ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, May 20, 1996 TAG: 9605200109
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C.
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS
SETH GREISINGER handcuffs Florida State and the Cavaliers advance to the
Virginia, an ACC also-ran for the better part of two decades, rose up and crushed perennial powerhouse Florida State 12-1 on Sunday to win the conference baseball championship.
Virginia ace Seth Greisinger pitched 61/3 innings of no-hit ball and light-hitting E.J. Anderson had two solo homers in giving the Cavaliers their first title since the ACC went to a tournament format in 1973.
Fifth-seeded UVa (41-19) opened the tournament with four consecutive victories, including a 3-2 triumph over Florida State on Thursday, before falling to the Seminoles 8-2 on Saturday night. That set up the fifth meeting between the teams in eight days.
The Cavaliers, who concluded the regular season by winning one of three games with Florida State, banged out 15 hits Sunday in earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament - the program's third trip to the postseason and the first since 1985.
The Cavaliers' only other ACC championship was in 1972 and their only other trip to the ACC final was in 1982, when they fell to North Carolina 3-2 in 12 innings. Coach Dennis Womack was in his second season at the time.
``This time history came out on our side,'' said Womack, who entered the tournament with a 400-400-5 record in 16 seasons at UVa. ``Most of us as coaches always dream and you visualize what it would be like.
``I visualized this game; I didn't visualize it like this. I didn't visualize it 12-1.''
The victory was Virginia's 10th of the season over a nationally ranked opponent, including five in the past eight days, one over fifth-ranked Clemson and three over No.7 Florida State. UVa was coming off four consecutive losing seasons and had not previously won more than 38 games.
Greisinger shrugged off a 28-minute delay Sunday when a sprinkler head exploded to pitch UVa's fourth complete game in six tournament games.
``They were not intimidated with their surroundings today,'' said Mike Martin, Florida State's coach. ``This was not a fluke. You can't sit here and say that they upset Florida State. By George, they whipped our butts.''
Greisinger (11-2) allowed only doubles to Jeremy Morris in the seventh and ninth innings and an unearned run in the eighth, finishing with a two-hitter and seven strikeouts against the top-seeded and defending champion Seminoles (47-15).
After throwing 153 pitches in a four-hit victory over N.C. State on Wednesday, Greisinger was in complete control Sunday after the Cavaliers gave him a 9-0 lead through three innings. He tied a school record for victories.
``I didn't have my sharp breaking ball, but I think my fastball was there, my change-up was there and the control was there,'' said Greisinger, the tournament's MVP. ``That's basically all I needed.
``There was a lot of pressure riding on us; everybody knew that Virginia hadn't been in a championship game in so long. Coach [Womack] told us that there was no hiding from it. We kind of stepped it up today.''
Virginia sent nine batters to the plate in the first and third innings and had nine hits and six walks off three Florida State pitchers through three innings.
Florida State starter Zach Diaz, a freshman who gave up five earned runs in 22/3 innings in relief May 11 at Virginia, was chased in the first inning of the title game after facing only seven hitters, six of whom reached base.
Anderson had the key extra-base hit in the four-run first inning for the Cavaliers, driving in two runs with an opposite-field double off the wall.
Anderson's solo homer in the third inning came on a 1-2 pitch off reliever Randy Niles, as did Adam Robinson's two-run blast two batters later for an 8-0 Virginia cushion.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 linesby CNB