WVU's Innings Eater Blaine Traxel Is On Pace to Break a Record or Two

The pitching staff was one of the biggest question marks for the Mountaineers entering the season, mainly due to having to rely on a mix of young arms and transfers behind Friday starter, Ben Hampton.

Blaine Traxel, a transfer from Cal State Northridge, has been by far the biggest surprise. In six starts, Traxel has tossed four complete games which leads the country. No one else has three and there are three guys tied with two, but none of them are in a major conference.

As good as Ben Hampton has been for WVU, Traxel's consistent work on Saturdays will be what gives the Mountaineers a chance to battle for the Big 12 crown. How so?

Well, for starters, he's better than most day-two guys. Secondly, having an innings eater on the bump for the second of a three-game series will help out your bullpen tremendously. Come Sunday, you'll have more options and you'll have relatively fresh arms to help close out a series win or possible sweep. But arguably the best thing about Traxel is his ability to change his arm slot, timing, and release with regularity. This all goes back to his high school days at Bishop Alemany in Burbank, California.

"As a kid playing whiffle ball, I always liked messing around. I think we were in high school and there was a team that was struggling a couple weeks before with a sidearm guy. It was something my coach asked me if he thought I could do it and I told him I had no problem trying it. I tried it, I pitched well, and kind of just stuck with it. After my freshman year [of college], I started switching up arm slots and saw a lot more success and just stuck with it, kept things loose, and I kind of feel like I'm playing whiffle ball when I pitch."

When you're out there having fun and embracing the challenge, it takes away some of the pressure that comes with being a starting pitcher on a top-25 team. He doesn't care about how many pitches he throws and neither does head coach Randy Mazey.

"He only threw like 110 pitches," Mazey said following Saturday's win over Xavier. "That's like taking a day off for him. Somebody asked me about his pitch count and I said I could care less about his pitch count. He gets better as he goes. He's a better pitch at pitch 100 than he is at pitch one. When he pitches the game, he wants to pitch the game which is pretty cool."

"It's something I take pride in is just trying to get better as we go," Traxel stated. "The more adversity, the more runners on base, and tough situations is kind of where I thrive. You've got to like those situations if you want to be a starting pitcher. I've just gotten used to it doing it over the years and tend to do better in those situations now."

Assuming Traxel continues to pitch deep into games, which appears to be the plan, he will likely end up setting some program records. The most complete games pitched in a single season are 11, which occurred three times about 100 years ago. The most this century is 10, set by Billy Biggs in 2002. Zac Cline currently owns the record for most innings pitched (125.2), set in 2003. With approximately eight more starts left in the regular season, Traxel has a chance to crack one of those records.

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