No. 17 West Virginia Travels to Hostile Territory to Take on Penn State

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Christopher Hall | Last updated Apr 22, 2025 3:50 PM ET

University Park, PA – No. 17 West Virginia will travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State Tuesday night. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EST and the action will broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

The Mountaineers (34-4) fell 11-6 in their last visit to in front of a packed Lubrano Park on “Dollar Dog” night, and once again, the promotion will bring the students back to the ballpark Tuesday night.

West Virginia comes into the game riding a 14-game winning streak and recently dispatched Big 12 Conference foe Cincinnati in a three-game sweep, outscoring the Bearcats 19-11.

The Mountaineers lead Big 12 in team batting average (.317) and team ERA (3.72), while also ranking second in RBIs (307), runs (226) and on base percentage (.418), and sit third in slugging percentage (.486).

Junior Sam White is hitting a team-leading .383, which ranks fourth in the league and Jace Rinehart’s .366 batting average places the senior seventh while junior Skylar King sits eighth with a .364 batting average.

Rinehart is ranks seventh in in the conference with 13 doubles, ninth in with a .642 slugging percentage and has a team-leading 39 RBI.

Senior Kyle West is third in the league with a .486 on base percentage and King is sixth at .472.

West Virginia is slated to start freshman right-hander Ben Hudson (2-0, 2.49 ERA, 23 K) while Penn State is expected to counter with sophomore righty Mason Butash (2-1. 8.85 ERA, 20 K).

The Nittany Lions (24-14) handled Purdue in a three-game series last weekend, taking the first two games before dropping the series finale.

Junior Paxton Kling leads the team at the plate with a .338 batting average and a team-high 12 home runs.

Redshirt sophomore Bryce Molinaro has raked in a team-best 45 RBI and senior Joe Jaconski has a team-leading 12 doubles.

Penn State leads the all-time series 72-46.