Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 23, 1994 TAG: 9405230034
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, KY. LENGTH: Medium
\ Chuck Hartman has had some strong teams in his first 15 seasons as Virginia Tech's baseball coach, but none had reached the NCAA Tournament.
He certainly didn't think his 16th squad, which finished the regular season with a 28-23 record and was seeded sixth in the Metro Conference tournament, would be the first.
"It happen's when you least expect it," Hartman said. "I've heard that a lot in my life, and that's exactly what happened here."
Hartman's Hokies made it happen by completing a sweep of the top four seeds with a 5-3 victory Sunday over Tulane, earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 48-team field and pairings will be announced at 3 p.m. today.
"I'm on cloud nine," Hartman said. "You'd have thought we'd won the World Series the way they mobbed each other. We're real young, but we just got more and more confidence as the thing wore on."
After knocking off third-seeded South Florida, second-seeded Southern Mississippi and top-seeded UNC Charlotte, Tech lost 6-3 to fourth-seeded Tulane on Saturday. When the Hokies fell behind 3-0 in the second inning Sunday in a rematch with the Green Wave, it looked as if this Metro tournament would end in another disappointment for Tech.
"In the pregame, I told the players that if we got behind, we had to keep playing," Hartman said. "I didn't want them to panic."
The Hokies (32-24) didn't. They responded with two runs in the fourth inning.
First baseman David Fitt led off with a home run, and designated hitter Josh Herman followed with a single. Herman took second when catcher Denny Hedspeth's grounder was misplayed, and both runners advanced when Todd Dyess (4-6) hit center fielder Popeye Smith with a pitch. A two-out single by Justin Dobson made it 3-2.
Tech took the lead with two runs in the fifth inning, one on a bases-loaded walk to shortstop Kevin Kurilla and the other on a bunt single by Smith. The Hokies added a run in the sixth when third baseman Bo Durkac doubled and scored on Herman's third single.
Meanwhile, Hokies starter Brian Fitzgerald was settling down.
"When Tulane got three runs in the second inning, it didn't shake me up that much," Fitzgerald said. "I knew that I had to come out and keep battling. . . . I felt strong throughout the game."
Fitzgerald (9-4) went eight innings, giving up eight hits, three runs (two earned) and one walk before getting relief help from freshman closer Charlie Gillian. The freshman closer finished to pick up his 12th save.
Fitzgerald, a sophomore left-hander, was voted the tournament's most valuable player, capping a Cinderella weekend for the Hokies.
"When we came down here, we just wanted to compete," Hartman said. "I don't know that the coaches would've been disappointed to win one or two games. What was really great was we knocked off the Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 seeds.
"This is the lowest seed we've been [in the Metro tournament], and darned if we didn't win the whole thing. Maybe we were seeded too high all those years."
Now, it's on to the NCAA Tournament for Tech's first appearance since 1977, but Hartman wasn't worried about that Sunday.
"Being the sixth seed in the Metro, we're probably going to be seeded last in our regional and get some stud team," he said, "but, hey, that's OK."
\ see microfilm for box score
by CNB