MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia baseball team welcomes Xavier to Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark for three games this weekend. First pitch on Friday has been adjusted to 1 p.m. while Saturday will start at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Mountaineers are coming off two-game split with Hofstra in midweek action. After dropping a 4-2 contest on Tuesday, WVU walked off the Pride on Wednesday on freshman Sam White’s single.
On the season, sophomore JJ Wetherholt leads the team with a .447 batting average, five home runs, and 20 stolen bases. Redshirt-senior Caleb McNeely is hitting .338 with four home runs and 18 RBI while graduate student Dayne Leonard has reached base in 31 straight games dating back to last season.
On the mound, graduate Blaine Traxel is coming off his third complete game of the season against UNC Greensboro. Overall, he is 4-1 with a 2.03 ERA and 31 strikeouts in an NCAA-leading 40.0 innings.
Junior Ben Hampton picked up his first win of the season last week against UNCG. This season, the lefty has a 3.38 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 29.1 innings.
Xavier enters the weekend with a 10-10 record after dropping a midweek contest to rival Cincinnati. Last weekend, the Musketeers swept Wofford, who had just two losses entering the series. In the live RPI, Xavier is ranked #34 while WVU is #35.
Xavier was picked to finish third in the Big East preseason coaches’ poll behind UConn and Creighton. Shortstop Jack Housinger was selected as the Big East Preseason Player of the Year.
Outfielder Garrett Schultz and starting pitcher Luke Bell joined Housinger on the Preseason All-Big East Team.
Hayden Christiansen leads the team in hitting with a .447 average while Matthew DePrey has a team-high eight home runs. On the mound, Ethan Bosacker is 2-1 with a 2.17 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 29.0 innings pitched.