Marshall Baseball Welcomes In-State Rival West Virginia for Mid-Week Showdown

 By Ben Anderson


    Tonight, Marshall Baseball has the chance to avenge its game three loss against the Georgia Southern Eagles in a monstrous way, as it welcomes in-state rival, West Virginia Mountaineers to Jack Cook Field. 


    Marshall enters the contest 13-9 (5-1 SBC) after winning two of three games in Statesboro Georgia to Georgia Southern. The Herd, in game three, dropped its first SBC game of the season 18-12. West Virginia enters 16-4 (5-1 Big 12) following a home sweep against the BYU Cougars in its Big 12 home opener.  


    Both teams entered 2026 with high hopes following successful campaigns a year ago. The Thundering Herd qualified for the Sun Belt Conference for the first time ever and its first conference tournament since the 2019 season when it was a member of Conference-USA. The Mountaineers, set a new program record for wins going 44-16, winning the Big 12 regular season championship and advancing to its second straight NCAA Super Regional.  


    West Virginia won two of three matchups last season, picking up victories in Morgantown and Jack Cook Field. Marshall won the third and final matchup in Charleston on a walk-off error in the bottom of the ninth inning to pick up a 7-6 victory. 


    Both teams were supposed to have already met once at Jack Cook Field this season on March 4, but the game was cancelled due to the weather. 


    West Virginia enters the matchup ranked 20th in the D1 Baseball.com Top 25 Rankings.  


    Both teams are led by talented skippers in the dugout. Leading the charge for the Thundering Herd is Greg Beals, who is 80-109 in four seasons with the Thundering Herd. West Virginia is coached by Steve Sabins 60-27 in Morgantown, after service nine seasons as an assistant coach.  


    WVU has a 58-27 advantage over the Thundering Herd in the in-state rivalry that dates back to 1910.  


    Marshall not only aims to win back-to-back games against the Mountaineers, but also momentum for its next challenge this weekend when it welcomes the 2025 national champion runner up, Coastal Carolina to Jack Cook Field. 


    The contest between the Thundering Herd and the Mountaineers will be broadcast on the Cutting Edge Sports Radio Network on WMUL-FM 88.1 and online at marshall.edu/WMUL on stream 1. FM88 Sports’ Ben Anderson & Nate Courtney will have the call.  

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