Mark Jurich to Participate in USA Baseball Team Trials
June 13, 2002 | Baseball
June 13, 2002
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -
University of Louisville sophomore outfielder Mark Jurich has been invited to participate in the 2002 USA Baseball National Team Trials to be held in Tucson, Arizona June 19-23.
Jurich is one of 33 players that will compete for a spot on the USA National Team, 13 of which are currently scheduled to participate in the 2002 NCAA College World Series which begins Friday in Omaha, Nebraska.
U of L Baseball Coach Lelo Prado will serve as the head coach for Team USA. He will be assisted by Terry Alexander of Jacksonville, Sunny Golloway of Oral Roberts, and Terry Rupp of Maryland. The official 22-man Team USA roster will be determined and announced on June 24, following the trials.
Earlier this week, Jurich was honored on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-American third team.
Jurich spent much of the season batting over .400 before finishing with a team-leading .365 average in helping the Cardinals to a 39-18 record and their first-ever NCAA appearance. He produced 15 doubles, five triples, a team-high 16 home runs and 60 RBI in earning first-team All-Conference USA honors. He was one of 40 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, presented to the top player in collegiate baseball.
Jurich is the first Cardinal to earn All-America laurels since 1992 when U of L third baseman Dan Kopriva earned recognition from three organizations while leading the nation in hits (125).
Earlier this season, Jurich was cited by Collegiate Baseball as a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week, as well as Conference USA Hitter of the Week, after he was 7-for-12 in three games with five home runs, a double, two walks and 10 RBI. He also had 22 total bases and a 1.833 slugging percentage in the three game stretch.
Last season, Jurich was an honorable mention member of the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team and Conference USA All-Freshman team after hitting .274 with 13 doubles, seven home runs and 25 RBI in his initial college campaign.
For a roster of all 33 players invited to the trials and for further information on USA Baseball, log on to www.usabaseball.com.
