Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 29, 1994 TAG: 9404290052
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: From staff reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Hokies beat the Mountaineers 5-3 in the nightcap in Bluefield, W.Va., to complete a sweep.
Tech (25-19) broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth inning of the second game when Bo Durkac scored on West Virginia pitcher Rich Lodgek's wild pitch. Then Lodgek hit Popeye Smith in the back with a pitch when the bases were loaded, scoring Tech's Denny Hedspeth.
Tech freshman lefthander Chris Freeman (2-2) got the win, striking out four in six innings, and Charlie Gillian picked up his 10th save of the season.
In the first game, Tech left-hander Brian Fitzgerald (6-3) allowed six hits, walked two and struck out two in six innings to pick up the win. Tech closer Charlie Gillian pitched the seventh to pick up his ninth save of the season.
The Hokies scored twice in the first inning, then in the second inning, West Virginia left-hander Mike Riley (1-2) threw a wild pitch with Tech second baseman Justin Dobson on third base. Dobson singled in a run in the third inning to put the Hokies up 4-0.
In other college news:
Louie Napoleon's two-run triple in the top of the fourth inning broke a 2-2 tie and gave seventh-seeded VMI the lead for good in a 6-4 upset win over second-seeded Georgia Southern in the opening round of the Southern Conference baseball tournament in Charleston, S.C.
After Napoleon's triple gave the Keydets (20-27) a 4-2 lead, John Payne hit a solo homer in the fifth and VMI added another run in the eighth.
The Eagles (29-21) loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but could score only one run.
VMI plays third-seeded Marshall, a 7-3 winner over Appalachian State, at 7:30 tonight.
Former Tech linebacker P.J. Preston signed a free-agent contract with San Francisco on Wednesday. Preston, a Martinsville native, will get a chance at the NFL despite missing last season because of an illness that caused him to gag when he worked out.
Preston, who helped Martinsville to the 1988 Group AA, Division III state football championship as a receiver and defensive back, had 201 tackles (11 behind the line of scrimmage), 15 sacks, three interceptions and a blocked punt in three seasons for Tech.
The Radford University baseball team plays its biggest series of the season this weekend: three home games against Big South Conference leader UNC Greensboro (34-13, 17-3), which leads the second-place Highlanders by 2 1/2 games.
Since the Big South does not have a conference tournament, the regular-season champion will advance to the NCAA Tournament in May.
The Highlanders (24-19, 15-6) lead the conference in hitting (.327 average), scoring (7.7 runs per game) and have broken the school season record for home runs (42).
The teams will play a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday, then will play a nine-inning game Sunday at 1 p.m.
Western Carolina senior outfielder Mike Tidick was named the Southern Conference's player-of-the-year and teammate Jason Beverlin was named the Southern Conference's pitcher of the year in balloting by the league's coaches Thursday in Charleston, S.C.
Tidick was ranked fourth in the conference in batting (.374), led the conference with 51 runs, hit 12 home runs and had 51 RBI.
Beverlin, a junior right-hander, had 136 strikeouts this season, breaking the old conference record of 132. He was 11-1 this season and had a 2.15 earned-run-average.
Shannan Wilkey, who recently won her second consecutive Big South Tournament MVP award, was named the MVP of the Radford women's basketball team at the Radford University women's basketball banquet.
Wilkey, a senior from Edinboro, Pa., averaged 21.3 points and 3.5 steals for the Highlanders. Nicole Gardiner won the team's inspiration award, Mindy Ballinger was named best defensive player and Samantha Gilbert won the team's academic award.
UVa tennis players Jen Callen and Alison Cohen were named to the 14-member 1994 ACC women's tennis team Thursday, selected by the league's nine head coaches.
Callen, a senior from Concord, Mass., was named to the all-conference team for the second consecutive season. She is ranked 25th nationally and was 18-7 this year as Virginia's No. 1 player.
Cohen, a sophomore from Wynnewood, Pa., was runner-up in the ACC at No. 4 singles and was 29-10 this season.
by CNB