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News Release

FORMER RETRIEVER PITCHER JAY WITASICK COMES FULL CIRCLE, RETURNS TO BALTIMORE TO PITCH FOR O’S

1/19/2005

Wayne Franklin (l) and Jay Witasick (r)

-  Former UMBC Baseball pitcher Jay Witasick (1992-93) is returning to his home state of Maryland to pitch for the Baltimore Orioles as announced today by major league baseball organization. Witasick, a native of Bel Air, Md., pitched two years for the Retrievers in the early 90’s, including having a hand in the 1992 team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. He signed a minor league contract with Baltimore and has received an invitation to spring training.

Witasick was drafted in the second round by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1993 and made his major league debut with the Oakland Athletics in 1996. He was member of the 2001 New York Yankees’ America League Championship team and 2002 San Francisco Giants’ National League Championship team. The nine-year veteran was 0-1 with a 3.21 ERA in 44 games in his second season for San Diego in 2004 and has a 4.72 ERA with five Major League teams. His best season was in 2002 when he was 1-0 with a 2.37 ERA for the San Francisco Giants.

Witasick is one of two active Retrievers in the major leagues as Wayne Franklin is currently a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants.