Braithwaite Named Student-Athlete of the Week

April 04, 2022 01:50 PM | Baseball, General, Golf, Gymnastics, Tennis, Track & Field

By: WVU Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After leading the Mountaineers to their first-ever series win at TCU, fifth-year senior right-handed pitcher Trey Braithwaite of the West Virginia University baseball team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Braithwaite earned the win in Friday's series opener after tossing 2.0 innings out of the bullpen. The Winchester, Virginia, native returned to the mound on Sunday to retire all 11 Horned Frog hitters he faced to nail down the series-clinching save.

For the week, Braithwaite did not allow a hit in 5.2 innings of work, finished with a 0.00 ERA and struck out six. Of note, his win on Friday was the first of his Mountaineer career.

Braithwaite and the Mountaineers return to action this week with four home games at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark, beginning on Wednesday night against in-state foe Marshall.

This Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers are back home for four games … first, WVU takes on in-state foe Marshall on Wednesday, April 6, at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark … first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. ET … from there, West Virginia battles Baylor in a three-game, Big 12 series, from April 8-10, in Morgantown … Friday's series opener is set to begin at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday's game are scheduled for 4 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively.

Last Week in Baseball: WVU (16-10, 2-1 Big 12) went 3-2 in five road games … the squad opened the week with a 7-3 win at Marshall on March 29, in Huntington … the next day, WVU fell at Pitt, 9-6 … the Mountaineers went on earn a series win at No. 10 TCU, from April 1-3, in Fort Worth, Texas … WVU won the opener, 3-2, before falling, 5-4, in the middle game … the Mountaineers responded with a 5-2 win in the series finale to clinch the three-game set … trailing, 2-1, with two outs in the top of the ninth inning on Friday night, sophomore utility player Ben Abernathy stole home to tie the game, before sophomore outfielder Braden Barry scored moments later when the ball got away from the catcher … in the bottom half of the frame, redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Noah Short got out of a bases-loaded jam with a game-ending strikeout … fifth-year senior right-hander Zach Bravo earned a pair of wins on the week … the Albuquerque, New Mexico, native tossed six, shutout innings against the Thundering Herd, allowing just three hits with three strikeouts … he returned to the mound on April 3, against the Horned Frogs, yielding just one earned run in 5.0 innings for his second victory in six days … fifth-year senior right-hander Trey Braithwaite recorded the win in the series opener at TCU and notched a save in the series finale … the Navy transfer retired all 11 hitters he faced on April 3, and did not allow a hit in 5.2 innings of action for the week … additionally, junior right-hander Jacob Watters and sophomore left-hander Ben Hampton registered quality starts in the TCU series, as each logged 6.0 innings of work … Watters allowed just one earned run and tied his career high with eight strikeouts in his outing … offensively, Barry went 7-for-18 with two doubles and four stolen bases for the week, while junior outfielder Victor Scott II hit a pair of home runs with six RBI in the five games … additionally, senior outfielder Austin Davis had seven hits and a team-best six stolen bases to lead the Mountaineers on the basepaths.

Notes: West Virginia's series win at TCU was its first-ever in Fort Worth … it also marked WVU's first series win over a top-10 opponent on the road since March 17-19, 2017, at then-No. 10 Baylor … prior to last weekend, the Mountaineers had only won one game ever at Lupton Stadium … WVU is 51-25 all-time against Marshall and has now won 11 of the last 12 meetings with the Thundering Herd … the Mountaineers have won 21 consecutive wins in midweek, home games, dating back to April 3, 2017 … West Virginia also is 11-14 against Baylor … WVU enters the week ranked No. 2 in the nation in stolen bases, with 98 … the squad has registered 100 or more stolen bases just twice in program history … Scott II's 24 stolen bags also is good for No. 2 nationally, while Davis' 17 is No. 18 … the Mountaineers are 99-56 at Monongalia County Ballpark since it opened in 2015 … the squad has four opportunities for win No. 100 at the facility this week … additionally, Saturday's game against Baylor is slated to be coach Randy Mazey's 500th game at West Virginia … additionally, WVU will honor Rick and Jay Wagener during a pregame field dedication ceremony on Saturday … Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark took on the Wagener's namesake on Aug. 30, 2021, following a major gift donation of $1 million to the program.

This Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia has concluded the 2022 campaign.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU recorded a 195.925 to finish in second place behind Arizona in the First Round of the NCAA Norman Regional Championships inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma, on March 30 … despite not counting a fall, the Mountaineers couldn't overcome the Wildcats, who tallied a 196.525 team score to take first place and advance to the Second Round on March 31 … West Virginia claimed the event victory on floor exercise, while Arizona placed first on vault, uneven bars and balance beam … junior Kianna Yancey paced the team with a pair of first-place finishes, landing in the top spot on vault and floor … sharing first place on floor with Yancey was senior Kendra Combs, while juniors Abbie Pierson and Emily Holmes-Hackerd added one podium finish apiece … Combs and Pierson competed as individual event specialists in the Second Round, on March 31, as Pierson represented the Mountaineers on balance beam and floor exercise, and Combs competed on floor exercise … Pierson tallied a 9.9 on beam and floor, while Combs earned a 9.925 mark … Pierson's total on beam was good for a tie for third place at the end of the night, while Combs finished in a multi-way tie for third overall.

Notes: With the conclusion of competition at the NCAA Norman Regional, the Mountaineers completed their 2022 campaign … West Virginia finished the year with a 13-5 overall record, along with an 0-2 mark in Big 12 Conference action … the squad's season high of 196.650 at the Big 12 Championship marked its highest team score since 2018, as well as a program-best total at the conference meet … the score also helped WVU finish in third place for the first time since 2017 … senior Rachel Hornung also became the first Mountaineer to be named to the Big 12 All-Championship Team since 2017, as well as the first to earn the honors on the all-around since 2015 … prior to the championship, Combs earned All-Big 12 honors on the all-around, the first honoree since 2017 … Combs led the squad in 2022 with 21 total podium finishes, including 11 event wins … the Windsor, Connecticut, native also paced the team with 439.6 season points.

This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers are back in Morgantown on April 8-10, for their home season finale as they play host to a pair of ranked Big 12 opponents ... leading off with No. 11 Oklahoma State on Friday, April 8 ... first serve against the Cowboys is set for 5 p.m. ET ... following Friday's contest, WVU concludes its home series against the No. 3-ranked Sooners on Sunday, April 10, at 11 a.m.

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia (7-13, 0-6 Big 12) traveled to Kansas for its second Big 12 road trip of the season, with matchups against No. 22 Kansas and No. 50 Kansas State ... the Mountaineers went 0-2 on the weekend, begining in Lawrence with a 4-2 loss against the Jayhawks, on April 1 ... WVU went into singles with a 1-0 advantage, after claiming the doubles point over Kansas... in the No. 1 spot, No. 42-ranked pair of freshman Camilla Bossi and junior Ting-Pei Chang fell to KU's No.54-ranked pair, Malkai Ngounoue and Maria Titova, 6-2 ... the Mountaineers were able to pull through in the final two matches, starting with sophomore Momoko Nagato and freshman Kendall Kovick topping Raphaelle Lacasse and Tiffany Lagarde, 6-4 ... to secure the doubles point, senior Anastasiia Bovolskaia and freshman Tatiana Lipatova battled neck-and-neck against Sonia Smagina and Carmen Roxana Manu, ultimately coming out on top, 7-6 ... in singles, Lipatova clinched WVU's solo victory of the day, as she defeated Lacasse, 6-3, 7-5 ... Kovick, Bovolskaia and Bossi all fell during their matches, while Chang's match was abandoned ... during the matchup against Kansas State, West Virginia fell behind, 1-0, after the Wildcats claimed the doubles point ... in singles, KSU went on a 3-0 run to claim the match ... Bovolskaia fell to Karine-Marion Job, 6-1, 6-2, before Kovick dropped the match, 2-6, 0-6, to Linares, in the No. 1 position ... Lipatova went back-and-forth against Anna Turco, ultimately coming up short, 6-4, 6-3, as Kansas State clinched the match ... Chang, Nagato, and Bossi's matches all went unfinished.

