Baseball: First Official Practice Set
January 28, 2004 04:22 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
January 28, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team will open the 2004 season with the first official practice set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28.
“We are anxiously looking forward to starting practice on Thursday evening,” says head coach Greg Van Zant. “It may be cold and snowy outside but it’s 70 degrees and the grass is green inside the IPF (Indoor Practice Facility).”
The Mountaineers look to improve upon a 2003 performance (36-19 Overall, 18-6 BIG EAST) in which they reached the BIG EAST Championship for the first time in three years and boasted one of the nation’s best offensive attacks.
West Virginia was selected fourth in the preseason poll, receiving one first place vote. 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.
“We have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time to be ready to play ODU (Old Dominion University) on February 20,” says Van Zant.
Van Zant enters his 10th season at the helm of the WVU baseball program. Fans can catch Coach Van Zant when he speaks at the West Virginia Baseball Coaches Association's State Clinic on Saturday, Jan. 31, in South Charleston.
The season opener for WVU is slated for the weekend of Friday, Feb. 20, as the Mountaineers travel to Charleston, S.C., to participate in The Homewood Suites Shootout.
