[A.G.]

Let's see if the Flames can pick up an ACC win, today. Tech comes into the game sporting a 7-3 record, winning 5 of 6.
http://www.hokiesports.com/baseball/

Tech's line-up also includes former Rustburg standout Luke Padgett.

[BJWilliams]

Liberty wins 13-1

[A.G.]

HOLY SCHNIEKIES!! Great win for the program.

I
feel
the
good
part
of
the
force
beginning
to
flow
through
my
veins.

noooooooooooooooooooooo!

[jcmanson]

Wow. Great win for the club.

[PAmedic]

3rd response and no one's started whining about cupcakes? what gives?

[A.G.]

I finished that rant a couple days ago. Granted, Tech was not in the top 174 in Boyd's RPI, but an ACC win will definitely help LU's RPI.

[krh44]

Nice Win today. I looked at one site and it sad Tech was #39 in the RPI. Decent crowd despite the chilly weather.

[A.G.]

If that's the case, then GREAT win--and lets hope Tech does well in the ACC.

[Stevev]

Holy cow! What a great win. Great confidence booster there beating a good ACC team. A win like that will make us all proud.

[A.G.]

I was wrong--I just missed seeing where they were ranked in Boyds RPI (39)
http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/rpi/currentrpi.html
and 40 in this other RPI:
http://www.warrennolan.com/baseball/2006/rpi

[krh44]

Winthrop not doing to bad and either is Rutgers. Hopefully we will play like we did today.

[Hold My Own]

I was going to say AG what gives you were off by like 130 or so...LoL but you caught it before I could call you out

[PAmedic]

LU's Keller delivers in clutch against Tech

http://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellit ... th=!sports

By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
March 8, 2006

The slump was eating at P.K. Keller. It was obvious in the way the Liberty center fielder was pressing at the plate, flailing at pitches he had no business swinging at and coming up empty in clutch situations.
So before Wednesday's game with Virginia Tech at Worthington Stadium, Keller spent some one-on-one time with Liberty's coaches, and they all told him the same thing.

Calm down.

And with a little patience, he broke out of his slump in a big way.

Keller had driven in just eight runs in LU's first 13 games and was batting .213, but he hammered the Hokies' pitching staff Wednesday, driving in a career-best six two-out runs in a 13-1 Liberty rout.

It was the Flames' most lopsided win over their state rivals from Blacksburg since a 16-0 win in 1986, and Keller had a lot to do with it.

He hit a two-run single in the third to put Liberty (11-3) up 4-0, added an RBI single in the fifth and capped the scoring with a three-run home run to left in the eighth.

"It had gotten really frustrating," Keller said. "I think I was trying to do too much. I think I was too anxious. It took a lot of patience. I kind of settled down and everything just flowed after that."

That was plenty of support for Flames starter Phillip Thompson, who held the Hokies (7-4) to three hits in seven innings. Thompson (2-1) said his changeup location was a key to baffling Virginia Tech's hitters, who had one of their worst outings of the season. (The worst was a three-hit effort in a 5-0 loss to West Virginia).

Thompson began to tire in the seventh, when Tech picked up its only run on Jose Cueto's RBI double. But early on, he was nearly unhittable. Until Sheldon Adams singled with two outs in the fifth, the only Hokie to reach base was former Rustburg standout Luke Padgett, who reached via a four-pitch walk.

The Hokies entered the game hitting .312 as a team. Four starters were hitting .350 or better.

"Thompson's a very good pitcher," Tech coach Chuck Hartman said. "He doesn't walk people, and he's got three pitches and he moves the ball around. I was wondering if we were ever going to get a hit."

Liberty's breakout day admittedly came against some of the weak links on the Virginia Tech pitching staff. Six-foot-six freshman southpaw starter Evan Fredrickson was making the first start and second appearance of his career. He allowed four earned runs in three-plus innings, and while his stuff was dominating at times, his control was erratic.

"He's got a good arm; he can throw in the 90s," Hartman said. "He was nervous and tight. He didn't pitch, he threw."

Two other pitchers who hadn't hit the mound yet this season, Bobby West and Casey Herald, close the game out. The Hokies wanted to save top starters David Cross, Greg Fryman and Ryan Kennedy for this weekend's opening ACC series at Miami.

That doesn't diminish the effort of a Liberty team that is starting to find its hitting stroke. The Flames were hitting .263 entering the game but got multi-hit games from Patrick Gaillard, Aaron Grijalva and Keller.

"We need (P.K.)," Thompson said. "Last year, a lot of his home runs were in key situations. He has the ability to be a clutch hitter. Any time you can get two-out hits with guys on base, that's money."

[PAmedic]

Keller Drives In Six Runs As Flames Roll Past Virginia Tech

March 8, 2006 · Lynchburg, Va.

P.K. Keller was 3-for-4 with a home run, driving in six runs as the Liberty Flames defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies, 13-1, Wednesday afternoon at Worthington Stadium.

Winners of nine in their last 10 games, the Flames move to 11-3 on the season, while the Hokies had their four-game winning streak snapped and fall to 7-4.

