ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607180039
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
As with many start-up operations, the Christiansburg Astros Dixie Majors baseball team's first season was fraught with error.
No more glaring example was there than an incident during a game near midseason. The situation: one out, Christiansburg runners on second and third base.
The first-year coach of this first-year team, Art Price, shuffled his mental deck to come up with a plan and eventually settled on a suicide squeeze bunt. Price subsequently made a first-year mistake.
He forgot the signs.
``Yep, forgot my own signs,'' he said. ``Funny thing is, before every game, I ask the players if they remember the signs. We only have three of them - bunt, steal and squeeze - but I forgot it big as the world.''
Granted, many coaches would have become agitated and embarrassed at this distressing development. Price, on the other hand, quickly came up with a secondary strategy.
``Scottie Brubeck was on third and I say to him, `Hey, Scottie, you gotta bail me out here.'''
Nothing like putting pressure on a player, especially one in that excitable 16-18-year-old age range, as all Dixie Majors players are. But that's what Price did. He told Brubeck to steal home.
Team loyalist that Brubeck is, he took off like a flushed deer. Shortly thereafter, there was a throw and a poof of dust, a cloud from which Brubeck eventually emerged with a run scored.
And Christiansburg eventually emerged with a victory.
That, in short, is the sort of year it's been for Christiansburg. The Astros have discovered sundry means of winning in interesting ways. The victories keep coming, too, to a season record of 20-11.
The latest happened two weeks ago when Christiansburg made its way through the double-elimination District 6 tournament to claim the right to represent this part of the state in the double-elimination state tournament. Christiansburg will play the representative of a Central Virginia district that includes Crewe and Blackstone at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Liberty Lake Park in Bedford.
The tournament winner proceeds to the Dixie Youth World Series in Montgomery, Ala., Aug.3-8.
Christiansburg team members were delighted simply to return to winning, period. In their capacities as members of the 1996 Christiansburg High varsity, they didn't do as much as they would have liked.
In fact, they didn't do much good at all, winning only five games and falling seven games under .500.
Eric Lucas, an outfielder, offered further details on Blue Demons team miseries.
``We got used to losing,'' he said. ``We'd get good pitching and lose 3-2. We'd get good hitting and lose 12-10.''
You needn't have been there to know the byproduct of such disappointment.
``We got down on ourselves,'' said Chris Epperly, the third baseman.
Come summertime they were all members of the new Astros teams and most of what was going down was the opposition. In a region that included teams from Pulaski County, Floyd County, Patrick County, Bland County, Giles County, Grayson County, Tazewell County and Wythe County, Christiansburg ruled.
``There were a lot of good teams and plenty of tough competition,'' Price said.
Christiansburg was up to the challenge, though.
``The players decided after the high school season that they wanted to stay together during the summer,'' Price said. ``It didn't take them a month to get used to each other."
The lineup remained fairly constant with Travis Bland at first, Cory Sutphin at second, either Lucas or Rufus Shumate at shortstop, Epperly at third, David Epperly at catcher, and Ryan Hubble or Charlton McCoy in right, Brubeck or Lucas in center, and Scott Graham in left.
The pitching was spread out among a varied cast headed by David Epperly, along with Hubble, one of the two high school graduates who play for the team.
Lucas, Brubeck, Hubble and Sutphin all had a hand in the pitching. David Epperly, who will be going to Virginia Military Institute, was the staff workhorse, going 7-3.
Price and his assistant coach, Scott Lucas, started the team this year after a combined Blacksburg-Christiansburg Dixie team folded. Both of them recruited heavily all winter to make sure they'd have enough players to fill out a roster. Price, head of Christiansburg's parks and recreation programs, hadn't coached baseball in a while, but it didn't take long for him to get the hang of it of again.
``Art had really helped us,'' Chris Epperly said.
Price answers to ``Art'' on the field and is most definitely a players' coach. Even that has its limits, though.
The team was in one of its rare stretches when it was playing poorly and Price had seen all he could handle. The volume of his voice rose and inanimate objects were alternately kicked and thrown about, perhaps for dramatic effect, perhaps not.
``Cleaned the dugout right out,'' Brubeck said.
Added Chris Epperly: ``We deserved it.''
Price's original plan was to come out of baseball coaching retirement for one year, just long enough for the team to become established, then return to less stressful activities.
``But I've loved every minute of it,'' he said. ``And now I don't want to give it up.''
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. Scottie Brubeck swings at the ball inby CNBthe batting cage in front of his Christiansburg Astros (Ages 17 &
18) teammates. They're headed to the Dixie Youth League state
tournament. color.