No. 17 West Virginia Looks to Bounce Back Against Texas Tech

The Mountaineers travel to Lubbock for a crucial Big 12 series after dropping their first series of the season.

Apr. 10, 2026 at 10:24pm

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A cubist, geometric painting depicting a college baseball game, with the players and field broken down into sharp, overlapping planes of navy blue, gold, scarlet, and black, capturing the intensity and energy of the matchup.Two top Big 12 baseball programs face off in a crucial conference series, with each team looking to gain ground in the standings.Morgantown Today

The No. 17 West Virginia Mountaineers (22-7, 8-4) are on the road to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders (19-13, 5-7) for a three-game weekend Big 12 series. West Virginia is looking to bounce back after dropping its first series of the season to UCF last weekend. Leading the Mountaineers at the plate is sophomore Gavin Kelly, who is batting .417 with a Big 12-leading 15 doubles, a team-high 31 RBI and four home runs. Texas Tech is led by junior Caden Ferraro, who is hitting .426 with five home runs and 35 RBI.

Why it matters

This Big 12 series is crucial for both teams as they look to position themselves for the conference tournament. West Virginia is currently in second place in the Big 12 standings, while Texas Tech is in the middle of the pack. A series win could help the Mountaineers regain their footing after the UCF series loss.

The details

West Virginia is expected to start junior right-hander Dawson Montesa (3-4, 5.87 ERA) in the series opener, redshirt junior southpaw Maxx Yehl (5-0, 2.30 ERA) in game two, and sophomore Chansen Cole (4-1, 3.32 ERA) in the finale. Texas Tech will counter with junior right-hander Lukas Pirko (3-3, 6.75 ERA), sophomore righty Jackson Burns (2-2, 7.00 ERA), and freshman right-hander Adam Hayes (2-0, 5.06 ERA).

  • Game one is set for Friday at 7:30 p.m. EST.
  • Game two will be on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. EST.
  • The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EST.

The players

Gavin Kelly

A sophomore for West Virginia who is batting .417 with a Big 12-leading 15 doubles, a team-high 31 RBI and four home runs.

Caden Ferraro

A junior for Texas Tech who is hitting .426 with five home runs, 35 RBI, and 14 doubles.

Dawson Montesa

The junior right-hander expected to start the series opener for West Virginia.

Lukas Pirko

The junior right-hander who will start the series opener for Texas Tech.

Maxx Yehl

The redshirt junior southpaw set to start game two for West Virginia.

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What they’re saying

“We're looking forward to getting back on track this weekend against Texas Tech. It's a big series for us in the Big 12 standings.”

— Gavin Kelly, West Virginia Sophomore

What’s next

The winner of this series will take a big step towards securing a higher seed for the Big 12 Tournament.

The takeaway

This matchup between two of the top teams in the Big 12 should provide an exciting weekend of college baseball as West Virginia looks to bounce back from its first series loss of the season.