Aug. 28, 2007
University Park, Pa. - Penn State head baseball coach Robbie Wine today announced that Charlotte, N.C. native Wes Borden has joined the Nittany Lion baseball team after transferring to Penn State from Appalachian State. Primarily a middle infielder and more specifically a shortstop, Borden will be a junior with the Nittany Lions after completing his first two years of eligibility with the Mountaineers and will add more depth to the middle infield positions that sustained the loss of its two starters last year in Major League Baseball draftees Matt Cavagnaro and Scott Gaffney.
"Wes is a switch-hitting shortstop with two years of Division I experience. Aside from his athletic abilities, Wes is a very good student and has two things very important to us, which are character and a desire to improve," said Wine. "We are very excited to have Wes and look forward to his contributions to our team this year."
Borden played in just 24 games as a sophomore last year as he was limited by an injury, starting 18 of them. He had 13 hits in 56 at bats and scored 10 runs. He also displayed a good knack for getting on base as he reached base at a .358 clip, drawing 10 walks in just 70 plate appearances. He also stole three bases.
As a freshman, Borden had an outstanding season as he finished second on the team with a .321 batting average while playing in 47 games (38 starts). He had 50 hits in 156 at bats, including 13 doubles, drove in 26 and had a .382 on base percentage. He was solid in the field as well, committing just six errors in 353 total chances for a .983 fielding percentage.
The Nittany Lions, who tied for second place in the Big Ten last year, will return six of their eight regular position starters from last year as well as three of four weekend starting pitchers, three key relief pitchers and a top starting pitcher from 2006 that missed nearly all of last season with an injury. They are tentatively scheduled to open fall practice on September 10th.