WSSU baseball entering a new era as an independent program

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Before hitting the practice field with his team, Coach Kevin Ritsche of Winston-Salem State baseball had the chance to go ice fishing.

At a nearby pond, thanks to the unseasonably cold weather, he got out his pole and tried his luck.

“I got to fish a little bit and our kids ice skated,” Ritsche said. “That was a first for us to be able to do that around here.”

Ritsche and his Rams will also be doing something different this season — playing as an independent. For the first time since its inception, the CIAA will not be sponsoring baseball.

Because they won’t compete in a conference tournament, the Rams won’t have the automatic berth into the regionals. The Rams were CIAA champions last season and have won the championship six out of the last seven years.

“It will be different in the sense that we won’t have the CIAA tournament anymore, but we generally won’t be changing much,” said Ritsche, whose Rams began practice this week at BB&T Ballpark. “We’ve always kind of focused on doing well in regional play and getting to regionals with a good record.”

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