Baseball: Fritz Named To Preseason BIG EAST Team
December 17, 2004 01:50 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
December 17, 2004
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Fritz captured first team conference honors a year ago after batting a team-best .364 with three home runs and 28 runs batted in. The Waynesburg, Pa., resident finished the regular season ninth in the conference in batting. In 2003, Fritz was an all-BIG EAST second-team selection.
A total of 13 players earned recognition on the preseason squad. Conference coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own team or players, selected the all-BIG EAST squads.
It was announced that Notre Dame has been chosen as the favorite to win the BIG EAST. The Mountaineers were chosen to finish eighth in the team’s preseason poll.
Pitt sophomore second baseman Jim Negrych has been tabbed as the preseason player of the year, while St. John’s junior Craig Hansen was picked as preseason pitcher of the year.
West Virginia opens the season at Norfolk State with a pair of games on Feb. 12-13.
2005 BIG EAST BASEBALL PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Team (1st Place Votes) Pts., 2004 Record
1. Notre Dame (5) 77, 51-12 (20-6 BIG EAST, 1st Place)
2. St. John’s (4) 75, 37-23 (17-9, T-2nd)
3. Pittsburgh 59, 38-18 (17-9, T-2nd)
4. Rutgers 56, 30-23 (13-11, 5th)
5. Boston College (1) 51, 32-27 (15-9, 4th)
6. Villanova 37, 31-20-1 (11-14, 6th)
7. Seton Hall 33, 17-33-1 (9-17, T-9th)
T-8. West Virginia 26, 23-29 (10-16, 8th)
T-8. Connecticut 26, 26-29-1 (9-17, T-9th)
10. Georgetown 10, 25-30 (8-17, 11th)
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jim Negrych, Pittsburgh, So., 2B, 5-9, 175, Buffalo, N.Y./St. Francis
PRESEASON PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Craig Hansen, St. John’s, Jr., RHP, 6-5, 185, Glen Cove, N.Y./Glen Cove
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team Key 2004 Statistics (All Games Played)
P - Ryan Doherty, Notre Dame, Jr. 5-1, 12 S, 2.38 ERA, 34.0 IP, 46 SO, 11 BB, 9 ER, .160 Opp. Avg.
P - Tom Thornton, Notre Dame, Jr. 9-2, 3.88 ERA, 15 Starts, 99.2 IP, 77 SO, 43 ER, .251 Opp. Avg.
P - Craig Hansen, St. John’s, Jr. * 2-2, 10 S, 2.90 ERA, 40.1 IP, 59 SO, 16 BB, 13 ER, .219 Opp. Avg.
P - Anthony Varvaro, St. John’s, Jr. 8-3, 3.63 ERA, 89.1 IP, 78 SO, 36 ER, 2 CG, .232 Opp. Avg.
C - Joe Burke, St. John’s, Sr. .340, 28 R, 66 H, 11 2B, 1 HR, 28 RBI, .412 Slugging %
IF - Matt Edwards, Notre Dame, Sr. .310, 48 R, 67 H, 13 2B, 12 HR, 54 RBI, .546 Slugging %
IF - Greg Lopez, Notre Dame, Jr. .332, 39 R, 66 H, 14 2B, 2 HR, 34 RBI, .432 Slugging %
IF - Jim Negrych, Pittsburgh, So. * .378, 44 R, 76 H, 20 2B, 7 HR, 45 RBI, .592 Slugging %
IF - Jim Martin, St. John’s, Sr. .351, 45 R, 79 H, 12 2B, 91 TB, 26 RBI, .440 On Base %
OF - Drew Locke, Boston College, Sr. .279, 44 R, 65 H, 21 2B, 4 HR, 41 RBI, .429 Slugging %
OF - Ben Copeland, Pittsburgh, Jr. .332, 63 R, 72 H, 15 2B, 3 HR, 37 RBI, .507 Slugging %
OF - Lee Fritz, West Virginia, Sr. .364, 37 R, 64 H, 15 2B, 3 HR, 28 RBI, .511 Slugging %
DH - Jeff Hourigan, Connecticut, Sr. .320, 33 R, 56 H, 8 2B, 8 HR, 38 RBI, .503 Slugging %
* - unanimous selection
