ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 30, 1996 TAG: 9604010121
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
It was a meeting of Olympic proportions.
Or, it was supposed to be.
It was still 90 minutes before the first pitch Friday, and a dozen scouts were already in the stands at the UVa Baseball Field.
It didn't matter that Clemson had 30 straight ACC wins over Virginia. Their attention and radar guns were pointed at the mound. On a nippy afternoon, they wanted to see the two junior right-handers invited to the U.S. Olympic tryouts.
Well, most of the scouts came to see only Virginia's Seth Greisinger, whose stunning season has gotten him that invitation and more. His mound foe, Clemson's Kris Benson, they knew plenty about.
The tipoff came when the pitchers warmed up before the game. The scouting crowd was on the hill behind third base, watching the Cavaliers' star.
``The only one here to see Benson is Pittsburgh,'' said cigar-smoking Chicago White Sox national cross-checker George Bradley, a Giles County native. ``He's 1-1 [first round, first pick] and the Pirates have it. Believe me, the rest of us are watching Greisinger,'' said Bradley, who confirms reports on top prospects.
The Pirates, Phillies and Cubs sent in scouting directors. By the first pitch, more than half of the majors' 28 clubs had birddogs in the stands. If Greisinger were being projected as a first-round pick, he won't be now.
The seventh-ranked Tigers (23-5) ruined Greisinger's day and his glossy 0.86 earned run average, lowered with an incredible, 16-strikeout, no-walk shutout of North Carolina a week ago.
Greisinger (4-1) allowed eight earned runs - twice his season total - went to seven three-ball counts, barely survived a five-run second inning and left after five innings of an 8-1 Clemson victory over UVa (16-11).
His ERA soared to 2.30. Still, he has an impressive 62 strikeouts and 11 walks in 47 innings.
The 6-foot-4 Benson didn't flinch with all of those guns pointed at him, allowing three hits over seven innings. When the Georgia native pitched Clemson's season-opening win last month at Tiger Field against South Florida top prospect Mark Roberts, 77 scouts watched, including six from one club.
Benson was the No. 4 college prospect on Baseball America's preseason list. He was a 10th-round choice out of high school by Boston. He's also 7-0 with a 0.84 ERA on a team that could be a lot better, had not nine of the Tigers' 13 recruits for 1996 not signed pro contracts.
Greisinger, whose only evidence last season of what he might become came in seven complete games of a 6-7 season and 95 strikeouts in 97 innings, was No.94 on the list.
``I've seen him; he's better than that,'' one National League club scout said.
The performance against Clemson was as surprising as the first month of his season was stunning. A couple of weeks ago, LSU and Olympic head coach Skip Bertman called Bradley.
``Who's this Greisinger at Virginia,''' Bertman asked. ``Should we pick him?'''
They did. The 6-3, 195-pound McLean High School graduate is the first UVa baseball player invited to the Olympic Trials. He's among the first 25 named to the tryouts. A 40-man USA team will begin a 32-game tour in June, including dates at The Diamond in Richmond and Norfolk's Harbor Park.
Greisinger hadn't allowed an extra-base hit in his past 29 innings before Friday. A seventh-round pick by Cleveland out of high school, he turned down a $100,000 offer and came to UVa.
His fastball registered 91 mph on the ``fast'' JUGS gun Friday, and he throws a good curve and change, although he tried too often to get the change past right-handed Tigers. His breaking ball also was up in the strike zone.
``I wish he would throw more fastballs,'' one scout said. ``He throws his curve too much. Maybe he doesn't think he has as good a fastball as he really has. It's very good.''
The scouts liked Greisinger's ability to throw strikes, but one, in reference to his motion, said, ``He goes through an awful lot to release the ball.''
Greisinger credits his American Legion coach, Joe Schourek - the father of Cincinnati ace Pete Schourek - with giving him the confidence to become a big-time prospect.
Then, there's first-year UVa pitching coach Kevin O'Sullivan, a former Cavalier catcher, and Greisinger's guru. ``The first day [of workouts] in the bullpen, he changed everything I've done in my entire life.''
Greisinger changed his leg kick, stood more erect, faced the plate differently, quit dropping his elbow on the change - and suddenly was a different pitcher.
``He's not a first-rounder,'' one American League scout said. ``I'd say second or third. There's a lot to like about him. All these guys wouldn't be here if there weren't.''
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