IUP Baseball Team Welcomes 12 Recruits to Deep and Experienced Returning Squad

The IUP baseball program welcomed the addition of 12 new players who arrived on campus to begin fall semester classes.

The team will begin fall practice next week and continue to mid-October.  The 2008 season will bring together a solid core of returning players and the third recruiting class by head coach Jeff Ditch.

“This new group will be a perfect fit with our current team,” commented Ditch.  “We expect many of them to contribute and make an immediate impact on the success of our team.  I am excited about the mix of experience and physical athletic tools this class brings.”

Joining the team will be five freshmen, four junior college transfers and three Division I transfers.

MATT BURNS
Junior, OF, 6-1, 190, R/R
Fairless Hills, Pa. (Fairless Hills H.S. and LaSalle University)

• First Team All-Philadelphia Catholic League and All-City Philadelphia

• Yardley American Legion and Bucks County American Legion All-Star three times

• Carpenter Cup Championship

“Matt is a lead by example kind of player.  He plays hard and gives 110 percent to the team.  He is an aggressive and athletic player who brings a high level of experience to our team.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

GABE GRINDER
Freshman, OF, RHP, 6-5, 175, R/R
Zelienople, Pa. (Seneca Valley H.S.)

• PIAA Class AAA High School State Championship

• WPIAL Class AAAA Section 1 All-Star

• Western Pennsylvania Elite Baseball League (WPEBL) Championship

• Seneca Valley Palomino finished 3rd in NABF World Series

“Gabe was the first player to commit to IUP in this recruiting class.  He is a throw back baseball player who plays with a passion and a strong will for his team to win every time he steps on the field.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

CHRIS HANNIGAN
Junior, LHP, 6-7, 220, L/L
Walkersville, Md. (Walkersville Valley H.S. and Potomac State Junior College, WV)

• Also playing basketball at IUP

• Division I National Junior College World Series 5th place

• NJCAA Region 10 and Super Region Champions

“Like Shane Melhorn, Chris has the unique experience of the Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado, during his time at Potomac State.  He is a very athletic pitcher with tremendous size and potential for us.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

SHANE MELHORN
Junior, OF, 5-9, 160, L/L
Dover, Pa. (Dover Area H.S. and Potomac State J.C., WV)

• Division I National Junior College World Series 5th place

• Potomac State record for single season runs scored and all-time walks

• Pennsylvania American Legion East-West Game

“Shane has hit leadoff and played centerfield the past two seasons at Potomac State and experienced playing in the Junior College World Series.  He is a player who will make our defense better, increase our team speed and be a catalyst offensively.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

EUGENE OFFERMAN
Senior, RHP, 6-2, 215, R/R
Willemstad, Curacao (Baltimore City J.C. and Binghamton University, NY)

• Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference All-Star

• New York Collegiate Summer Baseball League, Rochester and Webster

“Eugene is a pitcher we recruited out of Baltimore City two years ago, but he opted for DI Binghamton.  Now he is transferring in as a senior and has a history of logging several innings per year.  He throws a sharp breaking pitch and split to go along with an extremely intelligent pitching approach.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

MITCH PEREZ
Freshman, OF, 6-3, 215, R/R
Eldersburg, Maryland (Mount Saint Joseph H.S.)

• First Team All-Baltimore City

• MIAA Class AA High School State Runner-Up

• Tournament of Champions MVP

“We first became aware of Mitch when he attended our winter camp last year.  He is a physically strong player who can swing the bat and comes from a very successful high school program in Maryland.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

JACOB SHAFFER
Freshman, OF, 5-11, 170, R/R
Vandergrift, Pa. (Kiski Area H.S.)

• WPIAL Class AAAA Section 1 All-Star

• Two-time Pennsylvania American Legion East-West Game

• Pennsylvania American Legion Region 6 Tournament

“Jake has tremendous baseball instincts and tools.  He is an athletic player who has a plus arm, plus speed and comes from a strong baseball background.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

JAMIE SMITH
Sophomore, 2B, 5-8, 170, R/R
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (Loyola Catholic H.S. and Lon Morris J.C., TX)

• Ontario Blue Jays International Baseball

• Three-time Loyola Catholic High School athlete of the year

• Provincial All-Star

• Prentice Cup Champions

• USSSA World Series Champions in Oklahoma City, OK

“Jamie has the type of speed that could be a game changer and is a tool we are in need of.  He played on our field in the fall of 2005 with the Ontario Blue Jays and we began to recruit him the same time as Kyle Stryker.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

GREG STEWART
Freshman, RHP, 6-1, 170, R/R
Kittanning, Pa. (Elderton H.S.)

