9
Justin Ross
Outfielder , L-L
Junior-2L , 6-2 , 195
Pittsburgh, Pa. (North Allegheny)

Returns as the Vols’ leading hitter after winning the batting crown in the final game...Excellent with the bat and shows promise on the mound.  He was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in the 1998 June free agent draft.

1997:
Games/Starts: 54/54...A starter in the outfield all season who missed six games with a sore left elbow in April...Made 25 starts in right, 14 in left, 11 in center and four as DH...Scored the third most runs in UT history in a season with 67, also had the ninth most hits (83) and sixth most walks (42)...Began season with six hits in first three games, including a three-hit game against South Florida 2/8...Tied a school record by drawing four walks against Central Florida 2/7...Reeled off a career-high 14-game hit streak from 2/15-3/12, batting .419 (26x62) with 10 multi-hit games...Also scored 21 runs during that span...Ripped off four-straight multi-hit games, two against Georgia State 2/16 and two versus Eastern Kentucky 2/21-23...Hit first home run against Georgia State 2/16 on a 3-for-6 day...Went 6-for-12 against the Colonels with three RBI...Went 5-for-14 (.357) with a triple against Long Beach State...Ripped Arkansas with three-straight two-hit games on a 6-for-13 weekend with four RBI against the Razorbacks 3/8...Followed Arkansas weekend with a three-hit game against Cumberland 3/12...Went 4-for-5 with two doubles against Clemson 3/19...Named SEC Player of the Week following the Alabama series in which he homered in all three games, while batting .615 (8x13) against the Crimson Tide with six RBI...Had a seven-game hit streak from 3/30-4/9, batting .286 (8x28) with eight RBI and scoring 10 runs...Hit fifth HR against Ole Miss 4/5 and sixth HR three days later against MTSU 4/9...Went 5-for-9 in first two games against Georgia before missing six games with a sore elbow...Missed the entire Vanderbilt series...Came back with five hits in the South Carolina series, including doubling in each game...Had great Florida series, hitting .500 (7x14) while belting seventh home run and collecting six consecutive hits...Had 5-for-6 day against the Gators 5/10...Hit seventh HR on 5/9 against Florida...Went 3-for-4 with eighth home run and four RBI against Florida in the SEC Tournament...Hit .400 (4x10) in the SEC Tournament with five RBI...Hit .333 (4x12) with a home run and three RBI in the Midwest Regional...Cracked ninth home run against Oklahoma State 5/23...Had two hits in each game against the Cowboys and UCLA 5/24...Had 11 games of drawing two or more walks...Hit .357 against lefthanders, .377 against righthanders, .328 with two-out and .378 with runners in scoring position...Had 25 multi-hit and 11 multi-RBI games...Had 15 two-out RBI...On the mound, went 2-0 in four starts...Worked only 3.2 innings in first career start against UNC Asheville 2/25, allowing two earned runs on five hits...Came back to beat Morehead State 3/4 in second start, going 5.0 no-hit innings, allowing one unearned run with three strikeouts and one walk...Made only SEC start against Arkansas 3/9, taking a no-decision in 2.2 innings...Got second win against ETSU 4/16 with a career-high 6.2 innings, allowing one run on six hits with four strikeouts and four walks...Played for the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod League where he made the all-star team... Ranked fifth in the league with a .307 (43x140) average...Also hit one home run, 19 RBI, 12 doubles, one triple, 28 runs scored and 13 stolen bases.

1996:
Games/Starts: 55/54...Outstanding hitter who made contributions all season...Made 23 starts as the DH, 17 in right and five in center field...Collected two hits and RBI against N.C. State 3/1...Went 5- for-5 against Connecticut at the Hormel Foods Baseball Classic and earned the Easton Silver Stick Award for the highest tournament batting average of .778 (7x9) ...Extended consecutive hit streak to seven against Eastern Kentucky 3/6 before striking out in fourth plate appearance...Had reached base safely eight straight times ...Slugged first career home run against Auburn 3/17...Reeled off first of two seven-game hit streaks from 4/24-5/3, batting .458 with seven RBI...Tallied a season-high three RBI against Birmingham- Southern 4/24...Made only pitching appearance against Georgia State 5/7, pitching 0.1 inning...Was only Vol to hit in both SEC Tournament games, going 2-for-8...Hit .190 with a triple and four RBI in the Atlantic Regional...Had 13 multi-hit and nine multi- RBI games...Hit .340 against lefthanders, .303 against righthanders, .370 with two-out and .353 with runners in scoring position...Also had 12 two-out RBI.

HIGH SCHOOL:
Attended North Allegheny High School where he hit .500 with six home runs and 30 RBI as a senior...Went 8-0 with a 1.41 ERA and hit .425 as a junior...Team posted a 78-10 record during his three varsity seasons...Finished career 19-0 on the mound...Listed among Baseball America’s Top 100 in 1995...Named all-conference in baseball and football after junior and senior seasons...Earned All-Western Pennsylvania honors as a senior...Participated in the Ohio/Pennsylvania All-Star baseball game...Prep squad was the Pennsylvania state champions in 1993 and 1994...The 1994 team was ranked 12th by USA Today...Coached by Grey Manesiotis.

PERSONAL:
Full name is Justin Nicholas Ross...Born Dec. 24, 1976 in Lamoore, Calif...Son of John and Pamela Ross...Has one brother, Zack...Major: Psychology.

Justin Ross’ Career Statistics At UT

Year	G/GS	AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	SLG	BB	HBP	SO 	SF/S	SB-A	PO	A	E	FLD

1996	54/45	.314	172	23	54	4	1	2	28	66	.384	18	3	27	2/2	10-15	37	0	2	.949

1997	54/54	.372	223	67	83	18	1	9	48	130	.583	42	2	35	2/0	17-23	97	9	7	.938

Totals	108/99	.347	395	90	137	22	2	11	76	196	.504	60	5	62	4/2	27-38	134	9	9	.941



Year	W-L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HRA	B/Avg

1996	0-0	81.00	1	0	0	0	0.1	2	5	3	2	1	1	.500

1997	2-0	3.79	5	4	0	0	19.0	16	10	8	12	10	0	.242

Totals	2-0	5.12	6	4	0	0	19.1	18	15	11	14	11	1	.257

Hitting Career Highs
At-Bats: 6 Twice
Runs: 4 vs. Georgia, 4/19/97
Hits: 5 Twice
RBI: 4 Twice
Hit Streak: 14 games from 2/15-3/12

Pitching Career Highs
Innings Pitched: 6.2 vs. ETSU, 4/16/97
Hits: 6 vs. ETSU, 4/16/97
Runs: 6 vs. Arkansas, 3/9/97
Earned Runs: 5 vs. Arkansas, 3/9/97
Strikeouts: 4 vs. ETSU, 4/16/97
Walks: 4 vs. ETSU, 4/16/97