Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 29, 1994 TAG: 9404290097
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Ralph Berrier Jr.
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Brian Pardue is a wise guy.
There are few players who will walk up to Pardue, a senior catcher and designated hitter for Radford's baseball team, and try to match wits with him. He's too sharp. A real wise guy.
``He's the team comedian,'' said Radford coach Scott Gines.
He is also one of the primary dudes behind a rash of clubhouse shenanigans carried out with the mischievous intent of knocking a teammate off Mount Ego. Should a young Radford player begin to think too highly of himself during a hot streak, he may one day walk into the team dressing room and find his lock bound in layer upon layer of athletic tape.
``Sometimes it takes 20 to 25 minutes to tape a locker up real good,'' said Pardue.
Perhaps a veteran Highlander has experienced a good outing and is rewarding himself with a well-deserved, relaxing, hot shower, only to be rudely doused with a bucket of ice water.
That Pardue is a real wise guy.
``I don't discriminate - I'll hit anybody hard when they need it,'' said Pardue, to whom high-jinks are just a way of expressing senior leadership.
There are drawbacks to this continuous stream of jocularity.
``Sometimes I'll tell a guy to do something, and he'll say `Yeah, whatever,' like I'm joking or something,'' said Pardue. ``I'll say, `No, I'm really serious,' and they'll just walk off and laugh.''
A wise-guy image can be tough to shake. Pardue makes up for it by being a wise guy off the field, too. A really wise guy.
Wise in that he's working on his fourth straight semester of straight A's. Wise in that he is a past recipient of regional GTE Academic All-America honors. Wise in that he had a B average at an Ivy League school - Columbia - before coming to Radford to play baseball.
Three years ago, it probably would have taken a guy with a 4.0 grade point average and academic all-America honors to figure out just how Pardue was going to get some playing time on the baseball diamond.
He had a rotator cuff injury in 1991, his first season at Radford, and found himself trying to crack a loaded lineup in 1992. He batted .287 that year by making the most of a spot start behind the plate here and an occasional designated hitter appearance there.
``It's hard to fit into a lineup like the ones we've had here if all you can do is hit,'' said Pardue.
Last year, Pardue got more plate appearances as a DH and responded by hitting .359 with six home runs and 30 RBIs. This year, he's hitting .341 with six homers and 39 RBIs.
It should be no surprise that the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Pardue has persevered. He's a battler. He was named the Tennessee wrestler of the year during his senior year at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tenn. and went to Columbia to wrestle and play baseball.
Since Ivy League schools do not give athletic scholarships, Pardue found himself in financial straits after his first year at Columbia and decided he needed to transfer.
``When I finally played here [in 1992], it had been three years since I had played competitive baseball,'' he said. ``Now I have the confidence to hit Division I pitching. It also makes it easier when you're surrounded by good hitters like I am.''
It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Just a wise guy.
BIG SERIES: This weekend at Radford's Dedmon Center Park, the Highlanders face UNC Greensboro in a crucial three-game series that could determine who goes to the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans are in first place in the Big South Conference, two games ahead of second-place Radford. A series sweep would put the Highlanders in first place.
Since there is no league tournament this year, the Big South's regular-season champion gets the automatic NCAA bid.
``We've got to win at least two of three,'' said Gines. ``A sweep would help a great deal.''
The Highlanders still close out the conference season with another tough series when they play a three-game set at Maryland Baltimore County May 14-15.
SOFTBALL SLUGGERS: The softball team won one game in last weekend's Big South tournament to finish its season at 11-32. Kate Neuman and Amy Pseja each finished the season with a .304 batting average to lead the Highlanders, who posted the most victories in the three-year history of the program. ... Neuman batted .637 (7-for-11) in the tournament and had four RBIs to raise her total to a school-record 21. Shannan Wilkey batted .727 (8-for-11) in the tourney to raise her average to .265.
TRANSFERS AND COMMITMENTS: The men's basketball program could fill two of its three scholarships this spring with players transferring from other Division I programs.
Radford received an oral commitment over the weekend from 6-7 Mike Petin, who played at UNC Wilmington last season, and the Highlanders are one of the frontrunners to get Troy Manns, a former star at Roanoke's Patrick Henry High School who announced he is leaving George Mason after two seasons.
Radford signed 6-foot-5 Corey Reed from Bremen (Ind.) High School last week. ...
The women's program received an oral commitment from 5-9 Monique Miller of Bradenton, Fla., who played junior college ball at Miami-Dade last season. Wilma Walton, a prized recruit from Wheeling, W.Va., who committed to the Highlanders last fall, has yet to achieve a qualifying score on her college boards.
COMING UP IN RADFORD: Saturday, UNC Greensboro (DH), 1 p.m.; Sunday, UNC Greensboro, 1 p.m.
by CNB