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When The College of Wooster baseball team was down to its final out, Matthew Miller came through. No, this wasn’t one of the many NCAA Tournament games in the tradition-rich program’s history. This contest was a 2003 clash against Div. I Kent State University.
The then-junior second baseman belted an 0-1 pitch down the leftfield line for a walk-off two-run double, lifting Wooster to a 5-4 win, the program’s second over a Div. I program in as many years.
Coincidentally, Miller knocked in a pair of runs the year prior during Wooster’s 9-7 win over The Ohio State University.
Miller, a 2004 first-team American Baseball Coaches Association All-American, really developed into one of the region’s premier hitters beginning with his sophomore year.
As a freshman, Miller still sported a solid stat line with a .299 average, 47 hits, and 38 runs, but made 20 errors in the field.
“I started at shortstop as a freshman, but struggled adapting to the speed of the college game,” recalled Miller. “After that, I worked hard at every aspect of the game.”
Miller’s dedication and determination paid off, as he did not hit below .400 for the rest of his career, turning in a remarkable .439 average (230-for-524) with 168 runs and 138 RBIs over his final three seasons. As a sophomore, Miller hit .416, and then upped that clip to .440 and .460 as a junior and senior, respectively. Even Miller’s fielding improved as he only had 19 miscues after his freshman year.
For his career, the three-time all-region honoree set the Wooster standard with 277 hits, a mark that ranked 12th in Div. III history prior to the 2016 season. Miller capped his career with North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year accolades. The three-time first-team all-conference honoree still ranks in the top six in program history in assists (392, tied for fourth), doubles (57, fifth), stolen bases (70, fifth), and runs (206, sixth).
“I’m extremely pleased that Matthew is taking his rightful place in our W Association Hall of Fame,” said head coach Tim Pettorini. “He truly is one of our all-time great players. The fact that Matthew is our career leader in total at-bats and hits speaks volumes to how valuable he was on the field for us. Even though his name appears in almost every category in our all-time offensive records and the number of big hits he had for us in clutch situations was fantastic, his value to our program goes well beyond the baseball diamond. The leadership he provided on and off the field, plus the fact that he always cared more about how we were doing as a team, than his individual accomplishments speaks to the type of teammate Matthew was.”
Outside of Wooster, Miller also played in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, and made the “All-Star” team in 2003, earning the opportunity to play in an exhibition game against Team USA.
“Coach Pettorini and his staff helped make me the best baseball player I could be during my time at Wooster, and I’m grateful for their time and commitment to the players and the program,” stated Miller.
After graduating from Wooster in 2004 with a degree in business economics, Miller embarked on a career in banking. First, he worked for FirstMerit Bank in Wooster for five years as a credit analyst and commercial lender. Then, for the last seven years, Miller has worked as the vice president of commercial lending at First Federal Community Bank in his hometown of Berlin.
Personally, Miller is married to Jen, and the couple has two daughters – Anniston (4) and Lennon (2).