MORGANTOWN, W. Va. (May 1, 2023) – Sophomore JJ Wetherholt of the West Virginia University baseball team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week presented by University Apartments after a big week against Penn State and Baylor.
After missing a few games due to injury, Wetherholt returned to the starting lineup and helped the Mountaineers to a 4-0 week against the Nittany Lions and Bears, hitting .529 (9-for-17) with three home runs, a triple, nine RBIs, eight runs scored and three stolen bases. With the big week, he raised his batting average to .463, third highest in the nation.
Against Penn State, Wetherholt hit WVU’s first grand slam of the season and drove in five runs while scoring two runs in a 14-2 victory. After a hit in the opener against Baylor, he went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored on Saturday.
The Mars, Pennsylvania, native closed out the week with a 3-for-4 performance on April 30 against the Bears and hit his team-leading 11th home run of the season while scoring four runs and driving in a pair. He also added two stolen bases in the game, giving him 31 for the season.
This Week in Baseball: The West Virginia baseball team returns to Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark this week for four games … the week begins with the Backyard Brawl on Wednesday, May 3, at 6:30 p.m. … the Mountaineers will then face Oklahoma for three games over the weekend … first pitch on Friday, May 5, is set for 6:30 p.m., Saturday, May 6, for 4 p.m. and Sunday, May 7, for 1 p.m.
Last Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers went 4-0 for the second straight week … the week began in Morgantown on April 25 when WVU knocked of Penn State, 14-2 … sophomores JJ Wetherholt and Grant Hussey each hit grand slams in the victory … freshman Logan Sauve also added a home run against the Nittany Lions … the Mountaineers followed the midweek win with a three-game sweep of Baylor in Waco over the weekend … on April 28, WVU rallied for a 5-4 win … sophomore Evan Smith had the game-winning hit, a two-run double in the eight inning … sophomore Aidan Major and junior Carlson Reed continued their dominance as they combined for three perfect innings with six strikeouts … on April 29, graduate student Blaine Traxel tossed his fifth complete game of the season in a 10-0 win … Wetherholt and Hussey each hit home runs in the game … the Mountaineers completed the sweep on April 30 with an 18-4 victory … Wetherholt, graduate student Dayne Leonard, junior Landon Wallace, and freshman Nick Barone each hit home runs with Barone’s being a grand slam to cap off the weekend.
Notes: The Mountaineers have now won eight straight games which include two midweek wins over Pitt and Penn State along with sweeps of TCU and Baylor … the sweep of Baylor was the first road Big 12 sweep in program history … it was the first conference road sweep since taking three from UConn in 2009 … Wetherholt and Hussey became just the third pair of teammates to hit grand slams in the same game … in the four games this week, Wetherholt hit three home runs, drove in nine and scored eight runs while hitting .529 (9-for-17) … Wallace was hit by six pitches against Baylor, including three times on Saturday, setting a Baylor Ballpark record … Wetherholt and Wallace hit back-to-back home runs on Sunday, the second time the Mountaineers have done that this season, with the first being Wetherholt and junior Braden Barry against Xavier on March 25 … Nick Barone has two hits on the season, both being home runs … Traxel’s complete game was his fifth of the season and his first shutout … he leads the nation in complete games, and it is the most complete games by a Power Five pitcher since 2016.
This Week in Track and Field: West Virginia continues the campaign with split squad action at the Penn Relays hosted by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from April 27-29 and the Mountaineer Twilight in Morgantown at the Track and Field Complex at Mylan Park on Saturday, April 29.
Last Week in Track and Field: Sophomore Ceili McCabe led the 3,000-meter steeplechase and finished at 9:45.40 … senior Tessa Constantine took the lead from lane five in the
400-meter hurdles and never looked back … the Sydney, Australia, native finished the race in 59.43 … redshirt senior Mikaela Lucki led the 1,500-meter run and claimed victory with a time of 4:21.99 to earn a personal best … senior Katherine Dowie ran with Lucki, as they separated themselves from the rest of the pack … redshirt senior Hayley Jackson won the 800 with a time of 2:06.40 … freshman Olivia Cress won thehigh jump by setting her personal best with a jump of 1.69 meters … senior Sada Wright claimed first in the discus throw with an effort of 45.52.
Notes: McCabe’s effort is good enough for second best in WVU’s record book, only behind her 9:30.69 effort in 2022 … Constantine missed her personal record by .12 seconds, but her effort is good enough for fifth in the WVU record book … Wright’s performance ranks fourth in the WVU record book.
