West Liberty, W.Va. – Due to field conditions the West Liberty University baseball team will shift this weekend's MEC doubleheaders to road match-ups as they will visit Glenville State and Concord on Friday and Saturday. The Hilltoppers and Pioneers will start the weekend with 12 and 2:30 p.m. first pitch times at the Sue Morris Sports Complex in Glenville, West Virginia, while they will conclude the weekend with 1 and 3:30 games at Anderson Field in Athens, West Virginia, against the Mountain Lions on Saturday.

GAME DETAILS

• Friday: 12 and 2:30 p.m. first pitch at Sue Morris Sports Complex in Glenville, West Virginia
• Saturday: 1 and 3:30 pm. first pitch at Anderson Field in Athens, West Virginia

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters this weekend's doubleheaders with a record of 7-15 (4-4 MEC) after sweeping Davis & Elkins by scores of 16-2 and 15-0 and splitting with West Virginia Wesleyan with a 9-0 win and a 10-8 loss.
• The Hilltoppers are currently in second place in the MEC North Division standings.
• As a team, WLU has hit .311 with 200 hits, 38 doubles, nine triples, 22 homeruns, 141 RBI, and 153 runs scored through 22 games played.
• After securing his second MEC Player of the Week honor, James Salvatori now holds a batting average at .398 and adds a .446 on-base percentage, a .928 slugging percentage, and a 1.374 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has tallied 33 hits, four doubles, five triples, ten homeruns, 33 RBI, and 27 runs scored. Salvatori leads the MEC in triples, slugging percentage, homeruns, and RBI while also ranking third, fourth, 14^th and 58^th nationally in DII respectively. He has notched a hit in 11 of the last 14 games, including two or more hits in ten of those contests.
• Jacob Sherman is also hitting above .350 as he is batting .387 with an on-base percentage of .474, a slugging percentage of .516, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .990. He has notched 24 hits, eight doubles, ten RBI, and 15 runs scored. Sherman has recorded a hit in 14 of the last 17 games he's played in.
• Rounding out the trio of players hitting above .350 as he is batting .352 with an on-base percentage of .520, a slugging percentage of .500, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.020. He has notched 19 hits, three doubles, one triple, one homerun, 12 RBI, and 20 runs scored. He recorded two or more hits in all four contests last weekend at D&E and WVWC.
• Ryan Talbert (.328), Brad Goodyear (.317), and Kobe Hill (.313) are each hitting above .300 on the year as well, rounding out a total of six Hilltoppers.
• The Hilltoppers' pitching staff recorded an ERA of 7.37, allowing 215 hits and 134 walks, while throwing 92 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .338 batting average against WLU pitchers.
• Tanner Pelaez is 3-2 in his five starts and appearances in 2024, holding an ERA of 3.92, a WHIP of 1.68, and has limited opponents to a batting average of .275. In 25.0 innings pitched he has thrown nine strikeouts.
• Ethan Conley has made three starts and appearances this year, pitching 11.1 innings as he has recorded a 3.09 ERA and adds a 1.85 WHIP. He has struck out six batters.
• Jacob Watson made his first start of the season this past weekend in a win at Davis & Elkins, improving his record to 1-0 in 2024. He holds an ERA of 4.87, a WHIP of 2.25, and has held opponents to a .333 batting average in 18.2 innings of work on the mound. He has struck out seven batters this year.
• Eric Burkle is in his 12^th season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 228-296 during his time with the Hilltoppers.

