Saving the most personal for last, the No. 16 West Virginia Mountaineers (39-7) will close its 2025 non-conference slate against the Pitt Panthers (24-21) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. WVU will aim to sweep the home-and-home series and make it nine straight victories against its most heated rival. Read more WVU baseball wraps up non-conference slate at Pitt
Setting the Scene
The Mountaineers took the final two games of the weekend series against Texas Tech to improve their record to 39-7 and retain their spot atop the Big 12 Conference ranks. While Tuesday’s game is a non-conference battle, decades of vitriol and bitter competition make this game as important as any other for West Virginia.
The Mountaineers have won eight straight against the Panthers, with the most recent victory being an 11-1 trouncing at Kendrick Family Ballpark back on April 2nd. With this game being on the road, it is worth noting that WVU is 22-2 on the road this season, the best record in that category in all of D1 college baseball up to this point in 2025. The road warriors will have the chance on Tuesday evening to improve that record against a Pitt squad that is 11-7 at home.
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Speaking of Pitt, the Panthers will come into this “Backyard Brawl” riding a four-game winning streak. That four-game run includes an 11-0 shutout of Akron and a three-game sweep of ACC foe Virginia Tech.
The final two games of the VT series were part of a particularly interesting doubleheader. Game one was shortened to seven innings, but game two went 13 innings and lasted five hours, 45 minutes. Regardless, the Panthers worked for that sweep on Sunday, spending well over eight hours on the baseball diamond.
On another note, Pitt has performed well in non-conference action this season, boasting a solid 15-6 record outside of the ACC. Unfortunately for the Panthers, multiple non-conference games were canceled due to untimely weather. As of now, there are light rain showers projected in the Pittsburgh area throughout Tuesday evening, but hopefully it stays away from Charles L. Cost Field.
Players to Watch
For Pittsburgh, Luke Cantwell had a stellar performance in the series finale against Virginia Tech, recording three hits in his six at-bats, four RBI and another run to top it off. One of those three hits was a home run in the third inning to extend the Panther lead to 6-2 against the Hokies. The 6’0 senior has started every game for Pitt this season, just as he did in 2024, and leads the team in total hits (60), doubles (18), and RBI (41). Cantwell also draws more walks than anyone else on the roster, tallying 43 base-on-balls through 45 games.
For WVU, Grant Hussey is coming off a three-game weekend performance against Texas Tech that featured five hits and two RBI. The Parkersburg native is the home run king of WVU baseball, holding the record for most home runs in program history. In fact, Hussey broke that record against Pittsburgh just over a year ago at PNC Park in a game that saw the slugger go yard twice. Hussey is a looming threat in the lineup at all times and serves as a rock-solid first baseman for the Mountaineers’ fielding department.
Tune In
The Mountaineers and Panthers will battle it out once again on Tuesday, with first pitch set for 6:00 p.m. at Charles L. Cost Field in the “Steel City” of Pittsburgh. Weather could be a factor, as it was for both squads over the weekend. For those staying out of the rainy weather, the game will be streaming on ACC Network Extra. As always, the radio broadcast can be found at your home for Mountaineers baseball, 100.9 FM The Torch and its nine affiliate stations.
PREVIEW: WVU Baseball Wraps Up Non-Conference Slate At Pitt
