Baseball rocked, track rolled, Pitt summer sports were hot

If you were too busy with your summer job to take a look at Pitt athletics while you were… If you were too busy with your summer job to take a look at Pitt athletics while you were home, you missed an eventful summer, but leave it to my column to inform you about what went on in the world of Pitt sports.

Pick me, pick me!

Pitt saw nine of its athletes leave the University for the pros via the draft this summer.

In the National Football League Draft, six players were chosen, and in the Major League Baseball Draft, three players were selected. The number of Panthers drafted into the NFL is a 12-year best for Pitt.

Most notably, stand-out wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald was selected second overall in the draft by the Arizona Cardinals and inked a six-year, $60 million deal.

Shawntae Spencer and Kris Wilson were both selected in the second round. Spencer went to the San Francisco 49ers, and the Kansas City Chiefs picked Wilson.

Claude Harriott, Andy Lee and Brandon Miree were all selected in the later rounds. Harriott will be wearing a Chicago Bears uniform next year. Lee will join teammate Spencer in San Francisco, and Miree will follow a long line of successful running backs as a Denver Bronco.

The three baseball players selected were Nick Evangelista, P.J. Hiser and T.J. Gornati. Evangelista was chosen in the 26th round by the team he grew up watching: the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cleveland Indians selected Hiser in the 29th round, and Gornati went in the 44th round to the San Francisco Giants.

Five other Pitt football players will have the chance to play on pro teams next year. Graduating seniors Lewis Moore, Matt Morgan, Lousaka Polite, Chris Curd and Rod Rutherford were all picked up by teams after the draft.

Moore will try out with the New York Giants and Morgan will attempt to make the St. Louis Rams’ 2004 squad. The Cowboys picked up Polite, and Rutherford signed with the 2003 NFC Champion Carolina Panthers.

Chris Curd will try out for the Atlanta Falcons where he’s hoping to catch a few touchdowns via the arm of Michael Vick.

Don’t close the record books yet.

The men’s baseball team finished the 2004 campaign with a record of 38-16 overall and 17-9 in the Big East, which ranked third in the conference and sent Pitt to the Big East Tournament.

The Panthers, however, lost the first two games of the tournament and lost their chance at an NCAA Tournament bid.

Despite being sent home early, the year was not a waste for Pitt. The Panthers set records and won numerous post-season awards.

Pitt swept all the Big East awards. Big East Coach of the Year went to head coach Joe Jordano. Hiser won Big East Player of the Year, and Evangelista was given Co-Big East Pitcher of the Year honors. Hiser led the Big East and set a new single-season school record with 21 home runs. As Pitt’s designated hitter, he ended the season with 67 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .758. Evangelista recorded an 8-3 record on the mound while collecting 70 strikeouts and two complete-game shutouts.

Second baseman Jim Negrych won the Big East Freshman of the Year award. Negrych led the Panthers to the tournament with his .378 batting average and his 76 hits, 20 of which were doubles.

No hurdle can stop these Pitt Panthers.

The Pitt women’s track and field team had a strong 2004 season. The team ended the season with a second-place finish in the Big East Tournament and a first-place finish at the Eastern College Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track Championship.

At the Big East Championship, Trenace Elliott and Tamara McGill led the way with first place finishes. Elliott won the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.84.

McGill won the heptathlon by scoring 5,375 points, surpassing her own Big East record.

At the ECAC Championship, Pitt placed first in a field of 47 teams. Pitt scored 92.20 points, which was 28.20 points higher than second-place Syracuse.

Pitt had four athletes finish in first place in the tournament. McGill recorded two first-place finishes, one in the heptathlon and one in the 200-meter dash. Elliott finished first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.86 seconds.

Maureen McCandless and Janine Jones both claimed first place in their events as well. McCandless ran the 1,500 meters in 4:23.95, and Jones finished the 400-meter hurdles in 1:00.07.

As result of the Panthers’ great year, head coach Alonzo Webb was named Mondo Outdoor Mid-Atlantic District Women’s Track Coach of the Year.

There was an extra office, so they made a new job.

Mike Pratapas started his new job as senior associate athletics director June 14, 2004. Pratapas was brought in from Rice University, and his goals are to increase fund-raising and donor relations for the athletics department.

Pratapas, who before being hired had never been to Pittsburgh, is a graduate of Wake Forest University and played center for the Demon Deacons’ football team. He went on to hold the position of associate athletics director for development at Wake Forest.

At Rice, he helped the university raise more than $2.5 million in his first 10 months on the job. Pitt is hoping Pratapas will bring them the same kind of success.

Jimmy Johnson is the assistant sports editor of The Pitt News and he can be reached at Jimmysjargon@yahoo.com. Look for his column online at www.pittnews.com.