Baseball: Season Opener On Saturday
February 11, 2005 10:27 AM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
February 11, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University baseball team opens its 2005 season with a trip to Norfolk, Va., for a two-game series with Norfolk State on Feb. 12-13.
The Spartans dropped a four-game series at Savannah State last weekend and head baseball coach Marty Miller announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as the school’s coach, effective immediately. Miller, who is also the Athletic Director, announced that head assistant baseball coach Claudell Clark has been appointed interim head coach.
Clark takes over an 0-4 team that is led offensively by junior Ryan Reddick and sophomore Juan Serrano. The two each collected five hits in the series against Savannah State. The Spartans top pitcher is sophomore De’Mece Williams. The lefthander tossed five innings allowing three hits and one earned run in a 3-2 loss last weekend.
Saturday’s game marks the earliest start in school history for the Mountaineers. Head coach Greg Van Zant enters his 11th season at the helm of West Virginia baseball and returns 17 letterwinners and 18 newcomers for 2005.
The Mountaineers are led by preseason all-BIG EAST outfielder Lee Fritz. Fritz captured first team conference honors a year ago after batting a team-best .364 with three home runs and 28 runs batted in and finished the regular season ninth in the conference in batting. Fritz was a .400 hitter as a sophomore in 2003.
Stan Posluszny returns for this junior season after being taken in the 21st round by the Anaheim Angels in the Major League draft. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder will make the move to first base from outfield after hitting .322 with six home runs, 13 doubles and driving in 33 runs as a sophomore to earn all-BIG EAST third team honors.
Seniors Shawn Miller and Todd Dunham will be counted on to lead a young pitching staff. Miller led WVU with 87.1 innings pitched on 13 starts to post a 6.18 ERA last season. Dunham made 16 appearances to become the Mountaineers’ top relief pitcher with a 3.99 ERA in 29.1 innings or work.
West Virginia next competes at the Baseball at the Beach tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Feb. 18-20. The Mountaineers will face three teams in Myrtle Beach who all made the 2004 NCAA Tournament in Clemson, East Carolina and Coastal Carolina.
