationally in team ERA at 3.72, which ranks eighth among Power Four programs.

Redshirt senior lefty Griffin Kirn (3-0, 3.86 ERA, 50 K) is slated to start game one, junior right-hander Gavin Van Kempen (2-0, 4.91 ERA, 28 K) is listed to start game two, and senior righty Jack Kartsonas (2-1, 3.12 ERA, 27 K) is scheduled for the series finale.

Houston is expected to counter with junior right-hander Paul Schmitz (3-2, 4.28 ERA, 27 K) in series opener and sophomore righty Richie Roman (0-4, 4.97 ERA, 38 K) in game two, while the staff to wait to announce a starter for game three.

The Cougars (19-14, 5-7) have won four of their last six games but have dropped their last two Big 12 series since taking the conference opening series at UCF.

Redshirt sophomore Xavier Perez is leading Houston with team-highs in batting average (.345), RBI (33) and is tied with junior Cade Climie for a team-best seven home runs.

Junior Cade McGinnis led the team at the plate with and 11 doubles but has been out of the lineup since late March following the series against UCF.

Big 12 Standings (Overall record, Big 12 record)

1. Kansas (27-7, 9-3)

2. West Virginia (27-4, 7-3)

3. TCU (25-9, 8-4)

4. Arizona (25-9, 8-4)

5. Arizona State (22-11, 8-4)

6. Kansas State (21-11, 8-4)

7. Cincinnati (19-13, 6-6)

8. Baylor (21-11, 5-7)

9. Houston (19-14, 5-7)

10. Texas Tech (9-20, 5-7)

11. Oklahoma State (15-15, 4-6)

12. BYU (16-14, 4-8)

13. UCF (18-14, 3-9)

14. Utah (13-16, 2-10)

Big 12 Standings (Overall record, Big 12 record)

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