Southern Miss Baseball Inks Final Recruit
8/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Southern Miss Baseball Inks Final Recruit
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Southern Miss Baseball Coach Corky Palmer has announced the signing of John Tritz, a 5-11, 187-pound right-handed pitcher from Klein Oak High School in Houston, Texas, to a national letter of intent for the 2002-03 academic year. This marks the eighth and final signee of the late period and 10th signee of the year for the Golden Eagles.
"We had a spot open on the pitching staff when Shea Douglas signed a professional contract with the Cleveland Indians," Palmer said. "John gives us a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher with a good breaking pitch. He comes from a big-time high school program in Houston and will put another good arm in our system. We feel very fortunate to get a player of this caliber at this late stage in the recruiting period. He is a fine athlete, and our coaches believe he will have a chance to help our pitching staff."
Tritz, a two-year letterwinner, finished with an 11-1 record and a 2.14 ERA last year as a senior at Klein Oak for Coach Dale Westmoreland. Also as a senior, he was named the team's pitcher of the year, as well as being selected first-team all-state and a unanimous first-team all-district selection. He was named to the Houston 5A all-star team, as well as being named a member of Team Texas in the Red River Shootout.
Southern Miss finished 36-22 during the 2002 season and returns six position starters, one starting pitcher and 17 letterwinners.
2002-03 Southern Miss Baseball Signees
Raymond Antonelli, LHP, 5-9, 160, Gulf Coast Community College, Panama City, Fla.
Bryan Bennett, 1B, 6-3, 210, Vidalia High School, Vidalia, La.
Daniel Best, RHP, 6-3, 165, Ruston High School, Ruston, La.
Eddie Burger, C, 6-1, 195, Long Beach High School, Long Beach, Miss.
Ryan Frith, OF, 6-3, 185, Bossier Community College, Bossier City, La.
Marc Maddox, OF/INF, 5-10, 170, Oak Grove High School, Oak Grove, Miss.
Adam Smith, 3B/1B, 6-3, 195, Meridian Community College, Meridian, Miss.
John Tritz, RHP, 5-11, 187, Klein Oak High School, Houston, Texas
Austin Tubb, RHP, 6-4, 210, Shelton State JC, Birmingham, Ala.
Nicholas Valluzzo, LHP, 5-11, 190, Catholic High School, Baton Rouge, La.