The No. 17 West Virginia Mountaineers (17-4, 5-1) are in a top 25 road matchup and look to remain atop the Big 12 Conference standings against the No. 22 Arizona State Devils (18-6, 4-2) for a three-game weekend series. Game one is Friday night with the first pitch set for 9:30 p.m. EST (ESPN+) game two is Saturday at 9:30 p.m. EST (ESPN+) and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. EST (ESPN2).

West Virginia comes into the game on a six-game winning streak after taking two of three from Baylor, sweeping BYU and knocked off Marshall Tuesday night.

Two Mountaineers reside in the top five of the Big 12 in batting averaging. Paul Schoenfeld has emerged as the Mountaineers leader at the plate, hitting a team-high .418, which ranks third in the conference with a team-best 26 RBI. The senior is currently on an 11-game hitting streak.

Gavin Kelly is fourth in the league with a .416 batting average and is riding a 17-game hitting streak. The sophomore leads the team in hits (37), runs (28) and doubles (11).

Senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high four home runs, while junior Armani leads the Mountaineers in stolen bases with 12.

On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start Dawson Montesa in the series opener. The junior right hander threw seven innings in his last outing against BYU, tying a season-high, with seven strikeouts. He holds 4-0 record with 4.65 ERA and 39 strikeouts.

Lefty Maxx Yehl is scheduled to move to the middle of the series after closing out each of the first six series of the season. The redshirt junior is second in the conference in ERA at .084, allowing a mere three runs in 32.0 innings of work. In the last two outings, he has recorded a combined 23 strikeouts, upping his season total to a team-leading 44 strikeouts on the season.

Chansen Cole will start game three. The right-handed sophomore had his toughest outing of the season last weekend against BYU. He allowed six earned runs in three innings, but registered six strikeouts. He is currently 3-0 with a 4.00 ERA with 29 strikeouts.

Arizona State is 11-2 after a four-game skid against SEC opponents, and notched its series wins over TCU and Kansas State.

Sophomore Landon Hairston leads the team with a .458 batting average, tie with fifth-year senior Dean Toigo with 11 home runs, 11 doubles, 36 runs, and 34 RBI.

Junior lefty Cole Carlon is slated to counter with Cole Carlon (2-1, 3.19 ERA), junior right-hander Alex Overbay (0-0, 5.19 ERA), is set for game two, and senior righty Kole Klecker (3-1, 5.61 ERA) is scheduled for the series finale.

This is the first meeting between the two programs.

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West Virginians Are On the Hook to Pay DOE for Short-Sighted Projects with Big Health Impacts

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Following two postponements, the West Virginia Department of Commerce has informed Sierra Club’s West Virginia Chapter that there are “no non-exempt records” responsive to the Club’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request pertaining to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans to loan local utilities $1.44 billion to fund refurbishment projects at six unnamed West Virginia coal-fired power plants.

The DOE and Governor Patrick Morrisey first announced the $1.44 billion in coal refurbishment projects as part of a larger $4.2 billion suite of fossil-fuel expansions in November 2025. The projects are intended to extend the lives of the six coal plants up to 20 years. However, regardless of how long the coal plants manage to continue operating, payments on the low-interest DOE loans will be passed on to West Virginians’ electric bills for decades.

According to the West Virginia Department of Commerce, “certain public records within the scope” of the Sierra Club’s FOIA request are, “exempt from disclosure.” In the January FOIA filing, Sierra Club requested a detailed list of the six plants set to receive loans, as well as information on the cost and the specific upgrades proposed at each plant.

In addition to funding the projects, West Virginians will also shoulder the public health impacts. According to a Sierra Club study, West Virginia’s in-state coal plants currently account for hundreds of expensive hospital visits and 20 West Virginian deaths annually. West Virginia’s coal plants also account for 335 out-of-state deaths annually.

“West Virginians are being kept in the dark,” said Bill Price, Sierra Club West Virginia Chapter Chair. “Our local state agencies, tasked with serving the public interest, are expecting the public to repay billions of dollars in loans — blindfolded. No honest lender operates this way. No reasonable borrower would accept it. So why ask us to go along with the Governor’s deal without any details? In this time of increasing energy costs and high bills, people need to know where their money is going. We will continue to seek the answers and transparency West Virginians deserve.”

“West Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act states quite clearly, ‘The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments of government they have created.’ Before the State loads down West Virginia citizens with over a billion dollars in loans, they should at least tell us what this is for, what we have to pay back, and who profits from these loans,” added Jim Kotcon, Conservation Chair for Sierra Club West Virginia.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — New CDC data shows a sharp decline in overdose deaths across West Virginia, dropping nearly 50% over a recent 12-month period. However, the report does not identify a single cause for the decrease.

Organizations across the state say progress is likely due to a combination of prevention, treatment and long-term recovery efforts.

The West Virginia First Foundation, which distributes opioid settlement funds, says it has invested heavily in those areas.

“We’ve committed nearly $40 million to over 170 projects throughout the state in those categories,” Executive Director Jonathan Board said.

Board says the collaboration among groups statewide has been key.

“It is all of us and all programs working together with a camaraderie that you rarely see in this space,” he said.

That includes recovery programs like Pollen8, which works directly with people overcoming addiction. Founder and CEO Cheryl Laws says funding has made a noticeable difference.

“There’s momentum, right? That 48% decrease with the funding that has been given is the biggest thing,” Laws said.

While progress is encouraging, Laws says continued effort is critical.

“It has to be a continuum of care. Every piece is important, from harm reduction to longer-term inpatient. I think you see more success rates with that,” she said.

Organizations say maintaining that momentum will be essential to continuing the decline in overdose deaths.

“We still need that momentum going. We just built it. We do not need to go backwards. We need to keep going forward,” Laws said.

Board agrees, emphasizing the long-term impact of the work underway.

“We understand that generations from now people will look back and ask us what we did with the time that was gifted to us. We need to make sure that we respect them,” he said.