MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University senior outfielder
Jace Rinehart has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.
Rinehart hit .600 with five doubles, a home run, and six RBI while scoring eight runs. He had at least one hit in all four games, three multi-RBI games, and scored at least one run in all four games this week.
Against Kansas State, the Mannington, West Virginia native collected his 50th RBI of the season. He also hit his 20th double which leads the Big 12. Rinehart and the rest of the 16th-ranked Mountaineers will be back home this weekend for the regular season finale against Kansas. First pitch on Thursday from Kendrick Family Ballpark is set for 6:30 p.m.
This Week in Baseball: West Virgina plays its final regular season series of the season, May 15-17, against Kansas at Kendrick Family Ballpark ... first pitch on Thursday and Friday is set for 6:30 p.m. with Saturday slated for a 1 p.m. start ... the Mountaineers need one win to clinch the Big 12 title.
Last Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers went 1-3 this past week, dropping a midweek contest at Pitt before going 1-2 on the road at Kansas State ... the Mountaineers fell to Pitt, 10-9, on Tuesday at Charles L. Cost Field ... senior
Jace Rinehart, junior
Sam White, and senior
Kyle West all drove in two runs ... WVU dropped the opener to Kansas State, 8-7 ... West and junior
Logan Sauve each had three hits ... redshirt senior allowed two runs
in 7.0 innings while striking out three ... in a 10-3 victory on Saturday over the Wildcats, junior
Ben McDougal tossed 4.2 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit in relief to earn his first win ... West hit a grand slam in the win ... on Sunday, the Mountaineers fell 14-9 ... White had three hits including a home run while Rinehart scored four runs.
Notes: In last week's polls, West Virginia sits at No. 7 in Perfect Game, No. 13 in NCBWA, No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, No. 9 in Baseball America, No. 18 in The Athletic, and No. 12 by D1Baseball, which is recognized by the NCAA ... the Mountaineers need one win or an Arizona State loss to clinch their second Big 12 title in the last three seasons ... the Mountaineers matched a program record with their 40th win of the season ... WVU is one of just 10 teams with 40 wins this season ... 23 road wins for the Mountaineers leads the country.
This week in Track and Field: West Virginia kicks off the post season at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships on May 15-17 … this year's outdoor championship will be hosted by Kansas at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas.
Last week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers hosted the WVU Last Chance Meet on May 10, which served as the final regular season meet of the season ... the WVU Last Chance was highlighted by WVU's clean sweep in the women's 1,500 meters ... sophomore
Eva Rinker took first place in the event, with a time of 4:42.07 ... she was trailed by freshman
Jennifer O'Palko and redshirt junior
Kase Torchia in second and third place with personal best times of 4:45.47, and 4:49.83, respectively.
Notes: Freshman
Joy Naukot ranks No. 7 nationally in the 10,000 meters, as well as No. 1 in the Mid-Atlantic region and No. 1 in the Big 12 conference … graduate student
Sarah Tait checks in at No. 7 nationally in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, as well as No. 28 in the 5,000 meters and No. 34 in the 1,500 meters … additionally, freshman
Naomi Kemboi ranks No. 26 nationally in the 5,000 meters while redshirt sophomore
Annishka McDonald checks in at No. 46 in the high jump.
This Week in Rowing: West Virginia will compete in the Big 12 Championship on Sunday, May 18, in Sarasota, Florida.
Last Week in Rowing: The Mountaineers did not compete.
This Week in Golf: Junior golfer
Kaleb Wilson begins play in the NCAA Regional at Poplar Grove Golf Course in Amherst, Virginia, late Sunday afternoon … the NCAA Regional was scheduled to get underway on Monday … Wilson, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, is the second NCAA individual qualifier in school history … in 2021, Mark Goetz became the first WVU golfer to qualify for an NCAA Regional and finished second … last year, Wilson competed at the NCAA Championship as part of WVU's team qualification … Wilson will play 54 holes against nine other individuals in the regional … the low individual not on an advancing team from each of the six regional sites will advance to the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, in late May … last fall, Wilson won his first collegiate tournament at the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational and was the only golfer to shoot under par in all three rounds (71-68-70=209) to finish -7 … the golf team has been invited to the
GOLFWEEK National Golf Invitational (NGI) Championship at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona, from May 16-18 … the 54-hole event will have the same scoring format as a traditional college team event with each team starting five players and counting the four best scores.
