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The College of Wooster’s storied baseball program was a fixture on the national scene prior to Jason Weiner stepping foot on campus. The Fighting Scots had logged five top-10 year-end national rankings and made the NCAA Div. III regionals eight times in the 11 years leading up to Weiner’s time in a Black and Gold uniform. However, up until 1989, one thing eluded the program – a trip to the finals of the Div. III Championships.
While an untimely injury sidelined Weiner for the 1989 Mideast Regional and Div. III Championships, the right-hander stepped up that year as a sophomore and established himself as one of the Scots’ go-to arms after seeing limited action as a freshman. In fact, Weiner tied for the team lead in wins (7) and struck out a team-best 42 batters in 52 1/3 innings of work in 1989, all while posting a fine 3.86 ERA. Those numbers were good enough for Weiner to earn a spot on the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Mideast Region Team.
“Jason made a significant impact on the pitching staff as a sophomore,” said legendary head coach Tim Pettorini. “We could’ve used him in the postseason, but he definitely positioned us to have a good run.”
Weiner returned stronger than ever in 1990, and turned in his best year statistically. The Scots’ top pitcher went 9-2 with a tidy 2.28 ERA spanning 75 innings, and struck out a career-high 60 batters. Those stats were good enough for an elevation to the second-team all-region and first-team all-conference squads.
“Jason battled a bad back his whole time here, and it speaks to his toughness and competitiveness to pitch through that for the next two years,” shared Pettorini. “Jason did an outstanding job for us.”
A second nine-win season (9-2) followed as a senior, and Weiner capped his career with a 3.24 ERA over 72 1/3 innings. The ABCA continued to hold Weiner in high regard, and elevated the right-hander to the all-region first-team, and in the process, Weiner earned the distinction of becoming the first pitcher and third student-athlete in program history to be a three-time all-region selection. Prior to the all-region announcement, the NCAC tabbed the standout as its top pitcher, making Weiner the second in program history to earn that award.
“Jason was our top guy,” stated Pettorini. “He was our best pitcher on some of our best teams. He deserved those awards. Jason set the tone for toughness and competitiveness that the other guys followed.”
Other notable highlights for Weiner included a win against Oberlin College as a senior, making him the third 25-game winner in program history, and a win over Ohio Wesleyan University in the NCAC Tournament opener moved Weiner up to second on the program’s all-time wins list, and he’s still in the top 10 to this day.
“I was honored to have three very good years, and play for three conference championship teams,” summed up Weiner. “The best part was the friendships I developed that still exist 27 years later.”
“Fish” as he was nicknamed, was looking for a small college to attend and “was lucky enough to have Coach Pettorini recruit me. (Once) I saw the campus, I knew it was the right school.”
Weiner, who majored in history, has spent the last 25 years in sales and product management, and along the way, earned a M.B.A. from Xavier University. Most recently, he’s spent the last seven-plus years as a senior product and services manager at Duke Energy Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he manages energy assessment and energy design assistance programs across five states.
Personally, Weiner and his wife, Jennifer, are the proud parents of twins, Jake and Caroline (18), both of whom attend Miami University.