MORGANTOWN — And now the journey begins for West Virginia University baseball players Tobias Streich and Vince Belnome.
Both drafted last week in Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft, they signed their professional contracts and are off to begin their careers in the minor leagues.
Streich, a catcher, was picked in the fifth round of the draft by the Minnesota Twins and will begin his career with the Elizabethton (Tenn.) Twins in the Appalachian League, which opens its season on June 22.
He is currently taking part in workouts at the Twins’ spring training headquarters in Fort Myers, Fla.
Streich was the 2009 All-Big East first team catcher and is the highest WVU draft pick since pitcher Chris Enochs was selected 11th overall by the Oakland A’s in the 1997 draft.
Streich hit .322 with six home runs and 57 RBI and threw out nearly 40 percent of the runners who tried to steal against him during his two-year collegiate career.
Belnome was selected in the 28th round by the San Diego Padres and will play for the Class A short-season Eugene (Ore.) Emeralds of the Northwest League. Belnome will be used at either second or third base when the season begins on June 20.
Belnome capped a two-time All-Big East career by breaking WVU’s single season RBI total with 84 this past year. He was also the 12th player in school history to collect 200 career base hits.
He finished his career with a .388 average with 14 home runs and 174 RBI, tying former Mountaineer Stan Posluszny for second place on the school’s career RBI list.
This past season Belnome hit .418 with nine homers.
“We’re extremely proud of Tobias and Vince,” WVU coach Greg Van Zant said. “They both did a tremendous job for us and helped us win a lot of games. They represented our program well both on the field and in the classroom and we wish them the very best.”
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Led by first-team selections Jarryd Summers and Dan DiBartolomeo, six West Virginia university baseball players were named the American Baseball Coaches Association’s All-East teams.
Summers, a left-handed pitcher, and DiBartolomeo, a third baseman, were named to the first team while pitcher Bill Gross, second baseman/designated hitter Vince Belnome, shortstop Jedd Gyorko and outfielder Austin Markel were named to the second team.
Summers went 7-3 with a 3.06 ERA for the Mountaineers while DiBartolomeo was one of the nation’s most improved hitters as a sophomore, batting .439 after hitting .275 as a freshman. The .439 batting average set a school record while DiBartolomeo added eight home runs and 59 RBI.
