Center fielder Jim Stefanik slides into third base during the Yellow Jackets’ 10–2 win over Oberlin College at the B-W baseball field on April 6, 1983.
I’ve added one last batch of photos to the B-W Baseball 1983 photo set at Flickr. They were taken at the B-W baseball field during a 10–2 win over Oberlin College on April 6, 1983, and doubleheader sweeps of the College of Wooster on April 16 and Kenyon College on April 23. The Yellow Jackets finished the ’83 season with an overall record of 18–10 and were third in the Ohio Athletic Conference Northern Division with a 10–4 mark.
Third baseman Pat Fogarty runs Scott Medvin back to second base during practice at the B-W baseball field in March 1983.
I’ve added a dozen new photos to the B-W Baseball 1983 photo set at Flickr. They were taken after the team finally started practicing outside of Ursprung Gymnasium, and you can really see how much Heritage Field has changed over the last three decades, especially when you spot the old, wood benches that served as our “dugout” and the rolls of snow fence waiting to be put up in the outfield.
Junior pitcher Josh Scott threw the fourth no-hitter in B-W baseball history last Saturday when the Yellow Jackets beat Ohio Christian University 12–0 in Chillicothe. He struck out six OCU batters without a walk and came within a couple outs of throwing a perfect game. The only Trailblazers to reach base got there on a dropped third strike and an error.
B-W’s previous no-hitters were thrown by Bob Love against Otterbein College in 1965, Jeff Burton against Heidelberg College in 1980 and Aaron Krieger against Ohio Northern University in 2005.
This television news story by WJW Channel 8 sports reporter Dan Coughlin aired on March 20, 1987, the same day the Yellow Jackets left for their spring break trip to Alabama. The Jackets opened their season with “unprecedented enthusiasm,” Coughlin reported, because of players like third baseman Joe Velky and outfielders Dave Rozzo and Erik Young, who returned from a big-hitting lineup that set school records in all offensive categories. He also interviewed head coach Bob Fisher and catcher Marty Kelly about their high expectations for the upcoming season.
This television news story by WKYC Channel 3 sports reporter Steve Taylor aired on March 19, 1987, a day before the Yellow Jackets left for their spring break trip to Alabama. The Jackets were ranked ninth in the preseason, coming off back-to-back Ohio Athletic Conference regular season championships and a second straight appearance in the NCAA regional playoffs. After taking some batting practice off of pitcher Tom Jurcak, Taylor got footage of the team working out at Finnie Stadium and interviewed head coach Bob Fisher and third baseman Joe Velky about the upcoming season.
New head coach Brian Harrison got his first B-W baseball victory yesterday when the Yellow Jackets beat Ohio Athletic Conference rival Wilmington College 14–6 at the Snowbird Baseball Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Senior pitcher Justin Novak and senior right fielder Ted Cowling have been named to the 2010 Academic All–Ohio Athletic Conference baseball team. Novak, who put together a 4–4 record with six complete games while carrying a 4.0 grade point average in B-W’s MBA program, is a first-team selection for the second straight season. Cowling posted a 3.55 GPA in exercise science and pre-physical therapy and received an honorable mention. He hit .300 with 24 runs batted in and didn’t commit an error all season.
Seniors Chris and Scott Nealon have been named to the 2010 All–Ohio Athletic Conference baseball team. Chris is the honor squad’s second-team first baseman. He led the Yellow Jackets with a .390 batting average and committed only two errors in 280 fielding chances. Scott hit .361 as the Jackets’ designated hitter and received an honorable mention.
Head coach Bob Fisher’s first B-W baseball team at the ball field in the spring of 1968. Standing with Coach Fisher in the back row are, from left to right, Jerry Sheets, Jim Margo, Tom Lewis, Bill Shearer, Bill Weinberg, Bernie Simmons and Jack Mental. Seated in the middle row are Jim Jones, Mike Blake, Bob Love, Mike Kovach, Gus Corfman and Bill McKinley. And kneeling in front are Dick Tressel, Bill Murton, Ron Reifschneider, Melvin Grills and Larry Sklenka.
The Yellow Jackets finished 8–10 in Coach Fisher’s rookie season, but they bounced back and won the Ohio Athletic Conference Northern Division championship a year later. Three members of the ’68 club, pitcher and third baseman Jack Mental and pitchers Mike Blake and Bob Love, have been inducted into B-W’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Head coach Bob Fisher hits fungoes during pregame warm-up at the B-W baseball field in the spring of 1970, just a few years after he was hired for the job by legendary B-W football coach and athletic director Lee Tressel.
Watching from the row of benches that served as our “dugout” back then are, from left to right, pitcher Mike Blake, third baseman Melvin Grills, pitchers Ron Reifschneider and Lynn Thompson, infielder Ken Richardson, catcher Pete Sedello and pitcher Curt Karpinski.
