Published: July 02, 2009 01:44 am      

Former WVU pitcher Gross signs with Orioles

MORGANTOWN — Former West Virginia University baseball player Billy Gross has signed a free agent deal with the Baltimore Orioles.

Gross was scheduled to depart Wednesday evening and eventually participate with the Orioles’ rookie league squad out of the Gulf Coast League in Sarasota, Fla. Following his stint there, he is expected to join either the rookie-advanced Bluefield Orioles of the Appalachian League, or the short A Aberdeen IronBirds of the New York-Penn League.

The right-hander from Frederick, Md., finished his redshirt junior season with a 9-4 mark and a 4.23 ERA. He struck out a career-high 58 batters in 2009, logging 87.1 innings and throwing a team-best four complete games. Gross finished second in the Big East in victories, sixth in innings pitched and seventh in ERA, while his nine wins tie for eighth on the school’s single-season list.

The durable hurler was valuable to WVU in conference play. He went 3-1 as the team’s rubber-game starter on Sundays, defeating Villanova, St. John’s and Rutgers to give the Mountaineers key series victories. He also earned two straight wins against Pitt in his final two starts, guiding WVU to its lone win in the Big East tournament on May 21.

Gross was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings all-East Region second team following his final season, and garnered a selection to the all-Big East third team. He was honored as the team’s Most Valuable Pitcher in 2008, compiling a 5-2 record with a team-best 3.01 ERA.

In his three seasons of action, Gross went 18-7 with a 4.04 ERA.

He tallied 37 appearances, including 23 games started, and struck out 138 batters in 194 innings pitched.

Gross is the first WVU pitcher to sign with a professional team during the current offseason. Former position players Tobias Streich (Minnesota Twins) and Vince Belnome (San Diego Padres) have each signed major league contracts and are competing for their respective minor league organizations.