After missing a few games due to injury, Wetherholt returned to the starting lineup and helped the Mountaineers to a 4-0 week against the Nittany Lions and Bears, hitting .529 (9-for-17) with three home runs, a triple, nine RBIs, eight runs scored and three stolen bases. With the big week, he raised his batting average to .463, third highest in the nation.
Against Penn State, Wetherholt hit WVU’s first grand slam of the season and drove in five runs while scoring two runs in a 14-2 victory. After a hit in the opener against Baylor, he went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored on Saturday.
The Mars, Pennsylvania, native closed out the week with a 3-for-4 performance on April 30 against the Bears and hit his team-leading 11th home run of the season while scoring four runs and driving in a pair. He also added two stolen bases in the game, giving him 31 for the season.
This Week in Baseball: The West Virginia baseball team returns to Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark this week for four games … the week begins with the Backyard Brawl on Wednesday, May 3, at 6:30 p.m. … the Mountaineers will then face Oklahoma for three games over the weekend … first pitch on Friday, May 5, is set for 6:30 p.m., Saturday, May 6, for 4 p.m. and Sunday, May 7, for 1 p.m.
Last Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers went 4-0 for the second straight week … the week began in Morgantown on April 25 when WVU knocked of Penn State, 14-2 … sophomores JJ Wetherholt and Grant Hussey each hit grand slams in the victory … freshman Logan Sauve also added a home run against the Nittany Lions … the Mountaineers followed the midweek win with a three-game sweep of Baylor in Waco over the weekend … on April 28, WVU rallied for a 5-4 win … sophomore Evan Smith had the game-winning hit, a two-run double in the eight inning … sophomore Aidan Major and junior Carlson Reed continued their dominance as they combined for three perfect innings with six strikeouts … on April 29, graduate student Blaine Traxel tossed his fifth complete game of the season in a 10-0 win … Wetherholt and Hussey each hit home runs in the game … the Mountaineers completed the sweep on April 30 with an 18-4 victory … Wetherholt, graduate student Dayne Leonard, junior Landon Wallace, and freshman Nick Barone each hit home runs with Barone’s being a grand slam to cap off the weekend.
Notes: The Mountaineers have now won eight straight games which include two midweek wins over Pitt and Penn State along with sweeps of TCU and Baylor … the sweep of Baylor was the first road Big 12 sweep in program history … it was the first conference road sweep since taking three from UConn in 2009 … Wetherholt and Hussey became just the third pair of teammates to hit grand slams in the same game … in the four games this week, Wetherholt hit three home runs, drove in nine and scored eight runs while hitting .529 (9-for-17) … Wallace was hit by six pitches against Baylor, including three times on Saturday, setting a Baylor Ballpark record … Wetherholt and Wallace hit back-to-back home runs on Sunday, the second time the Mountaineers have done that this season, with the first being Wetherholt and junior Braden Barry against Xavier on March 25 … Nick Barone has two hits on the season, both being home runs … Traxel’s complete game was his fifth of the season and his first shutout … he leads the nation in complete games, and it is the most complete games by a Power Five pitcher since 2016.
This Week in Track and Field: West Virginia continues the campaign with split squad action at the Penn Relays hosted by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from April 27-29 and the Mountaineer Twilight in Morgantown at the Track and Field Complex at Mylan Park on Saturday, April 29.
Last Week in Track and Field: Sophomore Ceili McCabe led the 3,000-meter steeplechase and finished at 9:45.40 … senior Tessa Constantine took the lead from lane five in the
400-meter hurdles and never looked back … the Sydney, Australia, native finished the race in 59.43 … redshirt senior Mikaela Lucki led the 1,500-meter run and claimed victory with a time of 4:21.99 to earn a personal best … senior Katherine Dowie ran with Lucki, as they separated themselves from the rest of the pack … redshirt senior Hayley Jackson won the 800 with a time of 2:06.40 … freshman Olivia Cress won thehigh jump by setting her personal best with a jump of 1.69 meters … senior Sada Wright claimed first in the discus throw with an effort of 45.52.
Notes: McCabe’s effort is good enough for second best in WVU’s record book, only behind her 9:30.69 effort in 2022 … Constantine missed her personal record by .12 seconds, but her effort is good enough for fifth in the WVU record book … Wright’s performance ranks fourth in the WVU record book.
