MORGANTOWN — West Virginia baseball managed to take two of three games against Houston after falling in the first game of the series again. The Cougars are the worst team in the Big 12, but even taking two games, it shot the Mountaineers up three spots in this week’s Division 1 Baseball rankings to No. 12. UCF, who handed WVU its only series loss, dropped out of the rankings this week after losing three of its last four, including a three-game series to Cincinnati.

But WVU didn’t come out of the weekend unscathed and suffered injuries to two of its best players, second baseman and catcher Gavin Kelly, and starting pitcher Maxx Yehl. Head coach Steve Sabins provided an update after Game 3 of the series against Houston on both players.

“Kelly has a swollen wrist,” Sabins said. “Was able to move it, but with some pain in there, so he was on the puddy protocol, where you’re like squeezing, getting the inflammation out. I think he had another X-Ray today, and he’ll have an MRI just to make sure. He was in good spirits and felt good about it. I think it’s more just about can we get him where he can be effective gripping a bat and holding a bat.”

Yehl’s test were positive as well, but he still had pain in his shoulder and his bicep. He was pulled after a couple of innings in Game 2 of the series.

Only Kelly’s impact will be felt on Tuesday’s game against Pitt for the first rendition of the baseball version of the Backyard Brawl this season at Kendrick Family Ballpark, with first pitch starting at 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Yehl hasn’t started at all this season for the midweek game. Usually, David Hagen gets the nod followed by a bullpen ensemble, so his injury won’t be felt too much.

Pitt has had a strong 2026 season thus far. The Panthers are 24-14 on the year and 7-11 in a tough ACC, which ranks them 10th in the standings. The ACC had five teams ranked in the top 25 in this week’s rankings. Pitt exits a three-game series against Virginia Tech, where it lost two of the three games, and is coming off a loss.

The Panthers might be towards the bottom in the ACC, but they rank second in the conference in batting average (.318). Pitt is one spot behind Georgia Tech, who is the third highest-ranked team in the country.

Outfielder Lorenzo Carrier leads the team with a .378 batting average and has the ninth-highest in the ACC. Carrier was named on almost every team of the week in Week 4 after going 13-for-15 with 19 RBIs and five home runs. He has 14 homers on the season. Shortstop Caden Dulin is another name to watch at the plate. He’s two spots behind Carrier in the ACC in average.

Left-handed pitcher Chase Kriebel pitched for Pitt in its last midweek game against Akron. He did pitch over the weekend, so he might not go on Tuesday night. Kriebel is third on the team in ERA at 4.32, and he hasn’t pitched much. He’s just pitched eight innings so far this season. 6-foot-1 left-hander Antonio Doganiero is Pitt’s ace on the season, but Doganiero pitched on Saturday, so he might not be rested for the Backyard Brawl.

Pitt’s pitching as a whole is on the weaker side. The Panthers have a 6.01 ERA, which is the fifth-worst in the conference. WVU has one of the top offenses in the Big 12 and scored 21 runs over the weekend, so it could be a higher-scoring game. But that’s only if Hagen and the bullpen don’t shut it down.

WVU also has the motivation that the last time the two teams faced, Pitt won by a run in Pittsburgh on May 6, 2025. Overall, especially in the last 10 games, WVU has the upper hand, winning eight of the last 10.

With both teams over 20 wins, it should be another interesting game in the rivalry. Sabins expects it to be another exciting Backyard Brawl.

“It’ll be a great atmosphere,” Sabins said. “Our fans will be juiced. [The team] will have plenty of energy and excitement. They just need to make sure that their bodies are in a good place.”