West Liberty University Athletics

    The 1976 West Virginia Conference Pitcher of the Year, Ray Searage went on to a long and successful professional baseball career as a player and a coach.
    After playing a key role in helping lead Coach Jim Watson's Hilltoppers to back-to-back WVIAC championships in 1975 and 1976, Searage was drafted in the 22nd round of the 1976 June draft.
    He began a seven-year major league career with the New York Mets in 1981, eventually making 254 relief appearances with the Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He posted a career 11-13 record with 11 saves and an ERA of 3.50.
    Searage worked as a minor league pitching coach for the better part of two decades before closing out his career with a 10-year run as pitching coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Searage was part of three straight postseason runs in Pittsburgh from 2013-15 before retiring in 2019.