Cassavechia Named to Stopper Watch List
2/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 14, 2008
Also named NCBWA Preseason All-America, Cassavechia tied for second in the Big 12 and 23rd nationally last season with 11 saves; that was the fifth-best total among players returning for 2008 season. He enters the 2008 campaign tied for second in Baylor history with 19 career saves, tops among active Big 12 pitchers.
The 2007 Cape Cod League Relief Pitcher of the Year, Cassavechia has amassed his career saves total in less than two seasons, moving into the closer sport midway through the 2006 campaign. That season, he tied for fourth in the Big 12 with eight saves. Cassavechia joins Zane Carlson (2000, 2001) as the only Baylor pitchers to record at least eight saves in consecutive seasons, and he would be the first to accomplish the feat in three straight seasons.
Cassavechia, a product of St. Mark's High School in
Last season, Cassavechia was 6-2 with a 3.12 ERA and 72 strikeouts over 52.0 innings, tying for second all-time at Baylor in single-season wins in relief (6) and ranking third all-time at Baylor in single-season strikeouts in relief (72).
A 2008 co-captain, Cassavechia has appeared in 62 career games, all in relief, and he has posted a 9-6 record with a 3.36 ERA. He has recorded 104 strikeouts over 96.1 innings and held opposing batters to a .238 batting average.
Other Big 12 pitchers on the watch list are Daniel Edwards (
No. 15 Baylor opens its 2008 season Feb. 22-24, hosting Purdue for a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark.
