Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 10, 1990 TAG: 9005110110
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior looks as if he could reach back and come at a hitter pretty good. His 69 strikeouts in 56 innings this spring back up at that theory.
The secret of Graham's success, however, isn't a fastball. It's a curve ball with a big bend that keeps opposing hitters off balance.
"Chris has always had the ability. Last year, he didn't have the defense. It was porous," said Glenvar coach Larry Woods, adding Graham has a good change-up and pretty good fastball.
Graham is 5-3 with a 1.32 earned run average. He qualifies as a Timesland leader in all the pitching categories of won-lost record, ERA and strikeouts. He's also likely to play college baseball because both Radford University and Virginia Military Institute have offered him a partial scholarship.
Two years ago, Graham transferred from Marion and was 0-1 with a 7.44 ERA. Last year the figures improved to 2-6, 2.71. The statistics have also changed for the Highlanders, who are 8-7 and have a shot at making the Pioneer District's top four teams to qualify for the tournament.
So why the improvement for Graham?
"I guess you could say it's my curve ball. I'm throwing it across the plate for strikes. Of course the defense is not letting people get on base."
The curve ball is new for Graham, who was a two-way end on the football team. "Coach Woods suggested I work on a curve to keep hitters off balance. So I worked all spring trying to develop one. In past years, without a curve ball, hitters would wait for my fastball," said the Highlander pitcher.
Graham, who made second-team All-Pioneer District as a tight end, is an example of a banner year that the Highlanders are enjoying in sports.
It wasn't too many years ago that Glenvar, because it was the smallest school, found it difficult to compete in the Group AA Blue Ridge District.
The Highlanders dropped to the Group A Pioneer District and did better, especially in girls' sports.
This year, it seems that nearly every sport is doing well. The girls' basketball team finished second in the state. In football, Glenvar went 4-6, won its last two games and gave perennial power Covington a fit before losing 21-6.
The boys' basketball team was second in the district and made the Region C tournament. And the baseball team, thanks in large part to Graham, has a chance to make the Pioneer District tournament for the first time.
All this might not seem like much for a school that won a boys' Group AA basketball championship and advanced to the Group AA baseball tournament in the 1970s. Those were different days when Glenvar was a larger school before it became a junior high.
When Salem took over its own school system in the early 1980s, Roanoke County was forced to turn Glenvar back into a high school as a member of the Blue Ridge District.
Graham got into football at an earlier age, but says he likes baseball better. He knows his limitations and realizes he doesn't have the size to play college football.
Graham made his entry into baseball as a fifth-grader, two years after he started playing football.
"I figured I might might as well try it. I liked the game because I watched it on television. I like baseball because it's a relaxing kind of a game."
Maybe it is in Graham's mind, but in reality, it's not.
`It's weird. I don't get nervous before a football game. Before a baseball game, I get real nervous," said Graham, explaining that it's a one-on-one game when he's on the mound or facing the pitcher as a hitter.
Still, Graham has his concerns about football. "I'm not saying I'm a wimp, but in football there's more chance for an injury. Of course you want to do better in football because there are bigger crowds and more recognition than there is in baseball."
If there were a chance for Graham to be nervous, it might have been earlier this spring in the first game against Bath County. Scouts came out to see Bath County's Chris Williams, who subsequently didn't have a good day, and Graham was matched against the Chargers' fearsome attack that included Keswick Phillips, who leads Timesland in home runs with 12, and Chris and Tim Williams, who have 62 stolen bases between them.
Graham gave up two runs in four innings of a 4-1 loss.
"I don't think the scouts being there made me nervous," said Graham, who was due to pitch at Bath County again Monday.
"The thing is you can't strike those guys out. You have to keep them off base, let them hit the ball and hope the defense backs you up. If you walk anybody, they just steal bases."
Graham is leaving Glenvar on top in many sports and he's having a very good year.
"It's a good way to go out as a senior. If I cap it off by extending my career in sports [through an athletic scholarship or reaching the Pioneer District tournament], it will have really been a great year," said Graham.
by CNB