West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team will step outside of Mountain East Conference play for the final time this season on Wednesday afternoon as they welcome former WVIAC and MEC conference foe, Shepherd, to the hilltop. The Hilltoppers and the Rams are set for a 1 and 4 p.m. first pitch at Kovalick Field

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, West Virginia (Kovalick Field)
• First Pitch: 1 and 4 p.m.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters the mid-week doubleheader with a record of 10-30 (6-14 MEC) after splitting a 4-game series at Notre Dame this past weekend. The Hilltoppers won games two and three by scores of 3-2 (8 Inn.) and 5-2, while the Falcons won games one and four by scores of 3-1 and 12-10.
• The Hilltoppers are currently in fourth place in the MEC North Division standings.
• As a team, WLU has hit .285 with 327 hits, 73 doubles, 13 triples, 30 homeruns, 208 RBI, and 227 runs scored through 40 games played.
• James Salvatori holds a batting average of .376 and adds a .422 on-base percentage, an .787 slugging percentage, and a 1.209 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has tallied 53 hits, ten doubles, six triples, 12 homeruns, 45 RBI, and 34 runs scored. Salvatori leads the MEC in triples and ranks eighth in NCAA Division II. Additionally, he ranks second in the league in home runs and is 49^th nationally. Among other categories he is third in the conference in slugging percentage and RBI with national ranks of 22^nd and 106^th respectively. He has notched a hit in 11 of his last 14 games played, including six multi-hit games in those contests. On the base paths he is 10-for-12 on stolen base attempts.
• Ryan Talbert is also hitting above .300 with a batting average of .306, while adding an on-base percentage of .434, a slugging percentage of .537, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .971. He has tallied 38 hits, ten doubles, three triples, four homeruns, 23 RBI, and 29 runs scored. He has recorded four multi-hit games in his last eight games played.
• Noah Mildren rounds out a trio of players hitting above .300 with a batting average of .303, while adding an on-base percentage of .428, a slugging percentage of .459, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .887. He has tallied 33 hits, seven doubles, two triples, two homeruns, and 20 RBI. During last weekend's 4-game series at Notre Dame he posted a pair of multi-hit games, going 2-for-4 in games one and four, including a pair of doubles in the opener and a triple in the finale.
• The Hilltoppers' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 9.49, allowing 403 hits and 234 walks, while throwing 166 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .346 batting average against WLU pitchers.
• Jacob Watson is 2-2 in five starts and 12 appearances in 2024, holding an ERA of 6.15, a WHIP of 1.88, and has held opponents to a .318 batting average in 41.0 innings of work on the mound. He has struck out 15 batters this year, including a season-high of three on three separate occasions.
• In nine starts and appearances, Tanner Pelaez holds a 4-5 record on the year with an ERA of 7.68, a WHIP of 2.00, and has held opponents to a .310 batting average. He has struck out 19 batters this season, including a season-high of five against Frostburg State.
• Trevor Thomas has made five appearances while making one start as he has posted an ERA of 6.28, a WHIP of 2.02, and an opponent's batting average of .280. In 14.1 innings of work on the mound he has thrown one complete game and has struck out five during the season.
• Eric Burkle is in his 12^th season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 231-311 during his time with the Hilltoppers.

SHEPHERD STORYLINES

• Shepherd enters the mid-week doubleheader with a record of 16-20 (11-13 PSAC) this season after falling in three of four games against West Chester last weekend. The Rams won game three by a score of 9-7, but fell by scores of 5-2, 12-3, and 9-6.
• The Rams are currently in fifth place in the PSAC East Division standings.
• As a team, SU has hit .261 with 274 hits, 45 doubles, four triples, 47 homeruns, 172 RBI, and 199 runs scored through 36 games played this season.
• Greg Borges is the top player at the plate for the Rams as he has hit .320 with an on-base percentage of .410, a slugging percentage of .454, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .864. He has tallied 31 hits, four doubles, three homeruns, 17 RBI, and has scored 22 runs. He has recorded a hit in four of his last six appearances. On the base paths he has gone 19-of-22 on stolen base attempts.
• Collin Snyder adds a batting average of .313, an on-base percentage of .389, a slugging percentage of .563, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .952. He has tallied 25 hits, three doubles, one triple, five homeruns, 17 RBI, and 18 runs scored. He has recorded a hit in four of his last five games played.
• Corey Jamison rounds out the trio of Shepherd players to hit above .300 this season, recording a .310 hitting percentage, a .470 on-base percentage, a .558 slugging percentage, and a 1.028 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has tallied 35 hits, six doubles, two triples, six homeruns, 19 RBI, and scored 28 runs. He has recorded a hit in six consecutive games played.
• The Rams' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 7.48, allowing 308 hits and 157 walks, while throwing 245 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .297 batting average against SU pitchers.
• Daniel Quintana has started and appeared in ten games this season, posting a 2-5 record with a 7.42 ERA, a 1.72 WHIP, and has held opponents to a .320 batting average. In 43.2 innings pitched he has recorded 29 strikeouts, including a season-high of seven against Bloomsburg.
• Chris Chaney has made one start while appearing in 15 games this year, posting a 5-3 record in 34.1 innings pitched. He has recorded an ERA of 4.46, a WHIP of 1.28, and an opponent's batting average of .246. He has struck out a total of 24 batters.
• Matt McCarty is in his 12^th season as the head coach at Shepherd with a career record of 343-201-2 during his time with the Rams.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since the 2011 season, Shepherd holds a 30-5 advantage in the series and has won 17 straight dating back to 2016.
• The Rams won the last match-up at West Liberty on April 4, 2023, with an 11-10 victory at Kovalick Field.