Preview: West Virginia Mountaineers at Baylor Bears

WACO, Texas (March 12, 2026) (Interstat) — The West Virginia Mountaineers, riding a hot start to the season, will open a three-game Big 12 series against the Baylor Bears on Friday night at Baylor Ballpark.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT under clear skies with temperatures around 60 degrees.

West Virginia (11-3) enters with momentum, having won seven of its last eight games, including a 10-3 victory over Maryland on Tuesday. The Mountaineers’ offense has been potent, scoring 10 or more runs in five games this season.

A key catalyst is center fielder Paul Schoenfeld. Over his last 10 games, Schoenfeld is batting .324 (12-for-37) with 10 RBIs. He went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in the win over Maryland.

Baylor (10-6) has won four straight, most recently a 13-5 rout of Sam Houston State on Tuesday. The Bears’ lineup is powered by right fielder Brady Janusek, who is 10-for-33 (.303) with three home runs and eight RBIs in his last 10 contests. He homered and drove in three runs against Sam Houston State.

On the mound, West Virginia’s bullpen shined Tuesday as Carson Estridge and Ian Korn combined for five scoreless innings of one-hit relief. Baylor received a strong two-inning stint from reliever Luke McLeod in its midweek win.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a high-scoring affair, predicting a 7-6 victory for West Virginia. The service’s ELO rating system gives the Mountaineers a 62.1% probability to win the series opener.

The teams will meet again Saturday afternoon and Sunday to conclude the series.