GRANVILLE — College baseball was easy, at least that was sort of the thought running through J.J. Wetherholt’s mind last season.
He was just a freshman then, a hot-hitting freshman, but nonetheless still a first-year college kid out of the Pittsburgh suburb of Mars.
A year later he’s only hitting better than anyone else in the galaxy.
The WVU second baseman was a simple 1 for 3 in West Virginia’s 7-2 victory against Minnesota inside Monongalia County Ballpark.
His single up the middle in the third inning broke a scoreless tie, but in reality, it meant so much more.
It was the 13th consecutive game Wetherholt recorded a hit to begin this season, which has basically been him on a tear.
His batting average is .472 and Wetherholt has added five home runs, seven doubles, a triple, 14 stolen bases and 15 RBIs.
His OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 1.472 looks as if it was constructed in the Matrix rather than a baseball field.
Sadly, as WVU head coach Randy Mazey said, this level of hitting can’t be sustained by anyone.
“He’s been super consistent, but it’s impossible to stay at that pace for the whole season,” Mazey said. “There’s going to be times when he’s not having games like he’s having now, but he’s a mature enough kid to handle that.”
And that might be the biggest difference in Wetherholt from a freshman to sophomore.
Besides being in better shape — he battled knee soreness all of last season when he batted .308 with five home runs and 39 RBIs — he’s also in a better frame of mind.
Some of that Wetherholt attributes to time off he took this summer after knee surgery. Some of it is changing up his swing a bit and adding a little more muscle.
And some of it is just pure confidence and talent.
“I’m so much more relaxed at the plate and in the field,” he said. “I had way more fun playing baseball this fall than I ever had as a freshman.
“I knew, as I was building toward this season that I could compete with anybody. I think that’s showed throughout the fall and into the season.”
WVU (9-4) scored five runs in the fifth to break the game open and starter Blaine Traxel (3-1) went eight innings and struck eight.
Caleb McNeely hit a solo home run in the seventh for the final score.
But the early talk of the Mountaineers this season centers on Wetherholt.
It’s still early, early enough that a light snow fell on Mon County Ballpark during the game, but the question has to be asked: Just how crazy of a season can Wetherholt put together?
“I think everything catches up to you eventually in baseball,” he said. “You definitely go through hot streaks. It doesn’t necessarily have to end. I think I can stay relatively consistent. I’m probably not going to finish the year hitting around .500. I don’t think that’s ever happened at this level, but I can stay consistent and continue to try and have good at-bats.”
As far as streaks go, Wetherholt admits he’s not all that interested in history. His 13-game hit streak is far short of the school record of 38 games, set back in 2007 by Justin Jenkins.
He’s also not superstitious. Other than taking a cold shower before games, he has no daily routines he follows.
“I just try and stay level-headed,” Wetherholt said. “Not getting too excited and not thinking about doing something bad and realizing I can do good things. Just keeping that mentality can help me stay consistent.”
Or, as Mazey put it, if Wetherholt continues to stay within himself, that’s a level beyond most in college baseball.
“People are just now watching him and probably think he’s playing out of his mind, but he’s not,” Mazey said. “That’s just who he is.”
TWEET @bigjax3211
