WVU Re-Enters D1Baseball's Top 25 Rankings, Making a Significant Jump

This time a week ago, the folks over at D1Baseball shockingly dropped West Virginia from its Top 25 rankings despite winning two of three games against Columbia. There were a handful of others that were stronger candidates, but the D1Basbeall staff initially noted that the dismissal of pitcher Chase Meyer was part of the reasoning. Hours later, they went back and deleted that part of their reasoning.

This week, they made up for it by putting the Mountaineers back in the Top 25 and all the way up to No. 20 — a significant jump for a team that entered today unranked.

The full Top 25 for Week 5

1. UCLA
2. Texas
3. Georgia Tech
4. Arkansas
5. Auburn
6. Mississippi State
7. Georgia
8. Oklahoma
9. Virginia
10. North Carolina State
11. Florida State
12. Southern Miss
13. USC
14. North Carolina
15. Kentucky
16. Coastal Carolina
17. Oregon State
18. Florida
19. Clemson
20. West Virginia
21. Oregon
22. Tennessee
23. Texas A&M
24. Wake Forest
25. Louisiana

The series win over the Baylor Bears

Game 1: The Mountaineers blew a 4-1 lead, giving up a five-spot in the bottom of the fourth. Dawson Montesa was tagged for three runs, and much of his trouble was self-inflicted, issuing six free passes in just three innings of work. WVU scored one in the ninth, but couldn't bring home the tying run, falling 7-6.

Game 2: West Virginia wasted very little time pouncing on the Bears on Saturday, plating six runs across the first two frames. They scored six between the fifth and seventh innings, leading to a mercy rule win, 13-2. Outfielder Paul Schoenfeld had a big day, going 3-for-4 with a triple and four RBI.

Game 3: For the first six innings of this one, we had a bit of a pitcher's duel. Matthew Graveline got things started for the Old Gold and Blue in the sixth with a solo shot. They plated three more runs, which was more than enough for Maxx Yehl, who tossed a gem, punching out 12 batters, giving up three hits and no runs across eight innings.

Up next for West Virginia

Tomorrow, the Mountaineers will take on Penn State for their midweek game at Kendrick Family Ballpark. The Nittany Lions have struggled mightily this season, entering this one with a 5-13 record. It's a must-win game for WVU, which needs to avoid as many bad midweek losses as possible. This weekend, they'll have their first Big 12 home series, hosting the BYU Cougars.