West Virginia’s J.J. Wetherholt (player) and Blaine Traxel (pitcher), plus Oklahoma State’s Janzen Keisel (newcomer) earned Big 12 baseball weekly awards for games ending February 26.
Wetherholt hit .529 with a pair of home runs and eight stolen bases to help WVU to a midweek win over then-No. 13 Maryland and a series victory over Arizona. He went 2-for-4 at Maryland, stealing three bases in the win. The Mars, Pennsylvania native stole home in the 11
th inning in Friday’s 6-5 win over Arizona, which held up as the game-winning run. The sophomore infielder added two long-balls against the Wildcats, one on Friday and another Sunday. He finished the week with a 1.659 OPS to earn his first Player of the Week honor, after earning a Newcomer of the Week award last season.
Traxel spun the Big 12’s first complete game of the season Saturday, holding Arizona to five hits and a single run to pick up a 5-1 win. The righty retired 21 of the last 24 Wildcats he faced, including the final 13 to step up to the plate. The Burbank, California native struck out six batters and walked just two, holding opponents to a .161 batting average. It is his first Big 12 Weekly Award.
Keisel threw the first 5.1 innings of Oklahoma State’s no-hitter against California Baptist, the first of two consecutive no-nos for the Cowboys. The Gunnison, Utah native struck out 11 of the 18 batters he faced, allowing just one walk and one hit-by-pitch. Four relievers came in to finish the first no-hitter of the college season. OSU would go on to hold opponents hitless over 18 consecutive innings, polishing off the first back-to-back no-hitters in Big 12 history with a second no-no on Saturday against Loyola Marymount.
Big 12 Baseball Player of the Week:
Feb. 20 - Austin Davis, TCU
Feb. 27 - J.J. Wetherholt, West Virginia
Big 12 Baseball Pitcher of the Week:
Feb. 20 - Brendan Girton, Texas Tech
Feb. 27 - Blaine Traxel, West Virginia
Big 12 Baseball Newcomer of the Week:
Feb. 20 - Kevin Bazzell, Texas Tech
Feb. 27 - Janzen Keisel, Oklahoma State