No. 18 WVU Baseball (28-12, 13-8) is set to take on Kansas State (26-19, 9-12) at Kendrick Family Ballpark Friday-Sunday. It will serve as the penultimate home series of the regular season. Read more: Conference crunch time: No. 18 WVU, Kansas State duel in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers has not had the chance to shake off this past week’s abysmal performances. Wednesday’s game against Penn State was canceled due to inclement weather in State College, Pennsylvania.
The upcoming three-game series against K-State provides that much-needed opportunity to course-correct, but it comes with high stakes.
Where the Mountaineers stand
WVU has lost three of its past four games, with two coming in excruciating fashion.
The Mountaineers sit in fourth place among the Big 12 ranks, with ground to cover if they want to return to a higher spot. The three teams above WVU are on an upward trend, while WVU falls the opposite. It’s crunch time now.
The old gold and blue has a winning record over the Wildcats since the two squads became conference foes in 2013. WVU leads it in that time span, 21-17.
It was the series in Manhattan, Kansas, just a year ago where it felt like the wheels fell completely off the Mountaineer bandwagon. KSU took two of three to topple WVU.
As mentioned in other recent baseball previews and columns on our site, many late-season woes from the 2025 regular season campaign are forgotten. This is due to the eventual NCAA Tournament success. KSU found a way to demoralize a flustered Mountaineer squad then, but WVU cannot afford the same fate this time around.
About the opponent
Kansas State has lost four straight games, but boasts a winning record thus far in 2026.
The Wildcats fare well on the road right now too, holding a 9-7 record away from home. That has not been the case in Morgantown over the years, only winning in four of 15 outings.
KSU has the upper hand in terms of plate efficiency, batting .312 as a team (WVU: .302). Dee Kennedy (.392) is the top producer, also leading in home runs (19), RBI (65), and doubles (16).
Five other starters bat above the +.300 threshold through 45 games, an impressive feat at any level.
Pitching is a bit up-and-down, especially on the starting front. None of the pitchers with more than four starts have a sub-4.0 ERA. That could play a factor in WVU having a chance to regain its mojo.
Tune in
The matchup unfolds across the weekend at a likely-saturated Kendrick Family Ballpark. Current first pitch times are listed here:
- Friday 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday 4 p.m.
- Sunday 1 p.m.
Tune in to 100.9 FM The Torch or any of its nine affiliate stations across the John Fredericks Media Network for play-by-play coverage. ESPN+ carries the TV broadcast.
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