User:Kithira/Sandbox/West Virginia Mountaineers baseball

The West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of West Virginia University, located in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The program will begin competing in the NCAA Division I Big 12 Conference in the 2013 season. The program currently lacks a permanent home venue, as its previous venue, Hawley Field, does not meet Big 12 standards. For the 2013 season, the program plans to use nearby minor league venues, such as Appalachian Power Park. Randy Mazey has been the team's head coach since prior to the 2013 season. As of the end of the 2012 season, the program has appeared in 11 NCAA Tournaments. It has won five conference tournament championships and 15 regular season conference and division titles. As of the start of the 2012 Major League Baseball season, 25 former Mountaineers have appeared in Major League Baseball.

History
The program began varsity play in 1892 and had an above-.500 winning percentage in each season until 1920, when the team had a 10–11 record. It adopted the nickname "Mountaineers" in 1905, when West Virginia instituted the state motto "Mountaineers are always free."

After discontinuing the program for three seasons (1943–1945) because of World War II, the program began again prior to the 1946 season and qualified for its first NCAA Tournament in 1955 under head coach Steve Harrick.

On-campus venue Hawley Field opened in 1971 and was used until after the 2012 season, as the field did not meet the standards of the Big 12 Conference, to which West Virginia moved in summer 2012.

As a member of the Southern Conference from 1951–1968, the team appeared in six NCAA Tournaments. As a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference from 1978–1995, the team appeared in four NCAA Tournaments. However, as a member of the Big East Conference from 1995–2012, the team appeared in only one NCAA Tournament.

Conference affiliations

 * Independent – 1892–1942, 1946–1950
 * Southern – 1951–1968
 * Independent – 1969–1977
 * Atlantic 10 – 1978–1995
 * Known as the Eastern Athletic Conference from 1978–1982


 * Big East – 1996–2012
 * Big 12 – 2013–present

Hawley Field
Hawley Field, which opened in 1971 and has a capacity of 1,500 spectators, was the program's home venue through the end of the 2012 season. However, the field does not meet the standards of the Big 12 Conference, to which West Virginia moved following the 2012 season. Several alternatives were proposed, including renovations of the current facility, the construction of a new facility, and the usage of an off-campus minor league baseball venue, such as Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, West Virginia.

Head coaches
The program's most successful coach is former head coach Dale Ramsburg, who had 540 career victories from 1968–1994. Ramsburg is also the program's longest tenured head coach, having led the program for 27 seasons.

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Current coaching staff

 * Head coach – Randy Mazey
 * Assistant coach – Derek Matlock
 * Assistant coach – Steven Trout

Notable former players
Below is a list of notable former players of the program and the seasons in which they played for the Mountaineers.
 * Babe Barna (1935–1937)
 * Frank Barron (1913–1914)
 * David Carpenter (2004–2006)
 * Gene Curtis (1902)
 * George Freese (1947)
 * Bucky Guth (1967–1969)
 * Jim Heise (1953–1956)
 * Jake Hewitt (1894–1895)
 * Charlie Hickman (1897)
 * Joe Hudson (1990–1992)
 * Ed Kenna (1901)
 * Steve Kline (1993)
 * Larry McClure (1910)
 * Dustin Nippert (2003)
 * Paul Popovich (1960)
 * Scott Seabol (1996)
 * Skeeter Shelton (1907–1909)
 * Bull Smith (1900–1903)
 * Buck Washer (1902)
 * Darrell Whitmore (1988–1990)
 * John Woods (1920–1923)