RAY SWANSON | Keystoner Novosel applies heat for Missoula

In baseball lingo, players use smoke, heat and fireball to refer to a pitcher who can throw extremely fast.
In Missoula, Mont., home of the Missoula Osprey which is the rookie team of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the terms take on a double meaning. In and around Missoula, there have been a number of forest fires and sometimes the heat and the smoke are unbearable to the future Diamondbacks players.
One of the latest additions to the young Diamondback hopefuls is former West Middlesex High and Ohio University standout Walt Novosel.
Walt's mother, Debbie, recently sent me a picture of the Osprey pitching staff wearing dust masks while sitting in the bullpen in a game against the Provo Angels. One of those players pictured was her son. The photo appeared in the area newspaper, The Missoulian.
At West Middlesex, Walt played for his father, Jerry, a long-time coach of the Big Reds. A young fireballer, Walt lettered three years in baseball (pitcher and first baseman), earned three more in football and two in basketball. That skein makes him an all-round athlete.
Honors
Walt was a two-time All Mercer County Athletic Conference baseball selection and an All-MCAC pick in football twice.
Ohio University was extremely interested in Walt's athletic talents and awarded him a full scholarship. In high school, he carried a 4.1 grade point average.
Prior to attending OU, Novosel competed in the Youngstown Class B League where he was named the Best Pitcher in the circuit in 1999. He was a member of the Goldstein's entry in the Youngstown AA League.
The young lefty had a solid career at Athens for the Bobcats. He became only the third Bobcat taken in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft by the Diamondbacks. Arizona selected him in the 22nd round. He was the 666th player selected.
Novosel, in his senior year as a member of the Bobcats, went 4-7 with a 5.24 earned-run-average, He pitched 682/3 innings in 15 appearances (12 starts), striking out 53.
For his career at Ohio University, Novosel was 17-22 with a 6.19 ERA. He ranks third all-time with 224 strikeouts.
The senior co-captain closed out his career ranked second all-time in career innings with 2832/3 and third all-time strikeouts with 222. He held opponents to a career-best batting average of .251 this spring, struck out 10 batters against Marshall in April 5 and he threw seven shutout innings against Canisius on March 16.
So how is young Walt handling things as a member of the Osprey? We'll let you be the judge.
He's 4-0 on the mound, all in relief, with a 0.00 ERA. He's appeared in 22 games and pitched 27 innings. He has allowed 17 hits, and allowed but two runs while giving up 12 walks.
Captains
A pair of former Hubbard High standouts have been selected as team captains for the 2003 Westminster College football team.
Senior Jim Chaney (6-foot-5, 275 pounds), an offensive tackle, and Glenn Silvidi (6-2, 280), a senior offensive guard, were selected.