Slippery Rock University Athletics

SID blog #37


The award, which has been handed out annually since 1981, recognizes an "active, non-uniformed representative of Major League Baseball whose ethics, character, dedication, service, professionalism and humanitarianism best represents the standards propounded by Robert O. Fishel."

Fishel served as a longtime executive with three MLB teams and in the American League office.

Fishel Award winners are determined through a vote of active past winners and Major League Baseball officials. MLB team and league officials submit nominees for the Fishel Award.

“It is a tremendous honor to win this award, especially having known Bob Fishel and now having my name associated with the award named in his honor,” Trdinich said in a story posted on the Pirates' official web site. “I'm living a dream working for the Pirates. It is the greatest.”

Trdinich, who has been a member of the Pirates’ front-office staff for 23 years, began working in Major League Baseball in 1985 as part of an internship program coordinated by the late Ed Walsh through the SRU English Department. After interning with the Pirates, “Jimmy T” worked two years in the National League office before returning to Pittsburgh to join the Pirates' media relations staff as a full-time staff member. He was promoted to his current position in 1991.

More congrats:

• Best wishes to former Rock sports information graduate assistant Ben Fairclough and his wife, Amy, on the birth of their first child, daughter Ellie Grace last Sunday. Proud to say, Ben is now Senior Director of External Affairs for the Big East Conference.

• Best wishes to former Rock women's soccer student-athlete Jayme Timmons and former Rock football student-athlete Mike White on their recent engagement.

• Shoutout to Rock football student-athlete Jimmy Zubik, who was a member of the U.S. Under-20 team that placed third at the World Junior Street and Ball Hockey Championships held June 18-23 in Pisek, Czech Republic.

• Kudos to former Rock women’s lacrosse team captain Caitlin O’Brien was named as interim head coach at Penn State Abington effective July 1. O’Brien served as an assistant coach last spring at Abington. Prior to that, she spent two years as the head coach at Butler Middle School. At Abington, O’Brien helped lead the Lady Lions to a 4-8 record and the program’s first North Eastern Athletic Conference postseason play. As a Rock student-athlete, O’Brien played two seasons (30 games) and scored 38 points (35 goals, 3 assists). She graduated from Slippery Rock in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and special education and currently teaches at the People for People Charter School in Philadelphia.

• And congrats to Jermaine Truax, who earned a master’s degree in sport management from SRU in 2008, has been promoted to Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance at Bowling Green State University. Truax had been the Director of Compliance and Certification since arriving at BGSU in July of 2010 and recently received the Rising Star Award by the National Association For Athletics Compliance (NAAC). Prior to joining the BGSU staff, Truax was the Director of Compliance at St. Bonaventure University. A former football student-athlete at Edinboro, from which he received his bachelor’s degree, Truax was also the Coordinator of Internal Operations at St. Bonaventure and served as a football assistant coach at Alfred State College.

Updates on past and present Rock baseball student-athletes:

Matt Adams began the day Tuesday (July 24) batting .359 with 17 doubles, 16 home runs, 44 RBIs and a .692 slugging percentage for the St. Louis Cardinals’ triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds. He quickly regained his white-hot hitting prowess after being on the disabled list July 1-15 with elbow problems … Junior-to-be Will Kengor is hitting .322 with 10 doubles, five doubles, one home run and 24 RBIs in 37 games as the starting shortstop for the Rockville Express in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (summer wooden bat). Kengor’s efforts earned him a spot on the American team in the CRCBL all-star game … Junior-to-be right-hander Lou Trivino currently owns a 3-1 win-loss record and a 2.73 ERA as a starting pitcher for the Florence RedWolves of the Coastal Plain League (summer collegiate wooden bat) … Junior-to-be righty Ryan Oglesby had a 1-1 record and 4.57 ERA as a “setup man” for the Morehead City Marlins in Coastal Plains League before he “shut it down” for the summer … Junior-to-be righty Tony Naso has a 1-5 record and 6.23 ERA as a starting pitcher for the Prospect League (summer collegiate wooden bat) Lorain County Ironmen … Junior-to-be catcher/DH Kevin Jovanovich hit .250 in a pair of seven-day contracts with the Ironmen … Rock alum Scott Dunn owns a 1-2 record with three saves and a 3.62 ERA as primarily a relief pitcher for the Frontier League (pro wooden bat) Eastern Division-leading Traverse City Beach Bums … Alum Matt Howard, a rookie outfielder, has played in only 14 of 59 Beach Bums’ games this summer.

That’s all for now. Until next time …

GO ROCK!!

Bob McComas
Sports Information Director