ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: UVA NOTES
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
At the end of a weekend sweep of Wake Forest, Virginia baseball coach Dennis Womack speculated that it would take 30 victories to catch the eye of the NCAA selection committee.
Obviously, Womack has learned not to be overconfident during his 15-year tenure because the Cavaliers were 29-15 at the time.
UVa notched win No.30 - only the third time in school history that it has won 30 games or more - with a 9-4 triumph Monday night at VMI in Lexington.
Although the Kedyets have struggled this season, Monday night's game spoke volumes about UVa's season. The winning pitcher, senior Craig Zaikov, struck out 11 batters in pitching the first shutout of his college career.
Zaikov, who is no better than the Cavaliers' No.4 starter, is 6-1 and has a 2.80 earned-run average. If Zaikov is the fourth starter, the fifth starter is freshman Javier Lopez, who is 3-2 and has a 2.47 ERA.
Zaikov and Lopez pitch during the middle of the week, when Virginia plays primarily in-state competition. On the weekends, when Virginia plays three-game series against ACC teams, the Cavaliers send out ace Seth Greisinger and pro hopefuls Jason Sekany and Pat Daneker.
Greisinger, who has recovered nicely from a disappointing showdown with Clemson's Kris Benson, pitched the first shutout of his college career Friday. Greisinger (7-1, 2.22 ERA) allowed two hits and threw only 86 pitches in a 6-0 victory over Wake.
Greisinger, a 6-foot-4 righthander, is rated as the No.4 collegiate pitching prospect in the country by Baseball America. Scouts are also interested in Sekany, another junior righty, who is 3-2 with a 2.36 ERA.
Sekany, a transfer from Modesto (Calif.) Junior College, began the year as the Cavaliers' top reliever and had five saves before moving into the rotation. UVa only has six saves as a team.
``I'd love to have a closer,'' Womack said. ``Virginia Tech has a really good one [Charley Gilliam] but we can't seem to find one.''
The Cavaliers have lowered their ERA from 5.30 in 1995 to 3.42 this season under first-year pitching coach Kevin O'Sullivan, an ex-Cavaliers catcher. Former pitching coach Bobby Miranda left for a better offer from Wake Forest, which is 22-27.
Virginia has overcome a slow start to lift its team batting average to the year from Jefferson Forest High School, was 22-of-60 and had five three-hit games in a 15-game span before Tuesday.
Of the 11 position players who have started 15 or more games for UVa, five are seniors and junior Adam Robinson, the Cavaliers' shortstop and leading hitter, could be drafted. Greisinger could go in the first round and Sekany is another possible early pick.
``Conceivably we could get gutted,'' Womack said, ``but that's kind of the nature of our game. You've got to enjoy it while you can.''
KNIGHT OUT: Doug Knight, the leading scorer in Division I lacrosse, suffered a second-degree separation of his left shoulder and is not expected to be available until the second round of the NCAA playoffs at the earliest.
Knight, a junior attackman, was wearing a flak jacket to protect bruised ribs and had a wrap on his sprained right wrist but still produced four goals and two assists Sunday. He was hurt with 13:37 remaining in the Cavaliers' 13-11 loss to North Carolina in the ACC title game.
SOLOMON SOUGHT: Anthony Solomon, a former Virginia basketball player who has been on the Cavaliers' staff for the past two seasons, was interviewed Saturday for the coaching vacancy at Manhattan. Solomon coached at Manhattan from 1992-93.
Solomon came to UVa after one season at Richmond and has been a successful recruiter at all of his coaching stops. The competition at Manhattan is said to include Kansas assistant Matt Doherty, a Long Island native, and Villanova assistant John Leonard, a Manhattan graduate.
RECRUITING: In its search for front-court help, Virginia has gotten involved with 6-9, 240-pound Australian Craig McAndrew, who played for an international all-star team in the recent NIKE Hoop Summit in Charlotte, N.C.
Insiders say that UVa has a legitimate shot to sign McAndrew and the Cavaliers remain in the picture with 6-9 Kris Hunter, a national top 50 prospect from Tallahassee, Fla. Hunter did not take a scheduled visit to Georgia, but is getting a rush from South Florida and its new coach, one-time UVa aide Seth Greenberg.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB