West Virginia Meets Pitt at PNC Park

The Mountaineers look to make it seven-straight against Pitt

West Virginia junior JJ Wetherholt. / Christopher Hall

The West Virginia Mountaineers (26-16) meet the Pitt Panthers (18-22) Tuesday night at PNC Park for the second and final game of the Backyard Brawl season series. The first pitch is set for approximately 7:00 p.m. and the action will broadcast on ESPN2.

West Virginia won the first meeting 6-3 in Morgantown at Kendrick Family Ballpark. Hayden Cooper collected his first win of the season, and five Mountaineers registered an RBI. He holds a 6-1 record with a 3.51 ERA.

The Mountaineers are coming off a series sweep of Big 12 Conference foe Baylor, outscoring the Bears 36-11 in three games.

West Virginia sophomore right-hander Gavin Van Kempen will make his fifth start this season. He has not allowed a run in his last three outings, striking out nine in 7.2 innings.

Junior JJ Wetherholt leads the team with a .328 batting average while Reed Chumley has hit a team-leading 10 doubles and the senior is second on the team with 10 home runs, and junior Kyle West has a team-high 11 home runs and 36 RBI.

Pitt took two of three in a non-conference series against Bryant over the weekend.

Senior Dom Popa leads Pitt with a .329 batting average and six stolen bases while junior Luke Cantwell has recorded a team-best 35 RBIs, senior Tyler Bischke has hit a team-leading 12 doubles and junior Jayden Melendez has a team-high 13 home runs.

Phil Fox has a 1.30 ERA in 17 appearances out of the bullpen to lead the team while collecting five saves.

West Virginia leads the all-time series 118-91 and has won six consecutive meetings over Pitt. The Mountaineers are 5-0 all-time playing at PNC Park and 3-0 against the Panthers.