MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (May 2, 2023) – For the second time this season, sophomore JJ Wetherholt and graduate student Blaine Traxel were named Big 12 Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Traxel also picked up Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the first time.
The Mountaineers went 4-0 this past week, taking a midweek game from Penn State before sweeping Baylor in Waco. Wetherholt was a big reason why as he returned to the lineup after missing a few games and proceeded to hit .529 (9-for-17) with three home runs, a triple, nine RBI, and eight runs scored while putting up a 1.726 OPS.
The Mars, Pennsylvania native opened the week against the Nittany Lions with a grand slam and five RBI. After a hit in the opener against the Bears, he came back with three hits on both Saturday and Sunday, hitting a home run in each game. He is now tied for the team lead in home runs with 11 and became the first player in program history to have double-digit home runs and 30 stolen bases. In fact, he is the first player in WVU history to have even 20 stolen bases and 10 home runs.
Traxel is coming off a dominant performance against Baylor, throwing a complete-game shutout. He struck out six, walked none, and allowed just six hits to pick up his nation-leading fifth complete game of the season. The Burbank, California native now has 10 complete games in his career after throwing five at CSUN and is also the first Power 5 pitcher to throw five in on season since Taylor Bloom of Maryland in 2016.
The Mountaineers have now collected seven Big 12 weekly awards this season. Wetherholt and Traxel both won on Feb. 27 before freshman Robby Porco took home pitcher of the week April 10 and graduate Tevin Tucker won player of the week on April 24.
West Virginia will return to the field on Wednesday for the Backyard Brawl. First pitch from Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark is set for 6:30 p.m.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Mountaineers went 4-0 this past week, taking a midweek game from Penn State before sweeping Baylor in Waco. Wetherholt was a big reason why as he returned to the lineup after missing a few games and proceeded to hit .529 (9-for-17) with three home runs, a triple, nine RBI, and eight runs scored while putting up a 1.726 OPS.
The Mars, Pennsylvania native opened the week against the Nittany Lions with a grand slam and five RBI. After a hit in the opener against the Bears, he came back with three hits on both Saturday and Sunday, hitting a home run in each game. He is now tied for the team lead in home runs with 11 and became the first player in program history to have double-digit home runs and 30 stolen bases. In fact, he is the first player in WVU history to have even 20 stolen bases and 10 home runs.
Traxel is coming off a dominant performance against Baylor, throwing a complete-game shutout. He struck out six, walked none, and allowed just six hits to pick up his nation-leading fifth complete game of the season. The Burbank, California native now has 10 complete games in his career after throwing five at CSUN and is also the first Power 5 pitcher to throw five in on season since Taylor Bloom of Maryland in 2016.
The Mountaineers have now collected seven Big 12 weekly awards this season. Wetherholt and Traxel both won on Feb. 27 before freshman Robby Porco took home pitcher of the week April 10 and graduate Tevin Tucker won player of the week on April 24.
West Virginia will return to the field on Wednesday for the Backyard Brawl. First pitch from Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark is set for 6:30 p.m.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
