ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170029
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
THE HOKIES take on the Cavs in a baseball game at Memorial Stadium today.
Salem Memorial Stadium will play host to its first college baseball game when Virginia Tech faces Virginia at 7 p.m. today.
The Hokies are 23-16 after Tuesday's game at Appalachian State was postponed because of inclement weather, while the Cavaliers are 25-15 after rallying for an 8-7 victory over Richmond on Tuesday.
UVa won both meetings between the rivals last season. Tech leads the overall series 66-60.
The Hokies are led by junior outfielder Kevin Barker, who recently was rated the 24th-best pro prospect among college players by Baseball America. Heading into Tuesday's game, Barker led Tech in home runs (13), runs batted in (38) and runs scored (47) and was hitting .370.
The contest will be a homecoming of sorts for three Tech starters - senior catcher Josh Herman (.336, 35 RBI), junior outfielder Matt Reynolds (.246, 22 RBI) and freshman third baseman Chad Foutz (.292, 17 RBI). Herman and Reynolds played at William Byrd High School, and Foutz was a standout at Franklin County High School.
The Cavaliers are only the fifth Virginia team in the past 25 years to be eight-plus games over .500 in April. Pitching has been the key to the Cavs' success - UVa's 3.72 team earned run average ranks among the best in NCAA Division I.
Junior outfielder John Galloway leads UVa in hitting (.355) and RBI (28). Sophomore second baseman Ryan Gilleland, who starred at Jefferson Forest High School, has been the hottest Cavalier of late, raising his batting average 100 points to .308 since March 16.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for fans 12 and younger.
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