ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 9, 1996 TAG: 9605090046
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
THE VIRGINIA TECH baseball team opens tournament play Friday against Temple.
After dealing with all the negatives of its move to the Atlantic 10 Conference, Virginia Tech's baseball team assuredly is not oblivious to the single perk offered by its new league.
An up-and-down 33-22 Tech team that likely would have been cast as an also-ran in a stronger league instead will find itself as the club to beat when the A-10 tournament starts Friday in Boyertown, Pa.
The Hokies, who finished 16-4 and won the West Division, face East Division runner-up Temple (28-21-1, 12-8) at 7:35 p.m. Friday. East champion Massachusetts (31-9, 15-5) meets West runner-up Xavier (25-23, 11-8) in the 4:05 opener.
The double-elimination tournament continues Saturday and concludes Sunday.
On the line is an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
``I've said all along that the one bright spot about going into in the A-10 was the chance it gave us to make the NCAA,'' said Chuck Hartman, Tech's coach.
``No doubt about it, if you want to go to the NCAA, this is certainly an easier route than we've faced before.
``Hey, our kids are not dumb. They know this is our way to get to the NCAA. Now, we've just got to get it done and win this tournament.''
A Hokie club that likely would have been quick kill in its old Metro surroundings has been able to flex its muscle in the much-weaker A-10. Despite playing 12 games on the road, Tech finished 16-4 and won the league's West Division.
``We could have been 20-0,'' said Hartman. ``Each of our four losses came by one run.
``Coming in, I thought we should be a top dog in this league. We had just come out of a league that was one of the top five in the country. We were competitive in it, so you had to figure we'd be one of the better teams here.''
Nevertheless, Hartman wasn't a happy camper when Tech moved into the A-10. Of all the sports - except for football, in which Tech is a member of the Big East - involved in the move, baseball undoubtedly took the hardest hit.
Hartman, in his 18th year at Tech, suddenly saw his program go from one of the nation's best leagues, the now-defunct Metro, to a conference that wasn't even afforded an automatic NCAA bid until this year.
``Yeah, I wasn't too excited about coming into the A-10,'' Hartman said.
Neither were some of his players.
``No question,'' said Hokies center fielder Kevin Barker. ``The Metro was a more talented league. There was much more quality pitching. It was one of the top conferences in the nation, a real place to shine and get noticed.
``The A-10 has a lot of little, scrappy teams that don't have a lot of power, but have one or two pitchers who will keep them in the game a little while.
``The Metro, it's not. But, hey, there's nothing we can do about it. You just live with it.''
The Hokies have done their best to live with brutal weather, long bus rides north and the A-10's quirky schedule that includes back-to-back doubleheaders on weekends. Tech has played 35 of 55 games away from home.
`` ... Those weekend doubleheaders in the A-10 have been killers,'' Hartman said. ``They'll flat wear your butt out.''
Since Tech played only teams inside its division, Hartman admits details are sketchy on UMass and Temple.
``I don't know what the other [division] is,'' he said. ``I know Mass has won 17 in a row, and if you've won 17 in a row, you can't be too bad.''
Nonetheless, Hartman said he likes his club's chances in Boyertown.
``People say we should win it, but you never know in this game,'' Hartman said. ``This team has played some great ball at times, so we know it's there.
``But we haven't found that consistency. At times, we seem to just go through the motions, and that concerns me.''
TECH TIDBITS: Tech will send senior left-hander Brian Fitzgerald to the mound against Temple. Fitzgerald (6-5, 3.55 ERA) can become the Hokies' winningest pitcher ever with one more victory, which would be his 28th. ... Hartman will go with sophomore Jon Hand (6-4, 4.04) in game two, with senior Sean Hummel (7-3, 3.84) getting the nod in game three. ``I like our pitching depth in a three-day tournament,'' Hartman said. ``That's an edge for us, plus we've got a closer.'' ... The aforementioned stopper is junior Charlie Gillian, Tech's all-time saves leader (32). Opponents are hitting .198 this season off Gillian, one of the nation's best short men. ... Tech's offense is paced by Barker, who hit .376, drove in 62 runs and hit an A-10 record 20 home runs this season. Senior catcher Josh Herman (.335, 45 RBI) is the Hokies' other big threat. ... Tech's last conference tournament title and NCAA bid came in 1994 when it won the Metro.
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Hartmanby CNB