Garrett Wittel‘s assault on the collegiate baseball record book last spring brought Florida International University into the national spotlight.
This year, however, he’s also put the school in a tough position.
When Wittels steps into the batter’s box at 7 p.m. on Friday night in FIU’s first game of the season, he’ll take with him not just a 56-game hitting streak, but also legal issues stemming from rape charges brought against him this past December in the Bahamas.
Wittels is two games shy of matching the NCAA Division I record set in 1987 by Oklahoma State’s Robin Ventura. He’s coming off a storybook 2010 season in which he batted .412, won the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Award and brought the Golden Panthers to the NCAA Tournament.
The Panthers’ decision to not suspend the shortstop has drawn criticism from the national media.
“FIU has a public-relations nightmare on their hands,” Steve Mosher, a professor of sports ethics at Ithaca College told the Miami Herald. ”I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be the media relations people at that college.”
Wittels, 20, has declined to answer any specific questions about what occurred in the Bahamas, where he and two others were arrested and charged with the rape of two 17-year-old girls.
If all goes to plan, ESPNU is planning to broadcast the FIU-Southeastern Louisiana University game scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sunday with Robin Ventura in the booth to call the game (in case there wasn’t enough pressure already).
Southeastern Louisiana pitcher Tyler Watkins is scheduled to take the mound on Sunday. The right-hander had this to say about the game to the the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American: ”I want to stop that hit streak.
Watkins went 6-3 with an SLU rotation-leading 3.80 ERA last year.
The righties’ comments have caught the ears of the Golden Panthers.
”Their [Sunday] night guy is already worried about trying to get Garrett out,” FIU closer Bryam Garcia told the Herald. “He’s got eight other guys to worry about. If he’s only worried about Garrett, then he’s going to be in for a long night.”
Wittels is due back in court on April 18 in the Bahamas for a preliminary hearing, but for now, the shortstop — whose superstitious nature has led him to not cut his hair since the hitting streak began more than eight months ago — is focused on baseball.
“It can’t be a one-year championship,” Wittels told The Associated Press. “It can’t be one year of hitting .400. Sports [are] about ‘What have you done for me lately?’ All I’m worried about right now is balls and strikes, wins and losses, just playing ball.”
