Baseball / IAZZETTA, RUEHLMAN JOIN 2020 WEST VIRGINIA MINERS

IAZZETTA, RUEHLMAN JOIN 2020 WEST VIRGINIA MINERS

Date:  Source: Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC
Outfielder Chris Iazzetta and pitcher Kyle Ruehlman are the latest players announced as committing to the roster of the West Virginia Miners for the 2020 Prospect League season.  The team announced the addition of the pair on November 5.
Iazzetta will join the Miners for the 2020 Prospect League season following the completion of his junior year at Wheeling University, where it will mark his debut season for the Cardinals.
 
The Clinton, NJ resident already has put several college baseball seasons under his belt. He spent his last season before arriving in Wheeling as a member of the 2019 Lewis & Clark Community College Trailblazers. He put together a nice set of numbers for the Godfrey, IL-based school that featured a .300 batting average in 38 games that included 3 homers and 26 RBI. His resume’ for that season also included 8 doubles, 1 triple, 16 bases on balls, and 29 runs scored.
The 6-2, 210-pounder's freshman collegiate season of 2018 was spent at Hillsdale College, an NCAA D-II school located in Hillsdale, MI. He appeared in 10 games there for the Chargers and hit .231 (3-for-13).
Iazzetta has also played two seasons of summer collegiate ball with the first of those two seasons being in the Prospect League as a member of the 2018 Hannibal Hoots. The right-handed hitter put up respectable numbers for the Hoots versus Prospect League pitching in 30 games by hitting .256 (20-for-78) while clubbing 5 homers with 19 RBI and 16 runs scored. He also showed speed on the basepaths by stealing 4 bases in 5 attempts.
The summer of 2019 saw Iazzetta donning the uniform of the Quakertown Blazers of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. He put together a solid season in 30 games by hitting a lofty .292 (26-for-89) with 7 doubles, 1 triple, 16 runs scored, 3 homers, and 22 RBI. Once again, he had a successful summer in the stolen base department by swiping 8 bags in 10 attempts.
As for Ruehlman, he will join the Miners following the completion of his junior spring season at Gardner-Webb University, located in Boiling Springs, NC and a member of the NCAA D-I Big South Conference.
 
The 6-6, 195-lb righthander saw extensive action as a sophomore on the mound for the Bulldogs in 2019, appearing in 20 games (9 starts) and compiling a 5-4 record along with a 6.25 earned run average. Over that haul he struck out 36 hitters in 67.2 innings of work.
 
Prior to arriving at Gardner-Webb, he spent his collegiate freshman season of 2018 pitching for Sinclair Community College in Dayton, OH.  He was a valuable member of the mound staff there also. On the season, he had 15 appearances (14 starts) with a 7-2 record and a 4.61 earned run average. Those numbers also included 6 complete games and 67 strikeouts in 80.0 innings pitched. His efforts that year helped the Sinclair squad advance on to play in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) D-II World Series.
 
His journey into college athletics commenced following his graduation in 2016 from Milford High School in Milford, OH.