GLENVILLE STATE STORYLINES

• Glenville State enters Friday's doubleheader with a record of 12-11 (5-1 MEC) after splitting a doubleheader with Salem, losing 15-8 before winning 8-5, and sweeping Notre Dame by scores of 6-2 and 7-3 last weekend.
• The Pioneers are currently in first place in the MEC South Division standings.
• As a team, GSU has hit .248 with 164 hits, 27 doubles, two triples, 17 homeruns, 106 RBI, and 124 runs scored through 23 games played.
•  Fabian Escalante leads the team with a batting average of .469 and adds an on-base percentage of .522, a slugging percentage of .716, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.238. He has recorded 38 hits, 11 doubles, three homeruns, 19 RBI, and 12 runs scored. He leads the MEC in batting average, doubles, and hits while also ranking ninth, 34^th, and 144^th nationally in DII respectively.
• Mason Lohr is also hitting better than .300 on the season, batting .323 with an on-base percentage of .543, a slugging percentage of .419, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .962. He has tallied 20 hits, two doubles, two triples, 12 RBI, and 22 runs this season. Lohr leads the MEC in base on balls (19) and hit by pitch (11) while ranking 43 and 156^th nationally in DII.
• Carlos De Jesus rounds out the trio of Pioneers hitting better than .300 on the year with a .305 batting average, a .382 on-base percentage, a .492 slugging percentage, and a .874 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has notched 18 hits, two doubles, three homeruns, 12 RBI, and nine runs scored this season.
• The Pioneers' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 7.41, allowing 195 hits and 158 walks, while throwing 185 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .280 batting average against GSU pitchers.
• With a 4-0 record in four starts and six appearances, Julian Minaya is the top pitcher for Glenville State as he has posted an ERA of 2.81, a WHIP of 1.48, and has held opponents to a .153 batting average. He has thrown 39 strikeouts in 25.2 innings of work. Minaya leads the MEC in strikeouts per nine innings (13.68), hits allowed per nine innings (4.56), and victories while also ranking sixth, eighth, and 63^rd nationally respectively.
• Grant Landis is the top relief pitcher for GSU as he has recorded a 5.25 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 22 strikeouts, and has held opponents to a .273 batting average in 24.0 innings of work on the mound. He has totaled a 1-1 record and five saves in three starts and 12 total appearances. Landis leads the MEC in saves and ranks 11^th nationally in DII.
• James Mullins is in his 11^th season as the head coach at Glenville State, posting a career record of 195-274 during his time with the Pioneers.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since the 2013 season Glenville State holds a 13-12 edge in the series record, including seven wins in the last nine meetings.
• The Pioneers swept last season's doubleheader on April 1, 2023, in Glenville, West Virginia, winning by scores of 10-3 and 5-3.

CONCORD STORYLINES

• Concord enters this weekend's doubleheaders with a record of 10-10 (2-4 MEC) after splitting home doubleheaders with Notre Dame, winning 6-1 before losing 10-3, and Salem, winning 5-4 before losing 12-1, last weekend.
• The Mountain Lions are currently in fifth place in the MEC South Division standings.
• As a team, CU has hit .284 with 174 hits, 24 doubles, two triples, 11 homeruns, 113 RBI, and 134 runs scored through 20 games played.
•  Zack Saryeldin leads the team with a batting average of .438 and adds an on-base percentage of .561, a slugging percentage of .703, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.264. He has recorded 28 hits, three doubles, one triple, four homeruns, 21 RBI, and 25 runs scored. He ranks second in the MEC in on-base percentage and is third in hits per game, while also ranking 11^th and 102^nd in DII respectively.
• Chris Satcher is another player to watch at the plate as he has recorded a .346 batting average with a .493 on-base percentage, a .577 slugging percentage, and a 1.070 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has recorded 18 hits, four doubles, one triple, two homeruns, 23 RBI, and 13 runs scored.
• The Mountain Lions' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 7.73, allowing 197 hits and 77 walks, while throwing 121 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .310 batting average against CU pitchers.
• With a 3-2 record in four starts and seven appearances on the mound, Andrew Neff is the top pitcher with a 6.82 ERA, a 1.64 WHIP, and 25 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .333 batting average.
• MJ Hunter is the top relief pitcher for CU, holding an ERA of 1.23 ERA with a WHIP of 1.23 and has held opponents to a .167 batting average. In six appearances and 7.1 innings pitched, he has notched three saves on the year.
• Kevin Garrett, who is in his second stint as the leader of the CU baseball program, is in his 24^th season overall as the head coach at Concord where he has recorded a 554-424-4 career record with the Mountain Lions.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since the 2011 season Concord holds a 19-14 advantage in the series and has won four straight meetings.
• The Mountain Lions swept last season's doubleheader in Athens, West Virginia, on April 2, 2023, as they won by scores of 11-1 and 13-10.