Patterson eager to learn from Goddard
Jun. 29—If you play baseball in southern West Virginia, you are familiar with Joe Goddard. Being a catcher, the connection means even more.
Reece Patterson was one of the top catchers in the area as a senior at Greater Beckley Christian this spring. He will continue his playing days and will get to work on a daily basis with Goddard himself.
Patterson signed his letter of intent on Thursday to play baseball at WVU Tech. Among those in the dugout with head coach Lawrence Nesselrodt is Goddard.
Goddard, the Sophia native who went on to a 36-year career as the first baseball coach at Independence, was an eighth-round selection of the San Diego Padres in the 1972 MLB first-year players draft out of Marshall University. He went on to play 12 games in the Majors, collecting seven hits in 35 at-bats with two doubles and two runs batted in.
He is now imparting his wisdom and experience with the Golden Bears, who will make their return to Linda K. Epling Stadium next season to end a four-year absence.
"Great opportunity," Patterson said. "That was actually one of the big selling points for me is just the knowledge that he has. I think he's really going to help me up my game."
Patterson was also considering Concord, Bluefield State and the University of Charleston.
"It was local for me, and I think for the first year of getting the college feel is important for me, and I think Tech is very welcoming," said Patterson, who will major in business. "I think their baseball program is up and coming. I think this team and the next couple (teams) are going to be good and win a lot of games
"A big thing for my decision making was, number one, I wanted to produce and help their team, and number two, win games."
The Golden Bears improved from 9-36 in 2022 to 19-28 this spring and hope to continue that ascent in 2024.
Nesselrodt was on hand for the signing and said the program has high goals, including winning an NAIA national championship.
"I honestly feel that a key to success is surrounding yourself with good people, and no doubt the biggest thing you learn in college is making good decisions," Nesselrodt said. "We feel that (Patterson) made a great decision, and we're excited about the decision we made. It was a no-brainer. We sent (Goddard) over to see Reece and he came back with two thumbs up. He said hat's a guy that we can win with."
Patterson wrapped up his high school career with a Class A first-team all-state selection. He hit .455 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs. As a pitcher, he had a 1-3 record for the 8-11 Crusaders, but had 82 strikeouts to 18 walks over 55 innings.
This was the only season the Crusaders did not win a sectional championship during Patterson's career, not counting the canceled 2020 season.
"Fun (memories). They were good," he said. "Last season we didn't end up how we wanted to, but a lot of good memories."
Email: gfauber@register-herald.com; follow on Twitter @gfauber5
