WVU welcomes Pitt in final non-conference tilt

The game has been designated a “Gold Rush” with fans requested to wear gold.

This will serve as a preview for the most important series of the season, as Texas Tech comes to town to close out the regular season with a three-game series, and the Mountaineers needing wins to qualify for the Big 12 Tournament.

WVU enters the final weekend in eighth place in the Big 12 and the top eight teams qualify.

WVU is 7-12 in league play, with Baylor and Kansas State ahead of the Mountaineers and tied for sixth at 8-13.

Baylor closes the season with three games against Texas and Kansas State faces rival Kansas, which is ninth in the league with a 7-13 mark, to close out the season.

But first there is a matter of the mid-week meeting with Pitt. WVU leads The Backyard Brawl, 103-86, and picked up a 4-1 win at Pitt on March 31.

West Virginia (25-23 overall) played one game last weekend at No. 11 Oklahoma State in a weather-shortened series. The Mountaineers won, 5-4, on Saturday in a resumption of Friday’s game as sophomore first baseman Jackson Cramer laced an RBI double off the right field wall to drive in the game-winning run.

Freshman second baseman Kyle Davis paces the WVU offense, batting .349 with 16 doubles, four home runs and 29 RBIs, while senior shortstop Taylor Munden has a team-leading 11 home runs to go along with 11 doubles and 28 RBIs. Sophomore right fielder Shaun Wood and Cramer have eight home runs apiece, with Wood holding the team lead in RBIs at 32.

As a team, WVU is batting .268 with 92 doubles, seven triples, 49 home runs and 237 runs driven in. The pitching staff has a 3.98 ERA in 429 2-3 innings with 355 strikeouts.

Junior left-hander Ross Vance (6-4, 3.12 ERA) will get the start in a staff day on the mound for West Virginia. Vance has struck out 70 in 80 2-3 innings and opponents are hitting .258 against him.

Pitt has struggled this season with a 17-31 record and most recently dropped two of three games at Georgia Tech last weekend.

Sophomore outfielder Jacob Wright leads the Panthers offensively with a .285 batting average, while junior outfielder Aaron Schnurbusch is hitting .275 with 10 doubles, five triples, three home runs and 25 RBIs. Freshman infielder Charles LeBlanc leads the team with 27 RBIs to go along with 11 doubles, two triples and three home runs and junior catcher Alex Kowalczyk has 10 doubles and three home runs.

Pitt is hitting .246 as a team with 72 doubles, 23 triples, 33 home runs and 208 RBIs. The pitching staff holds a 4.67 ERA with 371 strikeouts in 427 2-3 innings.

Senior right-hander Hobie Harris (3-3, 5.36) will make his second start and 21st appearance of the season. He has struck out 40 in 40 1-3 innings, while opponents are batting .308 against him.