Former Georgia Tech All-American baseball player Ryan Ritter has died at 47. | Twitter/Georgia Tech Baseball
Former Georgia Tech All-American baseball player Ryan Ritter has died at 47. | Twitter/Georgia Tech Baseball
Ryan Ritter, a 1993-95 Georgia Tech baseball all-American outfielder/utility player, has died at age 47.
Ritter, who died Oct. 7, had received baseball awards since high school.
“After being named a freshman all-American in 1993, he went on to earn second-team all-American and first-team all-ACC honors in 1995, the school said on its website. "He holds the single-season program record for sacrifice hits at 14 (1993).”
While working on his degree in industrial engineering, Ritter entered Georgia Tech with a baseball scholarship, his obituary in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said. The obituary said Ritter became “a Freshman All American and member of the College World Series Runner-Up Yellow Jackets team in 1994.”
Ritter appeared in 167 games and 155 starts for the Yellow Jackets, playing primarily outfield as well as second base. Enroute to a .342 career batting average, Ritter recorded 217 hits, 138 RBI, 73 extra-base hits, including 34 home runs, the school said.
Ritter was a member of Georgia Tech’s first College World Series team in 1994, where the Yellow Jackets were runners-up in the national championship game, the school said.
He was under the guidance of former head coach Jim Morris before finishing out with the current, the school said.
He graduated in 1995, holding an All-American title. This is when he began his career as a business development and consulting professional, his obituary said.
“He was a natural salesman and enjoyed being a leader and mentor,” the obituary said. “He was on the leading edge in the commercial development of IT solutions in the emerging information age and thrived in a variety of roles. He was a founding partner of Centrics IT and a member of their leadership team when the company was selected multiple times to the AJC's Top 100 Workplaces.”
He channeled his competitiveness into playing board games. He spent time practicing his faith at the Buckhead Church in Atlanta, the obituary said.
“Ryan enjoyed living life to its fullest and made countless memories of concerts, sporting events, celebrations, and vacations spent with his family and friends,” the obituary said.
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