West Liberty, W.Va. – After splitting their opening weekend series with Malone, the West Liberty University baseball team is set to play a 4-game neutral site series against former WVIAC foe, Pitt-Johnstown, on Saturday and Sunday, March 2-3. The Hilltoppers and Mountain Cats are set for first pitch times of 1 and 4 p.m. on both days at Linda K. Epling Stadium in Beckley, West Virginia.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Beckley, West Virginia (Linda K. Epling Stadium)
• First Pitch (Saturday): 1 p.m. first pitch in game one and a 4 p.m. first pitch in game two
• First Pitch (Sunday): 12 p.m. first pitch in game one and a 3 p.m. first pitch in game two

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters the 4-game weekend series with a record of 2-2 after splitting a pair of double headers against Malone last weekend. On Friday the Hilltoppers dropped a pair of neutral site games to the Pioneers by scores of 9-1 and 14-9 before they bounced back and earned a pair of road wins at MU by scores of 6-0 and 10-2 on Sunday afternoon.
• The Hilltoppers were picked to finish third in the North Division of the 2024 MEC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll, totaling 33 points and a pair of first place votes, after they went went 21-30 (15-15 MEC) during the 2023 season as they finished third in the MEC North Division and advanced to their eighth conference tournament appearance in the past 11 years.
• As a team WLU has hit .290 with 31 hits, eight doubles, three triples, four homeruns, 24 RBI, and 26 runs scored through four games played.
• West Liberty returns seven of their eight starting position players from a year ago, which includes Jacob Sherman who was Honorable Mention All-MEC in 2023 and Will Balgo who was the MEC Freshman of the Year in 2023 and was named Preseason Honorable Mention All-Atlantic Region by the NCBWA entering 2024.
• James Salvatori leads four players who are hitting better than .300 on the early season with a batting average of .385 to go along with a .500 on-base percentage, a .923 slugging percentage, and a 1.423 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has tallied five hits, two triples, one homerun, seven RBI, and four runs scored.
• After the opening weekend Balgo holds a batting average of .357 to go along with an on-base percentage of .400, a slugging percentage of .643, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.043. He has tallied five hits, one double, one homerun, three RBI, and two runs scored.
• Brad Goodyear and Sherman round out the quartet hitting above .300 on the season with batting averages of .333 apiece. Goodyear also holds a .429 on-base percentage, a .667 slugging percentage, and a 1.096 on-base plus slugging percentage while tallying four hits with one double, one homerun, two RBI and three runs scored. Sherman has added an on-base percentage of .533, a slugging percentage of .556, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.089 as he has collected three hits, two doubles, two RBI, and three runs scored while also drawing four walks this season.
• The Hilltoppers' pitching staff recorded an ERA of 4.85, allowing 32 hits and 18 walks, while throwing 14 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .296 batting average against WLU pitchers.
• On the mound the Hilltoppers, Drake Dobson and Ethan Conley are the top two returning starters while five key relief pitchers are back.
• After opening weekend, Tanner Pelaez and Bryce Winter each hold records of 1-0 while both got a start on Sunday afternoon against Malone. In 5.0 innings pitched Pelaez did not allow a run to score while he only surrendered two hits in the contest. He holds averages of a 0.00 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and an opponent's batting average of .118, while he tallied three strikeouts. Winter, who also pitched 5.0 innings in his season debut, holds averages of a 2.80 ERA, .60 WHIP, and a .125 opponent batting average as he only surrendered two hits and one walk while striking out two.
• Evan Barnes and Jacob Watson played key roles as relief pitchers in the pair of Sunday wins against the Pioneers as neither pitcher surrendered a run in 2.0 innings pitched. Barnes, who also did not surrender a hit, struck out one batter and gave up one walk, while Watson allowed only three hits.
• Eric Burkle is in his 12^th season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 223-283 during his time with the Hilltoppers.

PITT-JOHNSTOWN STORYLINES

• Pitt-Johnstown enters this weekend's 4-game series with a record of 1-5 this season after being swept in a 3-game series at Shippensburg by scores of 8-7 (11 Inn.), 3-2, and 8-4 last Friday and Sunday, February 23 and 25.
• The Mountain Cats were picked to finish seventh in the West Division of the 2024 PSAC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll, after posting an 18-31 (11-17 PSAC) record in 2023 and finished sixth in the PSAC West Division standings.
• As a team UPJ has hit .239 with 45 hits, 11 doubles, three triples, three homeruns, 32 RBI, and 34 runs scored through six games played this season.
• Through the first two series of the season, Alex Glumac has led UPJ at the plate as he has posted a .429 batting average, a .600 on-base percentage, a .500 slugging percentage, and a 1.100 on-base plus slugging percentage while tallying six hits, one double, one RBI, four runs scores, and has drawn five walks.
• Another player to watch is Josh Ulery who has hit .350 with an on-base percentage of .407, a slugging percentage of .700, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.107 while collecting seven hits, two doubles, one triple, one homerun, eight RBI, and five runs scored.
• Rounding out a group of four players hitting better than .300 are Garrett Prosper and Aidan Steinbugl who are batting .308 apiece.
• The Mountain Cats' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 8.34, allowing 60 hits and 36 walks, while throwing 47 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .314 batting average against UPJ pitchers.
• With two starts, Pitt-Johnstown is led by Brandon Clifford on the mound as he has posted a 6.14 ERA, 2.18 WHIP, and has held opponents to a .333 batting average in 7.1 innings pitched while striking out five.
• Another starter to watch will be Ben Tomb (0-1), who currently holds a 6.48 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and has held opponents to a .200 batting average while striking out nine in 8.1 innings of work on the mound.
• The group of Brody Roberts, Jared Hoener, Taylor Squiric, Garret Holzapfel, and Antonio Caporossi has not allowed an earned run in a combined 7.0 innings pitched in relief.
• Todd Williams is in his 27^th season as the head coach at Pitt-Johnstown with a career record of 568-578-5 during his time with the Mountain Cats.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since 2011, Pitt-Johnstown holds a 16-8 lead in the series with West Liberty.
• The Mountain Cats won the 4-game neutral site series on March 4-5, 2023, in Cadiz, Ohio, last season as they won by scores of 6-2, 17-3, and 7-5 while the Hilltoppers won game three by a score of 6-3.