• Two-time WPIAL Class A Section 4 All-Star

• Pennsylvania American Legion Region 6 Tournament

• Indiana County American Legion Championship

“Greg is a pitcher I have seen several times over the past two years, and each time he improved and his velocity increased.  He touches 87 and has a plus breaking pitch that he can throw for strikes in any count.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

ANDREW WELCH
Freshman, RHP/OF, 6-5, 180, R/R
DuBois, Pa. (DuBois Central Catholic H.S.)

• Two-time PIAA District 9 All-Star

• Pennsylvania American Legion All-West Game

• PIAA Class A High School State Basketball Runner-Up

“Andrew is very talented now and with his frame and added strength, his projection is unlimited on the field.  In addition, Andrew is a top-notch student.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

SHANE WELDON
Junior, LHP, 6-0, 190, L/L
Duncannon, Pa. (Sesquenita H.S. and Alleghany J.C., MD)

• Division II National Junior College World Series

• Virginia Valley Collegiate Summer Baseball League, Waynesboro Generals

• NJCAA Northeast District MVP

“Shane is a pitcher we were watching for two years at Alleghany.  He comes from a solid junior college program and has always been surrounded with outstanding talent, including himself.  His freshman year at Alleghany he pitched his team to the Junior College World Series.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

MARK WOLESLAGLE
Sophomore, C, 6-2, 190, R/L
Trafford, Pa. (Norwin H.S. and Lehigh University)

• WPIAL Class AAAA Section 2 All-Star

• WPIAL Class AAAA Section 2 MVP

• Two-time Pittsburgh Tribune-Review All-Star

• Johnstown AAABA

“Mark is an outstanding defensive catcher and left handed hitter.  Those skills are hard to find in a catcher and he has both.  He has played a lot of high level baseball and provides us with a solid option behind the plate.  Mark is also a strong academic individual.” - Head Coach Jeff Ditch

“Recruiting is so important due to how competitive the PSAC is.  Last year five teams from our conference participated in the NCAA Regional, and those are the same teams we aim to challenge in 2008,” added Ditch.  “Our team really got a boost from last year’s recruiting class, and now again I expect the same or even more from this year’s class.”

Depth and Experience Returning Offensively

IUP returns six position players who started 27 or more games last season on a team that finished 20-28 overall, 10-10 in the PSAC.  These players include senior Shayne Busti, juniors Sean Foor and Ryan Mostyn and sophomores Paul Bingham, Kyle Stryker and TJ Nichols.  Senior Shawn Schwarz and sophomore Matt Filderman also saw significant time in important roles.

Bingham (left) returns for his second season after being named to the PSAC All-West team.  He led IUP in several offensive categories, including a .409 batting average, 38 runs scored, four triples and 16 stolen bases.  His .409 batting average was third in the PSAC and .500 on-base percentage was second in the conference.  Bingham was also named PSAC West Player of the Week on March 21, 2007.

Stryker (right) used his freshman campaign to rewrite the IUP single-season RBI record.  He drove in 45 runs, breaking a 17-year-old school record set in 1990 by Dave Anderson and Kevin McMullan with 40 RBIs each.  Nichols showed his versatility as he started 13 games behind the plate, 12 games in right field  and six as designated hitter while hitting .340 and finishing third on the team with a .495 slugging percentage.

In each of their first two seasons at IUP, the trio of Mostyn, Busti and Foor have started 69, 63 and 59 games respectively.  Busti is a 2006 transfer from Penn State University.

Fifth-year senior Matt Duda will return behind the plate after redshirting in 2007 to complete the requirements for his athletic training program.  In 2006, Duda caught 31 games and hit .256.

Pitching Will Also Provide Optimism

The Crimson Hawks returns eight pitchers with 19 or more innings pitched.   Seniors Dan Snyder and Chris Twigg (left) will anchor the pitching staff.  Snyder, a returning team captain, posted a won-loss record of 5-2 and was named the PSAC West Pitcher of the Week on March 28.  Twigg has a two-year record of 7-5 with a 3.33 ERA and has twice been awarded PSAC West Pitcher of the Week.

Twin brothers Corey and Colby Betz made an immediate impact as freshmen last year.  Corey led IUP with a 3.75 ERA in 12 relief appearances and Colby had a 3.92 ERA as the team’s number three starter.  The two combined for 81.1 innings pitched while striking out 71 and walking just 12.  Colby Betz was even more impressive in PSAC starts, with a 3-1 record, 2.48 ERA and four complete games.

Steve Mondschein, Josh Hildebrand and Jake Rougeaux round out a group of experienced sophomore pitchers who return for the Crimson Hawks.  Mondschein was used as the fourth starter on the weekend and tallied 42.1 innings.  Hildebrand pitched primarily as a closer before throwing a complete game five-hitter to defeat California late in the season.  Local Indiana product Rougeaux was 1-1 in his role as a mid-week starter.

Junior lefthander Chase McNutt returns with nine career starts to his credit.

 
Clockwise from upper left: Shayne Busti, Colby Betz, Dan Snyder
 

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