Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 10, 1990 TAG: 9005100345
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Well, almost no use.
"He pitches in on your hands with that running fastball," said Virginia Tech baseball coach Chuck Hartman, whose team faced Florida State's ace Wednesday. "It wasn't a bad day for him. He probably likes Florida weather better, but that's a nice place to be pitching on a cold day, pitching inside."
Finnvold, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound right-hander, dismissed the Hokies with a three-hitter at English Field as the Seminoles scored five times in the third inning and won 5-1.
Florida State, which took over first place in the Metro Conference by beating Tech on Tuesday, is 13-4 in the league and 44-12 overall. The Hokies, who have lost three straight games for the first time this year, are 9-5 and 33-16.
From the first through the ninth innings Wednesday, Finnvold retired 23 consecutive batters. He lost his shutout bid with two out in the ninth when third baseman John Marc Tamayo booted a grounder, allowing Tech's Shaun Thomas to score from third. Under a gray sky with a chilly breeze typical of late autumn, Finnvold threw 110 pitches, 80 for strikes.
"That explains it right there, I guess," Finnvold said. "You get ahead and stay ahead. I guess once I got out there in the ninth, I realized, `Hey, wow, this game went pretty quick.' "
Thomas led off the bottom of the first with a single, and David Dallas followed with a single. Tech didn't get another hit until Thomas' opposite-field double with one out in the ninth.
"He didn't have to rely on one pitch to get an out," Thomas said. "All his pitches were basically out pitches."
Tech starter Greg Margheim, who had won four straight games after beginning the year 0-3, threw too many non-out pitches.
In the third, Florida State's Kenny Felder led off with a home run. One single, four walks and two runs later, Margheim was gone. Reliever Jamie Patteson gave up a two-run single to Eddie Perez, then shut out the Seminoles for six innings. But FSU, ranked eighth in the nation by Baseball America magazine, was comfortable enough.
"Felder's home run was a big lift for us, [to] get on the board early like that," said Mike Martin, the Seminoles' coach.
Hartman rued a missed opportunity for a double play in the third, when FSU had the bases loaded with none out and Brad Parker grounded to short. Regular second baseman Dallas, playing shortstop because freshman Josh Haggas injured a finger in warmups, threw to his replacement Martin Agee, who didn't make a throw to first.
Plays like that have Hartman worried as Tech prepares for the Metro tournament, which begins May 16 in Hattiesburg, Miss.
"Those are the kind of little plays that have just been really jumping up and catching us big lately," he said. "When you're not going well, those things happen."
Florida State005000000-592 Virginia Tech000000001-132
Finnvold and Grifol; Margheim, Patteson and Creed. W - Finnvold (12-3). L - Margheim (4-4). HR - Felder (FS), 3rd, none on.
by CNB