West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team will return to Mountain East Conference action this weekend as the regular season begins to wind down, hosting Fairmont State in a critical 4-game series. The Hilltoppers will look to make up ground for the final north division spot in the conference tournament when they face the Falcons on Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28, at Kovalick Field.

GAME DETAILS

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

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters the 4-game weekend series with a record of 10-32 (6-14 MEC) after being swept in a mid-week doubleheader against Shepherd on Wednesday afternoon. The Hilltoppers fell to the Rams by scores of 13-9 and 8-0 at Kovalick Field.
• WLU enters this weekend's games with a record of 2-9 in games played at Kovalick Field in 2024.
• The Hilltoppers are currently in fourth place in the MEC North Division standings.
• As a team, WLU has hit .282 with 339 hits, 78 doubles, 13 triples, 30 homeruns, 217 RBI, and 236 runs scored through 42 games played.
• James Salvatori holds a batting average of .365 and adds a .414 on-base percentage, a .757 slugging percentage, and a 1.171 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has tallied 54 hits, ten doubles, six triples, 12 homeruns, 46 RBI, and 35 runs scored. Salvatori leads the MEC in triples and ranks eighth in NCAA Division II. Additionally, he ranks fourth in the league in homeruns and RBI, while also ranking fifth in slugging percentage. Nationally he ranks 32^nd in slugging percentage and 57^th in homeruns. He has notched a hit in 12 of his last 16 games played, including six multi-hit games in those contests. On the base paths he is 13-for-15 on stolen base attempts.
• Ryan Talbert is also hitting above .300 with a batting average of .302, while adding an on-base percentage of .431, a slugging percentage of .519, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of .950. He has tallied 39 hits, ten doubles, three triples, four homeruns, 23 RBI, and 30 runs scored. He has recorded a hit in six of his last ten games played, including four multi-hit games during that time span.
• The Hilltoppers' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 9.63, allowing 424 hits and 249 walks, while throwing 175 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 231-313 during his time with the Hilltoppers.

FAIRMONT STATE STORYLINES

• Fairmont State enters the 4-game weekend series with a record of 13-24 (11-9 MEC) this season after splitting a 4-game series at home against Wheeling this past weekend. The Cardinals took both games on Saturday by scores of 18-7 and 6-3, while the Falcons earned a pair of wins on Sunday by scores of 8-7 and 11-10.
• FSU enters this weekend's series with a 1-15 record on the road in 2024.
• The Falcons are currently in second place in the MEC North Division standings.
• As a team, FSU has hit .277 with 292 hits, 45 doubles, five triples, 23 homeruns, 166 RBI, and 185 runs scored through 37 games played this season.
• Quintin Smith leads Fairmont State at the plate, hitting .386 with an on-base percentage of .461, a slugging percentage of .561, and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.022. He has tallied 51 hits, six doubles, one triple, five homeruns, 21 RBI, and 33 runs scored. He has recorded a hit in 11 of his last 13 games played, which includes a 5-of-6 performance against Notre Dame. On the base paths he is 7-of-10 on stolen base attempts.
• Noah Canterbury is second on the team with a .344 batting average, a .458 on-base percentage, a .500 slugging percentage, and a .958 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has tallied 33 hits, nine doubles, two homeruns, 27 RBI, and 17 runs scored. He has recorded a hit in nine of his last 12 games played, including six multi-hit performances.
• Rounding out the four players hitting above .300 this season for the Falcons are Cameron Sheets (.318) and Ryan Goff (.300).
• The Falcons' pitching staff has recorded an ERA of 8.08, allowing 314 hits and 176 walks, while throwing 204 strikeouts. Opponents have held a .293 batting average against FSU pitchers.
• Connor Tingler leads Fairmont State with an ERA of 4.43, a WHIP of 1.39, and has held opponents to a .205 batting average. In nine starts and appearances he holds a 2-6 record this season and has thrown two complete games and one shutout to total 44.2 innings on the mound. He has notched 29 strikeouts, including five or more on three occurrences.
• Logan McClure holds a 5.48 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP, and has held opponents to a .299 batting average while totaling 46.0 innings on the mound. In nine appearances with eight starts, he has notched a record of 3-4 with two complete games. He has tallied 39 strikeouts, including six or more strikeouts on four occasions.
• The top relief pitcher for the Falcons is Andrew Coursin who holds a 1.74 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP, and a .286 batting average while totaling 10.1 innings pitched. He holds a 2-0 record on the year in eight appearances, striking out 12 batters in those contests.
• Matt Yurish is in his third season as the head coach at Fairmont State with a record of 51-81 during his time with the Falcons. Overall, he is in his eighth season as a collegiate head coach and has posted a 124-196-1 career record after spending five previous seasons at Alderson Broaddus.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since the 2011 season, Fairmont State holds a 23-16 advantage in the series.
• The Hilltoppers won three of four in last year's series at The Bridge Sports Complex in Bridgeport, West Virginia, on April 27 and 29, 2023. WLU won by scores of 4-3, 12-7, and 7-4, while the Falcons won by a score of 8-6.