MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (June 1, 2023) – The West Virginia baseball team begins regional play on Friday as it takes on Indiana from Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
The game will be available to watch on ESPN+ and can also be heard on the Mountaineer Sports Network baseball radio network, including the flagship station 100.9 Jack FM in Morgantown, and on the Varsity Network app. Andrew Caridi will bring you all the play-by-action with analysis from Jake Weghorst.
The Mountaineers earned the No. 2 seed in the region after going 39-18 in the regular season while the Hoosiers are the No. 3 seed with a 41-18 record.
It is the 14th appearance in a regional for the Mountaineers and first since they hosted in 2019. For head coach Randy Mazey, it is the third time he has led WVU to a regional having also done so in 2017.
Sophomore JJ Wetherholt was named the Big 12 Player of the Year after hitting .443 with 15 home runs, 22 doubles, 56 RBI, and 66 runs scored. He has also stolen 35 bases and is one of just two players in the country with 15+ home runs and 35+ stolen bases. The Mars, Pennsylvania native was also recently named a first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball News and is a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy.
In addition to Wetherholt, junior pitchers Carlson Reed and Ben Hampton were named to the All-Big 12 first team while junior outfielders Landon Wallace and Braden Barry as well as graduate pitcher Blaine Traxel earned spots on the second team. Mazey also earned Big 12 Coach of the Year for the second time in his tenure.
Traxel will get the start for the Mountaineers on Friday. He is 7-5 on the season with a 3.79 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 99.2 innings pitched. He leads the nation with five complete games this season.
Indiana enters the regional with a 41-18 overall record. In the Big Ten, the Hoosiers went 16-8 to finish in second behind Maryland.
Devin Taylor was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and also earned a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team with reliever Ryan Kraft joining him. Brock Tibbitts, Phillip Glasser, and Luke Sinnard all earned spots on the All-Big Ten second team while Josh Pyne was named to the third team.
Tibbitts leads the team with a .372 batting average while Taylor has a team-high 16 home runs. Sinnard is 6-3 on the mound with a 4.16 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 84.1 innings.
Ryan Kraft has a 2.51 ERA and five saves out of the bullpen.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The game will be available to watch on ESPN+ and can also be heard on the Mountaineer Sports Network baseball radio network, including the flagship station 100.9 Jack FM in Morgantown, and on the Varsity Network app. Andrew Caridi will bring you all the play-by-action with analysis from Jake Weghorst.
The Mountaineers earned the No. 2 seed in the region after going 39-18 in the regular season while the Hoosiers are the No. 3 seed with a 41-18 record.
It is the 14th appearance in a regional for the Mountaineers and first since they hosted in 2019. For head coach Randy Mazey, it is the third time he has led WVU to a regional having also done so in 2017.
Sophomore JJ Wetherholt was named the Big 12 Player of the Year after hitting .443 with 15 home runs, 22 doubles, 56 RBI, and 66 runs scored. He has also stolen 35 bases and is one of just two players in the country with 15+ home runs and 35+ stolen bases. The Mars, Pennsylvania native was also recently named a first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball News and is a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy.
In addition to Wetherholt, junior pitchers Carlson Reed and Ben Hampton were named to the All-Big 12 first team while junior outfielders Landon Wallace and Braden Barry as well as graduate pitcher Blaine Traxel earned spots on the second team. Mazey also earned Big 12 Coach of the Year for the second time in his tenure.
Traxel will get the start for the Mountaineers on Friday. He is 7-5 on the season with a 3.79 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 99.2 innings pitched. He leads the nation with five complete games this season.
Indiana enters the regional with a 41-18 overall record. In the Big Ten, the Hoosiers went 16-8 to finish in second behind Maryland.
Devin Taylor was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and also earned a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team with reliever Ryan Kraft joining him. Brock Tibbitts, Phillip Glasser, and Luke Sinnard all earned spots on the All-Big Ten second team while Josh Pyne was named to the third team.
Tibbitts leads the team with a .372 batting average while Taylor has a team-high 16 home runs. Sinnard is 6-3 on the mound with a 4.16 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 84.1 innings.
Ryan Kraft has a 2.51 ERA and five saves out of the bullpen.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
