West Virginia University and the University of Kansas will meet in a highly anticipated Big 12 Conference baseball series beginning Friday, May 6, in Lawrence, Kansas. The three-game set at Hoglund Ballpark is drawing national attention as both teams vie for top positions ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
The matchup is considered one of the most significant college baseball events this weekend. Kansas, under coach Dan Fitzgerald, has reached ninth place nationally with a 37-12 record and leads the Big 12 standings by four games over West Virginia and Arizona State with six regular season contests remaining. Fitzgerald’s leadership has helped propel Kansas into the NCAA Tournament regionals last year for the first time in more than a decade.
Fitzgerald attributes his team’s recent success to a “selfless winning culture” that emphasizes a “one-pitch-at-a-time” approach. He also credits standout performances from players like outfielder/first baseman Brady Ballinger and an aggressive offensive strategy. His background includes coaching at junior colleges before joining Dallas Baptist as recruiting coordinator in 2013 and later LSU.
West Virginia, led by Steve Sabins following Randy Mazey’s retirement, has maintained its presence in national polls for nine consecutive years. Sabins said after Tuesday night’s win over Marshall, “The expectations in our program have been elevated, obviously, over the last five or six years, and our players know it… When you go to back-to-back Super Regionals and been in the top 25 for nine consecutive years – and have done things that have never been done before in program history – people understand what the expectations are.” He added that late-season play often allows athletes to perform more freely: “Sometimes, later in the season, players just start to play a little bit looser and freer and have a little bit more fun because they kind of get used to those expectations.”
Both teams are positioned well statistically heading into this series: West Virginia holds an RPI of 24 with an ELO ranking of 21; Kansas boasts an ELO ranking of nine along with strong records against top opponents. The Jayhawks remain undefeated at home during conference play this year.
Sabins emphasized his team’s mindset going into this important stretch: “More of the message is like, ‘Hey, go play like you are twelve years old in the backyard playing wiffle ball.’ They are excited about the opportunity that’s in front of them, and they are well-aware of the situation,” he said.
Observers note that this weekend’s series could be among the most significant ever played by either program.
