Towson University Athletics

Transfer from Kean University in New Jersey, an outstanding NCAA Division III program ... had to sit out the 2012 season as a transfer student ... could be one of the Tigers’ top pitchers out of the bullpen ... one of the Tigers’ most experienced pitchers ... has a good moving fastball and an improved slider ... helped Kean win the 2011 New Jersey Athletic Conference championship ... member of Kean’s NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional championship team which advanced to the Division III World Series for the fourth time.

2013 SEASON: Appeared in 16 games in relief for the Colonial Athletic Association champions ... pitched 18.2 innings and posted a 1-0 record with one save ... had 11 strikeouts and six walks ... made debut at McNeese and allowed two unearned runs in one inning of work ... also pitched one inning in 9-3 victory at Duke ... allowed two runs in 8-0 loss to Delaware ... pitched two innings in 5-4 loss to Pennsylvania ... helped Tigers to three-game sweep at Hofstra by pitching three shutout innings in two appearances ... threw one scoreless inning to help Tigers to 15-3 win over the Pride ... also pitched two scoreless innings in 14-8 victory ... pitched one scoreless inning against Navy ... threw 1.1 scoreless innings in 12-4 win over William & Mary ... earned save with two innings of scoreless relief in win over Maryland Eastern Shore ... earned first win of season by pitching 0.2 innings of scoreless relief in 7-6 win over Northeastern ... retired the final two batters in the ninth inning and earned win when Tigers pulled out win in bottom of the ninth inning ... pitched one inning against William & Mary in 20-13 win in Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.

AT KEAN: One of the top relief pitchers for the Cougars ... made 17 appearances, all in relief ... posted a 2-0 record with a 4.66 E.R.A. ... ranked among team leaders with three saves ... pitched 29 innings and struck out 23 batters with only seven walks ... helped No. 6 Kean post a 42-11 record ... earned win over Franklin & Marshall with four innings of shutout relief ... also earned relief win over Old Westbury with four innings of solid relief ... recorded final three outs of Cougars’ 6-5 win over Ramapo for first save ... pitched 1.2 innings of relief to pick up save against Ramapo in 8-4 victory ... earned one-out save in Cougars’ 6-5 NCAA regional win over Johns Hopkins ... member of New Jersey Athletic Conference championship team.

BACKGROUND: Earned second team All-State honors at Hanover Park High School ... three-time All-County selection for Coach Dave Minsavage ... named first team All-Area twice ... compiled a 23-8 career pitching record for the Hornets ... also had a .430 career batting average ... three-sport standout who also played soccer and baseball ... earned All-County honors for soccer team.

PERSONAL: Has one older brother and one older sister ... die-hard fan of the New York Mets ... also roots for the New York Knicks ... favorite television show is “Entourage” ... lists Denzel Washington as his favorite actor ... favorite video game is “Super Mario Brothers” ... brother played baseball for Lynchburg College ... father is a graduate of Fairleigh-Dickinson University who played baseball for FDU ... father works in pharmaceuticals ... mother is a paralegal ... son of David and Betsy Baruka ... born on April 3, 1991 in Morristown, N.J. ... major is communication studies.