Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 30, 1995 TAG: 9505100003
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK BULLOCK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Keydets have not had a winning season since 1965. In 1959, current San Diego Chargers head coach Bobby Ross was VMI's leading hitter with a .218 batting average.
But things are changing on the Lexington campus. VMI finished this season with a 19-28 record with Saturday's 8-4 loss to East Tennessee State in the Southern Conference tournament, but had two players who may be selected in this summer's major-league draft.
Head coach Scott Gines hopes David Groceclose and Ryan Glynn are setting the standard for the norm at VMI rather than the exception.
Groceclose, a former standout at Alleghany High School, holds VMI career records for hits and stolen bases. Gines has called him the best defensive shortstop in the state and Groceclose was a first-team All-Southern Conference selection this season.
Glynn is a junior who could be drafted in the first three rounds, Gines said. Glynn, a pitcher, first baseman and designated hitter, led the Keydets in home runs (14) this season and drove in seven runs Friday in a conference tournament victory over Appalachian State.
He has size (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) and enough speed to warrant being a prospect as a position player.
But Glynn's ticket to professional baseball most likely is as a pitcher. He has been clocked in the low 90s on the radar gun, had five complete games this season and struck out 79 batters in 80 regular-season innings.
``He has the best power arm in the Mid-Atlantic region,'' Gines said recently. ``Forty-five scouts watched him pitch his first game this season, and he hasn't pitched a game all year with less than eight or nine scouts.''
Gines said Glynn, a right-hander from Churchland High School in Portsmouth, is ``one of the best physical talents'' in college baseball. But even if Glynn is drafted in the early rounds, Gines would like him to return for his senior season.
``I believe that if he comes back he'll be a first-round pick'' next year, Gines said. ``He brings to the negotiating table a lot more than the average senior, and his best baseball is way ahead of him.''
Gines is lobbying to get Glynn a spot on the Team USA roster ``because he wants to play in Atlanta'' in the 1996 Olympic Games. Were Glynn to make that roster, Gines predicted he would return to VMI and delay signing a professional contract until after his senior season.
HELPING HAND: The Colorado Rockies made a $32,000 contribution last week to the Oklahoma City Red Cross Relief Fund.
Rockies manager Don Baylor coordinated the effort, with players raising $16,000 and the club matching the donation.
``We are extremely proud of Don Baylor and our players for taking the initiative and helping in this time of desperate need caused by a senseless action,'' Rockies chairman Jerry McMorris said.
Salem Avalanche pitcher Jamey Wright, a former first-round draft choice of the Rockies, is from Oklahoma City.
A WONDERFUL STORY: Durham Bulls outfielder Wonderful Monds comes from a distinguished line of Wonderful folks in the Monds family.
It seems that Monds' great grandfather, after a succession of daughters, was so thrilled at finally having a boy that he named his son Wonderful Terrific Monds.
To honor his father, Wonderful Monds passed the name on to his son. The fellow now playing for the Bulls is actually Wonderful Terrific Monds III.
No kidding.
AROUND THE HORN: Outfielder Mike Daniel of Lynchburg is the Carolina League player of the week after batting .423 (11-for-26) with two home runs and nine runs batted in. Wilmington reliever Ryan Towns is the pitcher of the week after giving up two hits and no runs in seven innings over two games.
Lynchburg standout Charles Peterson (.327, 12 RBI) is expected to miss two weeks with a twisted ankle. Former Salem Buccaneer Reed Secrist had four hits, including a grand slam and a two-run homer, for the Hillcats in a recent 14-2 victory over Frederick.
EXTRA BASES: Salem Avalanche catcher Randy Snyder is back in baseball after taking a year off.
Snyder, 28, was released by the Detroit Tigers in the spring of 1994 and decided to ``put baseball on hold.'' He got married, took the summer off and returned to the game when the strike necessitated replacement players in spring training this season.
He made his presence felt immediately in the Salem lineup, collecting five hits in his first two games, including a two-run home run Friday night.
``He puts the barrel of the bat on the ball,'' said Bill Hayes, Salem's manager. ``He's come in and done a good job for us.''
by CNB