Notes: Friday's contest marks the eighth time the Mountaineers willl play Oklahoma State since joining the Big 12 in 2012-13, while it will be the ninth matchup against Oklahoma ... West Virginia is seeking its first win against both Big 12 opponents ... Bossi currently leads the team with a 13-7 overall record … as a pair, Bossi and Chang have a doubles record of 9-5 and were ranked No. 42 on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) weekly rankings on March 23 ... of note, this is the first time in program history WVU has placed a doubles pair on ITA's weekly rankings ... following their final homestand, the Mountaineers are back on the road to close out their 2022 regular season with a matchup against No. 33 Iowa State on Sunday, April 17, in Ames, Iowa.

This Week in Golf: The Mountaineers closed out the regular season and will next be in action at the Big 12 Golf Championship from April 25-27 in Trinity, Texas.

Last Week in Golf: Fifth-year senior Logan Perkins shot 3-under-par to lead the team in its final regular season tournament at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Nashville, Tennessee … Perkins shot 71-69-70=210 at the par 71 Vanderbilt Legends Club to finish tied for 16th place … senior Kurtis Grant shot even par for the 54-hole tournament with rounds of 73-70-70=213 to finish tied for 28th place … sophomore Jackson Davenport had rounds of 71-71-79=222 (+9), sophomore Trent Tipton recorded scores of 76-74-73=223 (+10) and fifth-year senior Mark Goetz shot 76-75-74=225 (+12) … freshman Max Green competed as an individual and shot 74-80-73=227 (+14) … the Mountaineers finished tied for 10th place, jumping two spots from yesterday, with rounds of 292-284-287=863 (+11) … earlier in the week, Davenport shot 4-under-par to lead the Mountaineers at The Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in Awendaw, South Carolina … Davenport had rounds of 72-67-73=212 on the par 72 Bulls Bay Golf Club to finish tied for 16th place … Goetz finished tied for 48th place with rounds of 72-67-78=217 (+1), Tipton recorded rounds of 72-73-75=220 (+4), Perkins shot even par on Tuesday to finish 76-73-72=221 (+5) and Grant was 71-71-81=223 (+7) … Green competed as an individual and had rounds of 76-74-78=228 (+12) … as a team, the Mountaineers shot 1-under-par for the tournament with rounds of 287-278-298=863 to finish in 13th place.

Quote: "Logan and Kurtis stepped up for us big time in Tennessee," coach Sean Covich said. "I'm really happy for those guys. This week, we battled back after a bad opening round, so I was glad to see the guys hang in there and battle until the end. We have a few weeks off to practice at Pete Dye and then a big one, the Big 12 Championship."

This Week in Track and Field: West Virginia continues action at the Mason Spring Invitational on Saturday, April 9, at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Virginia … Saturday's events are tabbed begin at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Last Week in Track and Field: WVU hosted the annual Mountaineer Classic on April 1-2, at the Track and Field Complex at Mylan Park … West Virginia earned four individual first-place finishes, along with a 4x400 meter relay win on Saturday … the 4x400 meter relay team of senior Tessa Constantine, sophomore Cassandra Williamson, sophomore Jo-Lauren Keane and sophomore Emily Oiler finished in a time of 3:50.28 … also on the track, redshirt senior Hayley Jackson took first in the 800-meter run … Jackson finished in a time of 2:08.80 … in the 1,500-meter run, redshirt junior Charlotte Wood finished in a time of 4:30.85 … moving on to field events, a pair of Mountaineers tallied first-place finishes … redshirt sophomore Sarah Stair finished the pole vault competition with a height of 3.66 meters, while sophomore Abigail Mullings won the high jump competition with a height of 1.68 meters … track events began with freshman Ghamani Hogue in the 100-meter hurdle, where she finished in fourth place … Constantine placed second overall in the 400-meter run … sophomore Megan Weaver placed third, while redshirt junior Amber Dombrowski placed fourth in the 800-meter run … redshirt junior Malina Mitchell placed fourth in the 1,500-meter run … additionally, sophomore Lynsie Curtis and junior Katelyn Caccamo tied for second place in pole vault.

Notes: The Mountaineer Classic marked the second of five outdoor home meets for the Mountaineers this spring … WVU last saw action at the Mason Spring Invitational on April 11, 2021, when West Virginia earned two first-place finishes at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Virginia … overall, WVU competed in nine events … then-junior Myesha Nott placed first in the triple jump with a distance of 12.06 meters, while then-redshirt junior Hayley Jackson placed first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:08.87.