After getting swept by Big 12 opponent Texas Tech over the weekend, West Virginia will be on the road again Wednesday facing Penn State.
The Mountaineers have dropped to 23-16 overall and 11-6 in the Big 12 after struggling in Lubbock. They were ranked at No. 22 last week by DI Baseball, but have since fallen out of the rankings. They were out-scored 24-7 by the Red Raiders in three games.
Reed Chumley continues to lead the charge offensively for WVU, with the highest batting average among eligible players (two plate appearances per game and minimum 75% games played) with a .314 average and a team-leading 10 home runs. Kyle West has also done his part offensively, recently on a hot streak as he leads West Virginia with 32 RBIs. West launched a ball 467 feet, with an exit velocity of 112 mph for a home run on Saturday.
As for Penn State, they are 19-17 overall with a 6-9 record in the Big 10. The Nittany Lions are coming off a series to loss against Michigan State, where they dropped Friday and Saturday’s games before taking the last game of the series on Sunday. Catcher J.T. Marr leads PSU with a .420 batting average while outfielder Adam Cecere has a team-leading 13 home runs and 39 RBIs.
On the mound for the Mountaineers will be freshman Chase Meyer, making his first career start. This season Meyer has made eight appearances, pitching 9.2 innings notching 16 strikeouts, while allowing nine earned runs on 11 walks and six hits. He will be matched up against Mason Butash, also a freshman. Butash has started six games this year, making 14 appearances in total, pitching 27.1 innings, striking out 24, allowing 20 earned runs on 29 hits and 18 walks.
The first pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. EST with the game being streamed to BIG10+. The teams will play again on May 8 on national TV (ESPN2) in Morgantown.