Liberty jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Patrick Gaillard (Jr., SS, Taylors, S.C.), who singled to lead off the inning, scored on a RBI single by Michael Just (Sr., 2B, Woodcliff Lake, N.J.).

The Flames then added three more runs in the third inning. Just walked and advanced to third on an overthrow on a pickoff attempt by the Virginia Tech pitcher. He then scored on a two-out RBI single by Phillip Laurent (Sr., LF, Cantrall, Ill.). After a walk to Errol Hollinger (Fr., C, Upland, Calif.), Keller (So., CF, St. Petersburg, Fla.) delivered a single to plate two runs for a 4-0 Liberty advantage.

Liberty extended its lead with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Keller singled home his third two-out RBI of the afternoon, while in the sixth, Derek Bennion (r-Jr., RF, Snohomish, Wash.) singled to score a run.

In the seventh inning, the Flames picked up two more on RBI sacrifice flies by Hollinger and Abe Yeakel (Jr., DH, Kutztown, Pa.).

Meanwhile, Liberty starter Phillip Thompson (Sr., RHP, Ringgold, Va.) had another strong showing in his second start of the season to advance his record to 2-1. The right-hander did not allow a Hokie hit through the first four innings on his way to allowing just one run on three hits over seven innings, while striking out five and walking two.

Virginia Tech scored its lone run in the seventh inning on doubles by Matt Hacker and Jose Queto, before the Flames closed out the scoring with five runs in the eighth on a two-run single by Aaron Grijalva (r-So., 1B, Redlands, Calif.) and a three-run home run over the left field wall by Keller, his first of the season.

Keller had his first three-hit game of the season, his six RBI were a career-high for the sophomore center fielder. All of Keller’s RBI came with two outs. Teammate Grijalva, also had a three-hit game by going 3-for-5 afternoon.

Besides Thompson, Dustin Umberger (Fr., RHP, Hummelstown, Pa.) and Tim John (Jr., RHP, Linwood, N.J.) each pitched a scoreless inning of relief for Liberty. Starter Evan Frederickson (0-1) took the loss for the Hokies.

The Flames hit the road for a three-game weekend series in our nation’s capital with the George Washington Colonials. Friday’s first pitch at Bancroft Park in Arlington, Va. is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Outfielder P.K. Keller had a career-high six RBI
in Liberty's win over Virginia Tech, Wednesday.

[bigsmooth]

always good to smack the hokies in the mouth. hoping for a weekend sweep with GW.

[PAmedic]

best part- no reports of anyone getting stomped on or held up!

[Hold My Own]

he's got jokes

[PAmedic]

oh I'm multi-talented. Just ask me.

[A.G.]

Uh--before we get too giddy about a 13-1 win, Tech pretty much threw their JV staff out there, yesterday. Two of the pitchers, it was their first action, the other, had pitched a grand total of 1/3 inning all year. They play at Miami this weekend, so they were not going to burn any of their good pitchers. On the other hand, LU threw one of their best.

The dark side? Yup. That's my job. But still a nice win, just not a GREAT win.

[krh44]

http://www.hokiesports.com/baseball/rec ... 38aab.html

Flames Burn Hokies
Tech held to four hits in 13-1 loss
March 8, 2006

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty University got seven strong innings from starting pitcher Phillip Thomas and six runs batted in from center fielder P.K. Keller to hand Virginia Tech a 13-1 loss at Worthington Stadium on Wednesday.


Thompson held the Hokies without a hit until the fifth inning when Tech left fielder Sheldon Adams (Big Stone Gap, Va.) lined a single into right field. The senior right-hander faced just one batter over the minimum through six innings before allowing the Hokies a run in the seventh. Thompson pitched seven full innings to improve to 2-1 on the season. He struck out five batters and walked two, while allowing just three hits.


Liberty (11-3) started putting pressure on Tech freshman pitcher Evan Frederickson (Oak Hill, Va.) in the bottom of the first. The Flames scored on a single by second baseman Michael Just and loading the bases with one out. Frederickson got out of the jam with a pair of fielder's choices, but wasn't as fortunate in the third inning.


A one-out walk to Just and a two-base throwing error by Frederickson set up an RBI-single by Liberty left fielder Phillip Laurent in the third. Flames' catcher Errol Hollinger walked on what turned out to be a wild pitch that allowed him to advance to second and moved Laurent to third. Keller followed with a two-out, two-run single to up the Flames' advantage to 4-0.


Keller delivered again with two outs in the fifth inning, driving in another run with a single. He capped his day with a three-run homer to left field with two outs in the eighth inning. In between, Liberty got a run-scoring single from right fielder Derek Bennion in the sixth and two runs on a pair of sacrifice flies in the seventh. Liberty finished with a total of 12 hits.


Fredrickson took the loss in his first collegiate start, allowing four runs on four hits in three innings of work. He struck out one batter and walked five. Tech's only run came in the seventh when shortstop Matt Hacker (Richmond, Va.) led off the inning with a double and came home on a double by right fielder Jose Cueto (Miami, Fla.). The Hokies' only other hit was a single by third baseman Bryan Thomas (Wilmington, N.C.) in the ninth.


Tech, now 7-4 on the season, is scheduled to begin Atlantic Coast Conference play with a three-game series at Miami beginning Friday.