The No. 16 West Virginia Mountaineers (40-10, 19-6) will wrap up the 2025 regular season on the baseball diamond by welcoming the Kansas Jayhawks (39-14, 17-10) into Morgantown for a three-game series. WVU has lost three of its last four games and will aim to course-correct before the Big 12 Conference Tournament. Read more WVU baseball wraps up regular season versus Kansas.
Setting the Scene
The Mountaineers have hit a rather untimely slump since late April, losing their final three non-conference midweek games and dropping their first road conference series of the year at Kansas State, as the Wildcats took two of three this past weekend.
Despite the recent woes, WVU is one game away from clinching a Big 12 regular-season title. One victory against Kansas would lock up the regular season gold for the Mountaineers, but that is not the only path to the top for the old gold and blue.
Arizona State, the current second-place team in the conference, would only need to lose one game in its final series against Oklahoma State for the Mountaineers to win the title. Regardless, the “magic number” to remember this weekend for WVU is one.
The Jayhawks
The Kansas Jayhawks fly into Morgantown riding high off back-to-back wins against the BYU Cougars. In the two victories, Kansas outscored BYU 17-7 and continued its trend of being a rather high-scoring team, as the Jayhawks have averaged 8.1 runs per game in their past 10 outings.
This Jayhawks squad is just as impressive on the road as it is back home in Lawrence, toting a 17-7 road record coming into the upcoming weekend. Kansas usually competes well when the team travels to Morgantown, as the Jayhawks have won seven of the past 15 games between the two squads at Kendrick Family Ballpark. With everything coming down to the final weekend in the Big 12, expect Kansas to put up a heavy-hitting effort against WVU throughout the three-game series.
Players to Watch
For the Mountaineers, there is no individual player to watch this weekend. More specifically, the players to keep your eyes on are the collective unit of the WVU bullpen.
Pitching has been the “elephant in the room” with the Mountaineers for most of the season, and it has cost the ranked squad several games over the past two weeks. The bullpen, along with some questionable fielding, was the main reason for West Virginia to blow a 9-5 lead against Pitt and a 7-2 lead against Kansas State, both in the bottom of the ninth inning, to get walked off by the Panthers and Wildcats, respectively.
In the final game of the Kansas State series, WVU surrendered several leads and gave up an untimely grand slam in the eighth inning to lose the rubber match. In short, keep your eyes on the likes of Reese Bassinger and Carson Estridge, among others.
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For Kansas, Jackson Hauge has been the big slugger of the bunch. Hauge leads the Jayhawks in several categories, including home runs (18) and RBI (67). The 6’1 utility player is listed as an infielder/outfielder combo, so Hauge could be anywhere this weekend. Regardless, WVU will need to limit Hauge’s production on big plays to keep Kansas at bay.
Tune In
The final series of the regular season for the Mountaineers and Jayhawks gets underway starting on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Kendrick Family Ballpark in Morgantown. Game two is set for the same time on Friday evening, and senior day is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday, where several seniors will be recognized by WVU.
If you want to read more about the Mountaineers’ seniors, you can read the “Senior Spotlight” article here. As for streaming, ESPN+ will have all three games available at the time of first pitch. For the radio broadcast, as always, tune in to 100.9 FM The Torch or one of its nine affiliate stations.
PREVIEW: WVU Baseball Wraps Up Regular Season Versus Kansas
