MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The battle for state supremacy on the diamond between West Virginia and Marshall will be renewed on Tuesday. The 24th-ranked Mountaineers host the Thundering Herd this week for the first of two games between the two programs this year.
Marshall is looking for a marquee win, while West Virginia will look to put its best foot forward in its final game before Big 12 play begins.
Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup.
No. 24 West Virginia vs. Marshall game information
- Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2023
- Location: Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark in Morgantown, West Virginia
- West Virginia record: 18-6
- Marshall record: 11-10
- All-time series: West Virginia leads 52-25 since 1910
- Last meeting: West Virginia defeated Marshall 17-8 on April 16, 2022.
- First pitch: 6:30 p.m. ET
- Stream: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
- Radio: Mountaineer Sports Network
- WVU probable starter: RHP Aidan Major (1-2, 6.43 ERA)
- Herd probable starter: RHP Chad Heiner (1-0, 3.95 ERA)
No. 24 West Virginia vs. Marshall preview
Despite going 3-2 on the diamond last week, West Virginia remained part of the D1Baseball.com Top 25 poll. The Mountaineers picked up a win over visiting Hofstra in the midweek and won its weekend series over Xavier.
Marshall, meanwhile, won its lone midweek contest against Cincinnati but dropped two of three against Old Dominion over the weekend.
The Herd are led at the plate by Luke Edwards. The fifth-year senior is hitting for a .322 average, has 10 extra-base hits, and is 8 for 8 on stolen base attempts this season. Owen Ayers leads Marshall in the power department, with a team-best four home runs on the season.
Sophomore sensation JJ Wetherholt continues to pace WVU’s production at the dish. Wetherholt leads all hitters in the Big 12 Conference with a .455 batting average. He remains in the top five in the league in several hitting categories and also leads the Big 12 with 23 stolen bases this year.
Fellow sophomore Aidan Major, who will start the game on the mound for West Virginia, is coming off his longest outing of the season. He pitched six innings last week in a start against Hofstra. However, he was saddled with the loss.