By: Caitie Smith, Assistant Sports Information Director
INSTITUTE, W.VA. – West Virginia State Baseball returns to Cal Bailey Field after an impressive weekend in Cary, N.C., where the Yellow Jackets went 3-1 and now sit at 4-2 on the young season.
State downed 2021 NCAA Regional participants Franklin Pierce Friday, and then split a Saturday doubleheader with New Haven before a thrilling 13-12 victory Sunday over The College of Saint Rose.
The Yellow Jackets will host four contests this week, first welcoming Bluefield State College for a nine-inning matinee on Wednesday at 2 p.m. State will then play host to PSAC annual contenders Slippery Rock for a three-game series Friday, March 11-13. Both Friday and Saturday's games will begin at 2 p.m., and Sunday's first pitch is slated for noon. Live stats and video will be available for all four contests.
LEADING THE WAY
WVSU ranks seventh in the nation with a .356 batting average. They'll face the nation's leaders in Slippery Rock this weekend. The Yellow Jackets are 12th in doubles per game, averaging 2.67.
Individually, graduate student Andrew Stone is 19th in the country with his .500 batting average and is 26th with a .577 on-base percentage. Freshman Nathan Paulsen is 31st in batting average at .476, and also ranks 12th in the country in doubles.
In addition to Stone and Paulsen, State boasts four other members on its roster with an above. 300 clip, with outfielder Trey Junkins coming in at .450.
SCOUTING THE BIG BLUES
Bluefield State College enters the week on a 6-13 ledger, most recently suffering a three-game sweep to State's cross-county rivals Charleston over the weekend. The Big Blues have lost six straight and are led by freshman Ethan Wilkins, who boasts a .421 batting average across 13 games. Bluefield State is hitting at a combined .253 clip and carry a 8.58 earned run average.
State dominated the two squads only meeting last season, defeating the Big Blues 21-1 in early March.
SCOUTING THE ROCK
Slippery Rock sits at a perfect 4-0 on the year, coming off a four-game sweep of Mountain East Conference foe Davis & Elkins. The Rock surrendered just three runs on the weekend, while scoring 45 times.
The squad will enter the weekend hitting at a nearly .400 clip at .392 and have cranked out seven homeruns across the four games. Senior catcher Connor Hamilton leads the way with a .636 batting average and has three round trippers. The Rock featured eight arms in their opening weekend, with six allowing just two hits or less.
WVSU took the opening contest between the two teams last season, winning 9-5 before dropping the final two contests by scores of 8-5 and 12-4.
