Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 18, 1991 TAG: 9104180186
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Take, for example, Virginia Tech right-hander Scott Robertson and his dissertation on the seams of a baseball.
"Rawlings, Wilson and Diamond," Robertson said, rattling off brand names. "They're all different. The Wilson and Diamond are closer to each other, but the Rawlings almost has no seams at all; you can spin your hand around the ball and not even feel it. [The Wilson] is kind of intermediate; it feels kind of big to me. [The Diamond] is about the same as the stitches on the Wilson, but it just feels different. I think they're wider."
The relevance of this? Robertson pitched his best game this year, a two-hit shutout over then-14th-ranked Fresno State, using a Diamond ball. He hasn't thrown with a Diamond since; Tech uses the Wilson ball and has played with a Robertson Rawlings, the ACC ball, against Virginia.
Need it be said that Robertson hasn't come close to his performance against Fresno State since that mid-March victory? His closest was when he pitched into the eighth inning trailing 3-1 against Virginia last week.
"I think it's more mental than anything," Robertson said of the ball-to-performance connection. "But it worked."
Robertson, a sophomore from Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, is Tech's top winner this year with a 5-2 record; Patrick County High School graduate Brad Clontz is 4-2 and has a team-best 3.44 ERA.
Robertson's next start will be during Tech's series this weekend in Blacksburg against Tulane. Tonight, he will watch his teammates try to knock off Radford in a 7:30 game at Salem's Municipal Field, which also will be the site of the Metro Conference tournament beginning May 15.
Proceeds from tonight's game will go directly to Tech's baseball program. The Hokies had three such games last year, in Salem, Martinsville and Pulaski; this year, Salem and Martinsville are playing host to the Hokies.
Last year, Hartman's program received roughly $15,000 from those three games. Hartman said most of the money was used for recruiting, but he added that some was used to put four players through summer school - at least one of whom, Hartman said, was able to maintain his eligibility.
The Hokies, after a stretch in which they lost 10 of 12 games to fall to 13-17, defeated Virginia on Wednesday for their fourth victory in five games andevened their record at 18-18. Coach Chuck Hartman, in his 13th year at Tech, hasnever had a team finish worse than 12 games over .500.
"I've never really understood exactly what our problem has been. I know we have the talent," Robertson said, then referred to Tech's recent stretch. "We haven't quite got it, but I think we're playing a lot better."
Radford has encountered similar won-lost woes. The Highlanders were favored to win the Big South Conference, but they are 15-23-4 and have lost five straight.
Hartman said he hopes his Hokies act less like sunbathers and more like ballplayers under the lights at Municipal Field.
"The biggest disappointment [this year] definitely is the [lack of] intensity we play with. That really bugged me sometimes," Hartman said.
Hartman's bug repellent has been Robertson, whom Hartman said entered spring as Tech's sixth pitcher - in other words, not in the regular rotation. But in his first start, Robertson shut out weak Howard University 13-0. His second start was against Fresno State, and he hasn't left the rotation since.
"He's been a real salvation," Hartman said, perhaps thinking of his team's 5.57 ERA (Robertson's is 4.64). "We've got a chance when he pitches. He's going to make the other team beat us."
Hartman said his improved slider and change-up pitches have helped Robertson improve his meager 1990 numbers - two starts, 1-3 record, 46 hits and 14 walks in 29 innings and a 6.52 ERA. Robertson said he bagged his curve ball when he discovered he couldn't throw it and a slider effectively. This year, he has allowed 57 hits and 18 walks in 52 1/3 innings.
Robertson admitted he needed his best stuff - fastball, slider and change-up all sharp - to beat Fresno State. He had it for three days.
"In the [bull]pen the day before . . . I felt really well and I was hoping I could come out the next day and have the same stuff," Robertson said. "I went out there and only threw two pitches and the game got called because of rain so we played the next morning. Luckily, for the third straight day, I had pretty good stuff again - probably the best out of all three [days]."
by CNB