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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 15, 1993                   TAG: 9312150033
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-7   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By Ralph Berrier Jr. staff writer
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                 LENGTH: Medium

CHRIS LUCAS NAMED BASEBALL COACH AT CHRISTIANSBURG HIGH

Raking the field, lining the field, mowing the field, dragging the infield . . .

Such is the life of a young guy trying to work his way up the coaching ladder. Lucas was finally rewarded for his field study when he was recently named the varsity baseball coach at Christiansburg High School.

"All those years of working as a volunteer coach, working on fields - it's all paid off," said Lucas, who won two New River District titles in three years of coaching Blacksburg's jayvees before joining Christiansburg's staff last year. In addition to his duties as a teaching assistant, Lucas works on football coach Mike Cole's staff.

Lucas, 24, takes over program that became one of the New River District's best under former coach Kirk Litton, who resigned after seven seasons at the helm.

Under Litton, Christiansburg won four NRD regular season championships, two tournament titles and made four Region IV playoff appearances. The Blue Demons regularly produced some of the NRD's top players, including Randy Lawrence, who is entering his third season as a pitcher in the Boston Red Sox minor league organization.

Lucas, a hard-hitting catcher and third baseman for Blacksburg in 1985-86, plans to build his team around a high-powered offense.

"I like good, offensive baseball," said Lucas. "At the start of the season, we'll set a runs-per game average as a goal. We'll take chances and be aggressive. If you can score runs, and play fundamentally sound in the field, you'll have the momentum and play better."