MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (March 7, 2023) – The West Virginia baseball team plays its first game at home, Wednesday afternoon as the Canisius Golden Griffins come to Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. and the game will also be available to stream on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
WVU is coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Central Virginia Classic, defeating VCU and Canisius while falling to Richmond. Fifth-year senior Blaine Traxel threw his second consecutive complete game against the Rams with 10 strikeouts to improve to 2-1 on the season. Junior Ben Hampton went 7.2 innings against Canisius and allowed just one run while striking out seven.
At the plate, sophomore JJ Wetherholt leads the Mountaineers with a .452 batting average and is tied for the team lead with redshirt-senior Caleb McNeely in home runs with three apiece. Redshirt-senior Dayne Leonard paces the team with nine RBI and has also added two home runs. On the bases, Wetherholt has 12 stolen bases while junior Braden Barry has six.
Freshman Gavin Van Kempen will toe the rubber for WVU on Wednesday. He has made one official appearance for the Mountaineers this season, throwing one scoreless inning with two strikeouts against Georgia Southern. He also threw one inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks in an exhibition.
The Mountaineers, known for their aggressiveness on the basepaths under head coach Randy Mazey, have not slowed down this year as they have stolen 26 bases, good enough for 17th in the nation
Canisius enters the week with a 2-5 record after dropping three games at the Central Virginia Classic, but is coming off one of the more memorable seasons in program history as the Golden Griffins won the MAAC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Griffins were picked to win the MAAC in the preseason poll Max Grant, a 2022 All-American, was named the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. Matt Duffy, Mike DeStefano, and Chris Pouliot were each named to the Preseason All-MAAC squad. Kyle Kush leads the team in 2023 with a .381 batting average while Ryan Weiss has a team-high two home runs.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
WVU is coming off a 2-1 weekend at the Central Virginia Classic, defeating VCU and Canisius while falling to Richmond. Fifth-year senior Blaine Traxel threw his second consecutive complete game against the Rams with 10 strikeouts to improve to 2-1 on the season. Junior Ben Hampton went 7.2 innings against Canisius and allowed just one run while striking out seven.
At the plate, sophomore JJ Wetherholt leads the Mountaineers with a .452 batting average and is tied for the team lead with redshirt-senior Caleb McNeely in home runs with three apiece. Redshirt-senior Dayne Leonard paces the team with nine RBI and has also added two home runs. On the bases, Wetherholt has 12 stolen bases while junior Braden Barry has six.
Freshman Gavin Van Kempen will toe the rubber for WVU on Wednesday. He has made one official appearance for the Mountaineers this season, throwing one scoreless inning with two strikeouts against Georgia Southern. He also threw one inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks in an exhibition.
The Mountaineers, known for their aggressiveness on the basepaths under head coach Randy Mazey, have not slowed down this year as they have stolen 26 bases, good enough for 17th in the nation
Canisius enters the week with a 2-5 record after dropping three games at the Central Virginia Classic, but is coming off one of the more memorable seasons in program history as the Golden Griffins won the MAAC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Griffins were picked to win the MAAC in the preseason poll Max Grant, a 2022 All-American, was named the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. Matt Duffy, Mike DeStefano, and Chris Pouliot were each named to the Preseason All-MAAC squad. Kyle Kush leads the team in 2023 with a .381 batting average while Ryan Weiss has a team-high two home runs.
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
