This weekend, the West Virginia University baseball team will return to action with a three-game series against the Oklahoma Sooners. The Mountaineers have risen to No. 12 in the NCAA national poll thanks to a nine-game winning streak that included sweeps over TCU and Baylor.
West Virginia has also taken care of its mid-week opponents, as Pitt and Penn State have both fallen victim to Randy Mazey’s club in the past weeks. After defeating Pitt just over two weeks ago at PNC Park, the Mountaineers took care of the Panthers again, this time by a ten-run-rule while breaking the all-time regular season attendance record at Monongalia County Ballpark.
WVU has not only won as of late, but the Mountaineers have been dominate since mid-April. In five of their last six games, the Mountaineers have scored 10 or more runs against their opponents, with an average of 10.6 runs per game during the nine-game winning streak.
The red-hot Mountaineers will welcome in the reigning National Runner-Up Oklahoma Sooners to town with a chance at a double-digit win streak.
Oklahoma has taken a step back since its historic run in Omaha last summer, as the Sooners currently hold a 25-20 record overall. The Sooners stand in the middle of the Big 12 standings with a 9-9 conference record.
Oklahoma features three consistent hitters at the plate that can get on base regularly while also driving in runs. Leading the charge for the Sooners is shortstop Dakota Harris. Harris leads the team with a .358 batting average. Despite an injury during the season, Harris has hit six home runs and driven in a team-high 37 runs.
Infielder Anthony Mackenzie is currently second-best on Oklahoma’s team in batting average, as the junior is batting at a .324 clip. Mackenzie has also hit five home runs with 31 runs batted in.
Like West Virginia with the services of Dayne Leonard, Oklahoma gets offensive production behind the plate in catcher Easton Carmichael. In 2023, the freshman backstop is hitting .315 with five home runs and 35 runs batted in.
Oklahoma also brings a power bat to the lineup with the likes of outfielder Bryce Madron. While Madron doesn’t hit .300 like his counterparts Mackenzie and Carmichael, he does still hit the ball well with a .280 batting average. Madron has a team-high nine home runs with 35 runs driven in on the season.
As for West Virginia, a barrage of scorching-hot bats have led the Mountaineers to the 34-11 record they’ve jumped out to. As many have figured out, sophomore second baseman JJ Wetherholt is a top player in the nation. The Mars, Pennsylvania native has a .470 batting average in 166 at-bats, good for third in the country behind only Dylan Crews of LSU and Nolan Schanuel of Florida Atlantic.
Wetherholt has homered in three straight games, upping his season total to 12, which leads the West Virginia team. Wetherholt also leads the way in runs driven in, as the star second baseman has collected 51 runs batted in on a team that features five other players with 35 or more runs batted in. Wetherholt can also run with the best of them, as 32 steals in 40 games ranks Wetherholt third in the nation in the category.
West Virginia’s offense is, by no means, a one man show, as the Mountaineers have a team batting average of .306 on the season. Five Mountaineers (Wetherholt, Tevin Tucker, Landon Wallace, Caleb McNeely, and Braden Barry) have a batting average over .300 in at least 130 at-bats, while three players (Wetherholt, Wallace, and McNeely) have 40 runs batted in on the campaign.
As for pitching, Mazey will likely go with his normal weekend starters for the series against Oklahoma. On Friday, the Sooners will see the likes of junior Ben Hampton on the mound. Hampton has a 4-1 record in 2023 with a 4.18 earned run average. Hampton has pitched six innings in each of his last three starts, giving up a combined seven runs in those starts. In his most recent start against the Baylor Bears, Hampton pitched six innings, surrendering seven hits and four earned runs.
On Saturday, Oklahoma will be tasked with trying to slow down Blaine Traxel. Traxel, the Cal State Northridge transfer, has a 6-3 record with 3.05 earned run average, but those basic statistics don’t tell the story of what kind of pitcher Traxel is. Traxel is a true workhorse that can take control of a game, as the Burbank, California native has tossed a nation-leading five complete games in 2023. Traxel completed his first complete game shutout of the season last Saturday in Waco, as the graduate senior allowed just six Baylor hits on the afternoon while walking none.
Sunday’s starter for WVU will likely be freshman Robby Porco. After dominating the Kansas Jayhawks with 12 strikeouts in his first conference start, Porco has come down to earth a bit in the midst of the rugged Big 12. Porco surrendered five earned runs against both Oklahoma State and TCU, and a recent outing of only 1.1 innings pitched against Baylor will likely leave a bitter taste in the young freshman’s mouth.
Since West Virginia joined the Big 12 in 2012, Oklahoma leads the series against the Mountaineers with a record of 19-13.
West Virginia and Oklahoma will square off at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark for the three-game series. Friday’s game will start at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday’s will start at 4 p.m. The rubber match of the series on Sunday will begin at 1 p.m. All the action can be viewed on ESPN+.
