Baseball: WVU Picked Fourth
December 04, 2003 09:28 AM | General
December 4, 2003
PROVIDENCE - The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been chosen by the league head coaches as the favorite to win the BIG EAST, it was announced. ND senior second baseman Steve Sollmann has been tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year, while BC’s Chris Lambert was picked as Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams or players.
Notre Dame received eight of 11 first place votes and will be led by Sollmann, as well as preseason All-BIG EAST selection Chris Niesel. Sollmann led the Irish with a .438 batting average and 67 runs last year. Niesel was third in the BIG EAST with a 2.65 ERA and a 9-1 record.
Rutgers was picked second and collected two first-place votes. The Scarlet Knights were the 2003 BIG EAST regular season champions, but fell to the Irish in the finals of the BIG EAST Championship. RU will be led by preseason All-BIG EAST selection Jeff Frazier. He was an All-BIG EAST First Team choice last season after hitting .315 with a .516 slugging percentage.
Boston College was chosen third. The Eagles will be led by the Preseason Pitcher of the Year and unanimous preseason first team pick Chris Lambert. The junior had an 8-2 record with a 2.71 ERA a year ago. Junior Drew Locke, an All-BIG EAST Second Team member in 2003 and third team selections junior Kevin Shepard and senior Josh DiScipio, will also contribute to the Eagle squad.
West Virginia was fourth, receiving the final first place vote, followed by Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers will be led by five preseason All-BIG EAST picks. Junior Zac Cline, senior Kurtis Clinton, junior Lee Fritz and sophomore Stan Posluszny were all second team all-conference selections last year. Senior Jake Serfass was an All-BIG EAST Third Team choice in 2003. The Hokies are represented on the preseason All-BIG EAST team by juniors Wyatt Toregas and Chris Stanton. A member of the All-BIG EAST First Team in 2003, Stanton hit .392 with a .453 on-base percentage.
St. John’s, Connecticut and Seton Hall were seventh, eighth and ninth. Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Mike Rozema will lead the Red Storm after hitting a league-leading .408 with 33 RBI in 2003. The Huskies will be led by sophomore outfielder Russ D’Argento, who led UConn in runs (49) last year. The Pirates will look to 2003 All-BIG EAST First Team member pitcher Chris Noonan (3-2, 2.61 ERA).
Rounding out the selections were Villanova and Georgetown. Senior Brian Newbold was chosen to the preseason All-BIG EAST Team for the Wildcats. Last season, he hit .303 with four home runs and 32 RBI. The Hoyas were represented by senior Andrew Cleary on the preseason team. Cleary hit .338 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI in 2003.
A total of 14 players earned recognition on the preseason squad. The 11 teams will play in one division and play a 26-game conference slate. The top four teams at the end of the regular season advance to the 2004 BIG EAST Championship, which will be held at Commerce Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J., on May 27-29. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
1. Notre Dame (8) 98 45-18 (16-7 BIG EAST)
2. Rutgers (2) 88 37-22 (19-6)
3. Boston College 79 33-21 (13-11)
4. West Virginia (1) 63 36-19 (18-6)
5. Virginia Tech 61 34-23 (15-10)
6. Pittsburgh 56 36-20 (13-13)
7. St. John’s 53 29-27 (12-14)
8. Connecticut 42 24-23 (10-15)
9. Seton Hall 35 23-24 (11-14)
10. Villanova 20 14-32 (6-19)
11. Georgetown 10 14-33 (4-22)
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Steve Sollmann, Notre Dame, Sr., 2B, 5-10, 190, Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier
PRESEASON PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Chris Lambert, Boston College, Jr., RHP, 6-1, 205, Manchester, N.H./Manchester Memorial
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team Key 2003 Statistics (All Games Played)
P - Chris Lambert, Boston College, Jr.** 8-2, 2.71 ERA, 79.2 IP, 88 SO, 24 ER, 7 CG, .216 Opp. Avg.
P - Chris Niesel, Notre Dame, Jr. 9-1, 2.65 ERA, 98.1 IP, 87 SO, 29 ER, 3 CG, .232 Opp. Avg.
P - Zac Cline, West Virginia, Jr. 12-3, 3.44 ERA, 125.2 IP, 101 SO, 48 ER, 10 CG, .263 Opp. Avg.
C - Wyatt Toregas, Virginia Tech, Jr. .319, 41 R, 69 H, 14 2B, 10 HR, 60 RBI, .542 Slugging %
IF - Steve Sollmann, Notre Dame, Sr. .384, 67 R, 98 H, 16 2B, 4 HR, 40 RBI, .533 Slugging %
IF - Mike Rozema, St. John’s, Sr. .408, 44 R, 80 H, 12 2B, 2 HR, 33 RBI, .541 Slugging %
IF - Chris Stanton, Virginia Tech, Jr. .392, 61 R, 87 H, 12 2B, 3 HR, 26 RBI, .541 Slugging %
IF - Kurtis Clinton, West Virginia, Sr. .335, 44 R, 69 H, 12 2B, 13 HR, 50 RBI, .583 Slugging %
OF - Jeff Frazier, Rutgers, Jr. .315, 56 R, 67 H, 19 2B, 8 HR, 54 RBI, .516 Slugging %
OF - Lee Fritz, West Virginia, Jr. .407, 40 R, 88 H, 11 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 23 RBI
OF - Jake Serfass, West Virginia, Sr. .357, 49 R, 56 H, 17 2B, 10 HR, 37 RBI, .656 Slugging %
DH - Brian Newbold, Villanova, Sr. .303, 22 R, 47 H, 8 2B, 4 HR, 32 RBI, .933 Fielding %
DH - Stan Posluszny, West Virginia, So. .340, 24 R, 33 H, 8 2B, 5 HR, 31 RBI, .598 Slugging %
U - Andrew Cleary, Georgetown, Jr. .338, 45 R, 53 H, 12 2B, 12 HR, 47 RBI, .656 Slugging %
