Fall Practice Begins For UCF Baseball

UCF Press Release

October 9, 2002

 

ORLANDO – Preparations officially began today for the 2003 baseball season as the UCF Golden Knights opened fall practice Wednesday. The 2002 Atlantic Sun Champions return 16 players from last season’s championship club along with a talented influx of newcomers to the program. “We are always eager to get started in the fall,” commented head coach Jay Bergman. “We have some questions we need to answer but we should have them all settled in a month or so,” added Bergman.

“The number one goal of any fall is to establish our mental attitude. We also need to get back to the fundamentals, which is a point in which I really enjoy,” stated Bergman.

Bergman is set to embark on his 20th season at the helm at UCF this spring and has elevated the program into one of the nation’s elite. With an impressive record of 1012-562-3 at UCF, Bergman should add to that total in 2003. The Golden Knights return seven pitchers from last season’s team that finished with a sparkling 3.83 ERA.

UCF has also won two consecutive A-Sun Championships and has advanced to the NCAA Baseball Championships in five of the last seven seasons.

The start of fall practice also was the first for 17 newcomers to the UCF program. Included in that group are two players who had their fathers play in the Major Leagues. Freshman pitcher Frankie Viola and freshman catcher Drew Butera continue their strong family history in the sport. Viola is the son of Frank Viola, one of the all-time great southpaws in the game while Butera is the son of former Major League catcher Sal Butera.

UCF will continue with fall practice until November 11th.