No. 17 WVU Baseball (21-7) plays host to Marshall (14-16) Wednesday in the second game of the 2026 trilogy. The Mountaineers won the first matchup on March 24 in Huntington, 3-0. Read more: Round 2: No. 17 WVU Baseball hosts Marshall Tuesday.
Both teams are coming off respective conference series losses, hoping to make up ground before the weekend.
WVU got the upper hand in the low-scoring first meeting by way of limiting MU to one hit. One run in each of the first three innings gave the Mountaineers enough breathing room for the victory.
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Tuesday’s game is at Kendrick Family Ballpark, before the two teams meet once more on May 5 in Charleston, West Virginia, for the neutral-site contest.
Where the Mountaineers stand
WVU is coming off its first series loss of the year, losing game one and the rubber match against UCF. It took an improbable comeback in game two to avoid the sweep, clawing back from a 10-2 deficit.
Now back to the No. 17 spot in this week’s D1 Baseball rankings, a convincing non-conference win would be a nice addition to the resume.
Offensive turmoil was present across the board throughout the weekend. For example, struggles against UCF dropped Paul Schoenfeld below the .400 batting average threshold, as he managed only one hit in 11 at-bats. The Mountaineers put up an impressive 11 runs Saturday, but only scored one across two losses.
Beyond needing a bounce back midweek victory, Tuesday is a rivalry game. Both teams should be chomping at the bit for Mountain State bragging rights.
WVU Head Coach Steve Sabins is 3-1 in his career against the Thundering Herd, and has a chance to add on.
About the opponent
For a brief history of Marshall Baseball, refer to the ‘About the opponent’ section from the previous matchup preview. You can find that by clicking here.
Recently, though, Marshall has fallen off the track. The Thundering Herd has lost eight of its past nine games, with the last time it played WVU being the second game of a six game losing streak.
Granted, MU played WVU and highly-ranked Coastal Carolina (three times) in the same week. That makes up four of the losses.
The road remains rough as Marshall makes the trip to Morgantown, visiting a park the team has never found success in. MU is 0-10 at Kendrick Family Ballpark since it opened in 2015, and has not won in Morgantown at all since 2013.
Three MU batters remain with +.350 averages at the plate, led by Evan Bottone (.388). The Herd is still a team that can slug, with 29 home runs on the year.
WVU can take advantage of MU’s fielding issues, a team who has three players with 5+ errors on the year, and 35 total.
Overall, it is a matchup heavily favoring WVU. Between home field advantage and past history in the all-time series, fortune favors the Mountaineers. It has to be settled on the diamond, though.
Tune in
WVU and Marshall share the field in non-conference action with a scheduled first pitch for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Forecasts are calling for a clear, but frigid evening. .
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 of WVU Baseball. ESPN+ carries the TV broadcast.
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