Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 17, 1990                   TAG: 9006150448
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV11   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RAY COX SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LEGION BASEBALL TEAM IS READY AND WILLING TO PROVE IT'S A WINNER

The rookies to legion competition want to prove they can hang with the big boys.

Several older guys who feel as though they weren't accorded enough credit for their accomplishments in college ball want to prove somebody was missing something.

Team veterans want to prove they're better than the group that played .500 ball the previous season.

Everybody wants to prove the team can win.

"We have a good team here," said ex-Salem High left-hander Robby Gibson. "We have some hustlers, we have some scrappers and we have a whole lot of people with good attitudes."

If any of that translates into victories on the field, then West should be one of several teams contending for the Blue Ridge District title. The others should include traditional powers Roanoke South and Martinsville and Bath County.

Certainly, West would appear to have the pitching to contend. Aside from Gibson, who played at the University of South Carolina-Aiken, the top starters will include right-hander Mike Royal of Christiansburg (4-2 this spring), right-hander Corey Epperly from Salem (after transferring from Shawsville), and right-hander Chris Graham of Glenvar (6-3, 2.03 ERA, 75 strikeouts in 62 innings).

Lefty Eric Roberts of Northside is slated to come out of the bullpen.

Also available for spot starts and bullpen work are Scott Phillips of Shawsville and Sean Grinnell of Glenvar.

Gibson, who helped pitch Salem into the Group AA playoffs a year ago, could be the key to the staff. After a discouraging freshman season at USC-Aiken, from which he intends to transfer, Gibson is eager to make a good showing this season for the benefit of the college scouts. Most particularly, he's trying to impress scouts from Virginia Tech, for whom he would like to pitch next year.

"I played a lot of fall ball at Aiken, and I think I played well," he said. "But then they got in their heads this spring that the young guys weren't going to play a lot. I was proud of what I did in the fall, and then in the spring, I got let down."

Another college-age player who had a similar experience was former Shawsville stand-out first baseman Pat Rakes, who spent his freshman season at Ferrum.

"I thought I played real well in the fall, and I expected to play a lot this spring, but it didn't work out," he said. "They redshirted me. It was one of those things that made you mad at first but that you're glad about later because you still have four years of eligibility left. I'm getting to be playing again. I don't want to get rusty."

Rakes contributed to West's 3-0 start with a double and homer in six at bats.

Royal, who helped pitch and hit Christiansburg to the New River District title and a semifinal berth in the Region IV tournament this spring, intends to use his experience this summer as a launching pad for a career at Bluefield (W.Va.) State.

"A lot of the hitters I'll be seeing here in legion are college material," he said. "That's going to help me a lot."

Royal will help the team with his arm and with his bat. Royal hit .404 for the high school this spring and by going 3-for-6 with a double in the first three games.

Offensively, West should be dangerous. Center fielder Mickey Catron from Northside has been deadly so far, going 5-for-7 with five RBI. Others who should provide a fright to the opposition will include shortstop Kelly Dampeer of Northside (.474, five homers in 57 at bats), Northside third baseman Bobby Foster, and Salem catcher Eric Smith.

The rest of West's regular players will be second baseman Chris Hatcher of Northside, and outfielders Rodney Vest and Scott Switzer of Salem. Graham and Royal will play the outfielder when they don't pitch, and Tracy Butt of Salem is expected to contribute just about everywhere but pitching.

The rest of the roster includes Quen Emick of Northside and Richard Shaver of Christiansburg.

"We have a lot better depth than we did a year ago," West coach Billy Wells said. "We also have better chemistry than we did last year. We went 7-7 last year, but one of the reasons was that we hardly ever fielded a full team with all the vacations and camps guys were going to. I don't think that's going to be that much of a problem this season."

Which may mean big problems for opposing teams.