ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 12, 1996 TAG: 9604120060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: IN THE REGION
SOURCE: STAFF REPORTS
Veteran Winston Cup driver Michael Waltrip will greet fans and sign autographs Thursday, April 18 from 6-8 p.m. at Grand Piano & Furniture at Valley View Mall.
Waltrip's Winston Cup car, the No.21 Ford Thunderbird, will be at the store from 3-8:30 p.m. Grand Piano is a 1996 associate of the Wood Brothers team.
Waltrip finished last season 12th in points and this year has had two top-10 finishes.
In other news in the region:
* Franklin County Speedway drops the green flag for the Rainbo Bread/Cable 6 300 season opener on Saturday night at 6 p.m.
Bobby Radford returns to the speedway looking for his third Late Model Stock Car championship.
Admission to weekly racing is $7 for adults and $5 for students. Children 10 and under are admitted for free.
BASEBALL Radford pounds out road win
Jim Thomas, Chris Gordon, Eric Hungate and Matt Nowak each drove in two runs as Radford outlasted East Tennessee State 10-8 in a non-conference game in Johnson City, Tenn.
Kelly Dampeer (Northside), Thomas, Hungate and Nowak each hit homers as Radford (12-19) pounded 14 hits. Shane Calaman (1-3) got the victory in relief.
Britt Phelps led East Tennessee State (21-18), going 2-for-3 with three RBI.
* Richmond freshman Curtis Brown went 81/3 innings, giving up two runs on five hits as the Spiders downed Virginia Tech 7-2 in Richmond.
Brown (2-3) allowed only one earned run while walking four and striking out seven. Justin Lamber and Mike Dwyer each drove in two runs for Richmond (18-13).
Matt Reynolds (William Byrd) went 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Hokies (19-16).
* Anthony Smith pitched six innings and gave up two runs on five hits as Ferrum knocked off Chowan 7-2 in Ferrum.
Smith (4-0) walked three and struck out three. Riley Hodges went 3-for-4 and Shannon Gray was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored for the Panthers (23-4-1).
Craig Owens drove in two runs for Chowan (12-11).
Hokies host tennis tournament
Virginia Tech will host its first Atlantic 10 men's tennis championships today through Sunday at Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center and the Cassell Coliseum auxiliary tennis courts in Blacksburg.
The Hokies are favored to win the tournament.
* Suzie Rath drove in two runs in the first game and Sheree' Fletcher fired a four-hitter in the second as Radford knocked off Virginia Tech 7-6 and 11-2 in a non-conference softball doubleheader in Blacksburg.
Melissa Pickel led Radford (33-20), going 6-for-9 on the day with four RBI. Tech (13-23) was led by Melissa Sanderson, who was 4-for-7 with three RBI.
* Ferrum College's softball team earned a split at N.C. Wesleyan, falling 6-4 and winning 7-6 in Rocky Mount, N.C.
The Panthers (16-15 overall, 3-5 Dixie) were down 6-0 in the first inning of the second game, but rallied behind a two-run triple by Julie Shifflett.
* University of Virginia golfer Simon Cooke is among 11 finalists for the 1996 Dave Williams Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate senior golfer.
Cooke is the captain of the 1995-96 Virginia golf team and is ranked seventh individually in the latest national rankings.
Past winners of the award include PGA Tour players Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Justin Leonard.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB