By Aaron McFarling
aaron.mcfarling@roanoke.com
981-3124

RADFORD – Before Saturday, Bradford Mills had started one game all season for the Blacksburg boys soccer team.

He knew how to handle start No. 2.

Thrust into the lineup because a teammate was late for practice, Mills scored two second-half goals to bookend Blacksburg’s 4-0 victory over Tuscarora in the VHSL Group AA semifinals at Radford University.

“It feels amazing, I’m not going to lie,” Mills said.

Especially given the history between these two teams. Tuscarora (22-2) had defeated Blacksburg 4-1 at this same stage last year, so the Bruins weren’t expecting such a decisive result.

“You’ve got to keep an open mind, right?” midfielder Geinda Smith said with a smile.

The win moves Blacksburg (20-0-2) into Sunday’s 10 a.m. Group AA final for the 19th time in the past 25 seasons. The Bruins, who’ve won a record 11 state championships, will face E.C. Glass – a team they beat 1-0 on April 13.

Saturday’s scoreless match turned in the 42nd minute, when Blacksburg co-captain Mitchell Williams sent a long pass from the midfield toward Mills. The junior forward got a nice first touch to control the ball, then sped between two defenders flanking him.

One-on-one with Tuscarora keeper Adam Kight, Mills found the lower-corner of the net to break the deadlock.

“Bradford does have that burst of speed,” said Blacksburg coach Shelley Blumenthal, who’s given Mills copious minutes in a reserve role. “He controls his body very well. If he can get a good first touch, which he did, as soon as you saw him you said, ‘He’s going to get by ‘em.’ He just tucked it nicely into the corner. Very composed on his finish.”

Just three minutes later, Williams made a nifty move just outside the 18-yard box to shake a defender, then blasted the ball into the upper-left corner of the net to make it 2-0.

A strike Smith deemed “sick” was made even more impressive given that Williams is left-footed — and delivered the rocket with his right foot.

“The second goal’s just a beautiful shot,” Tuscarora coach Dave Gryder said. “We didn’t put enough pressure on him.”

Blumenthal downplayed the revenge factor before this game – stressing instead how explosive Tuscarora’s attack can be – but last year’s result was in the minds of his players.

“It was everything, really,” said Smith, who scored on a penalty kick in the 56th minute. “Everything. When you lose to a team that bad, like last year, you’ve got to come out and show them that you really weren’t chumps. I guess we did that.”

Junior keeper Gillen Beck made seven saves for Blacksburg, which has allowed just six goals all season.

Mills capped the scoring with another nifty one-on-one move, leapfrogging the diving keeper and caressing the ball into the lower-left corner in the 65th minute.

That was the ninth goal of the year for Mills, who didn’t know he’d be starting until Friday’s practice.

“I guess sometimes things happen for a reason,” Williams said. “It definitely worked out today. He’s been great off the bench all year, just the energy he brings after the first 10, 15 minutes. No teams can match it.”

The Big 2 for Friday:

(1) WELL, WELL, THAT’S AN INTERESTING RESULT. They say an NBA playoff series doesn’t really start until the road team wins a game. Seems the Finals are underway, as the Spurs stun the Heat 92-88 in Game 1.

-LeBron gets a triple-double (18-18-10) but has a lot of work to do to reach the lofty series point totals most of us predicted for him. Here are those:

BLOG CROWD PREDICTIONS FOR LEBRON’S TOTAL POINTS FOR SERIES (through Game 1: 18)
Coxster 93 (injury predicted)
Another Jason 123
A-Mac 144
Zman 150
Shaun 151
Bdizzle 153
DJ 156
Other John 165
hokie hater 169
Sherrick 175
Trevor 180
RP 185
Nokieman 186
Original Greg 195
Tom L 200

Game 2 is Sunday.

(2) VIRGINIA TECH’S CHAD PINDER GOES 71ST OVERALL TO OAKLAND in the major league draft. Congrats to him. From MLB.com:

Pinder hit .321 with eight home runs and 50 RBIs in 60 games for the Hokies this season. He started the year at third base, then moved to shortstop midway through the season and is said to be able to play all over the infield.

For now, the A’s are viewing him as a shortstop, the same position 2011 first-round pick Addison Russell plays.

“He’s been mostly at third base through his career, but we were encouraged by his defense at shortstop and we do think he has a chance to stay at that position as his career progresses,” A’s scouting director Eric Kubota says. “We have some guys on our scouting staff who really, really liked him. We saw him a lot through the spring, and we were particularly surprised he was still available because he really, really played well at the end of the season.”

-As I wrote in Monday’s column, Pinder’s defense in the Blacksburg Regional was superb, and looked even better given the struggles some of his teammates had with the glove. Tech coach Pete Hughes said Pinder calms everybody down with his defensive excellence. In fact, in obvious bunting situations, Hughes would move Pinder from short to third to increase the odds that he’d be the one touching the ball.

-Houston went with Stanford’s Mark Appel with the first overall pick. You can see all the picks from last night here.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Reminder that all the high school stuff at Radford except for tennis has been pushed back until tomorrow. Full sked here… Michael Vick says he wants the Eagles to name their starting QB before training camp…Cuban phenom Yasiel Puig hits an eighth-inning grand slam to lead the Dodgers over the Braves 5-0…Blackhawks beat Kings, take 3-1 series lead in West…Nuggets fire coach George Karl.

NAME THAT TUNE
Can’t we give ourselves one more chance?
Why can’t we give love that one more chance?
Why can’t we give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love, give love?..
‘Cause love’s such an old-fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves

THE SOUND OF SILENCE: The Salem Red Sox clubhouse is an awfully quiet place on nights like this.

The Sox had multiple chances Thursday to close their homestand on a high and inch closer in the Carolina League’s Southern Division race, but they couldn’t capitalize in a 5-4 loss to Winston-Salem in front of 1,441 at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

“In close games like that when you have plenty of opportunities, that kind of gets to people more,” Sox leftfielder Brandon Jacobs said. “One small mistake either way and we’re ahead in this game. It’s probably a little harder to bite your tongue on that one.”

STILL AN OUTSIDE CHANCE: A win would have moved the Sox to within three games of division-leading Myrtle Beach, which had dropped 12 of 13 coming into Thursday. Instead, the Dash moved into a virtual tie for the lead, with the Pelicans’ result pending. The Sox are 3 ½ behind Winston-Salem with 12 to play in the first half.

The Salem franchise has not won a first-half division title since 1988.

ALMOST A HERO: After the Sox tied the game 4-4 in the sixth, they put runners on first and second with one out for newcomer Stefan Welch, who was acquired this week from the Pirates.

The Australian-born Welch ripped a line drive up the middle that was snagged by diving second baseman Joey DeMichele, who flipped to second to double off a helpless Keury De La Cruz. The Dash would take the lead two innings later on a ground ball double play.

ON THE REBOUND? Jacobs hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, continuing to show signs of breaking out of his early-season malaise. He batted .195 in April and .227 in May but has hit .342 in his past 10 games.

“I was swinging too hard earlier in the season and getting frustrated with myself,” Jacobs said. “But just realizing, you’re a hitter, you’re going to get out, I’ve been trying not to do too much at the plate.”

LOOSE ENDS: UVa alum Jeremy Farrell, the league leader in RBIs, hit his ninth homer of the season in the fifth inning…Henry Ramos went 3 for 4, stole a base and hit a solo homer for Salem…De La Cruz had two hits and two RBIs.

ON DECK: The Sox open a three-game series at Lynchburg today, with Salem RHP Kyle Stroup (3-3, 3.88) opposing Hillcats RHP Greg Ross (2-2, 4.36) at 6:05. – Aaron McFarling

The Big 2 for Wednesday:

(1) The first round of the major league draft is 7 p.m. tonight on MLB Network. While this event doesn’t have near the hype of its NFL or NBA counterparts, just remember: Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman, who beat the Detroit Tigers the other night, was still an LSU Tiger at this time last year.

-Here is tonight’s draft order. Houston has the first pick and could very well take Oklahoma pitcher Jonathan Gray, who we just saw throw a complete game in the Blacksburg Regional.

-Baseball America recently broke down the state-by-state production of players drafted from 1989-2008. Interestingly, Virginia was the fifth-most fertile state during that time. Of course, the commonwealth has produced the Upton brothers, Ryan Zimmerman, David Wright, Billy Wagner, Justin Verlander and others. Their top draft prospect in Virginia this year is pitcher Connor Jones of Great Bridge High, which will be playing in Friday’s Group AAA semifinals. No. 2: Tech infielder Chad Pinder, who probably won’t go tonight but should go in the second or third round.

(2) Game 1 of the NBA Finals is 9 p.m. tonight on WSET. Miami is a five-point home favorite over the Spurs in tonight’s game and a 2-to-1 choice to win the series.

-Interest in the NBA on this blog has been rather tepid (myself included), so let’s try to spice it up a bit given that we’re not going to be able to avoid LeBron talk in the foreseeable future. Rather than pick who’s going to win, why don’t we do this: Predict how many total points LeBron will score in the series. To assist you, LeBron has averaged 23.5 PPG in the postseason for his career and 22.9 in this year’s playoffs.

-I’ll go first: 144. What say you? I’ll keep a tab here. Closest to the right total when this thing ends can choose the lead photo for the blog (within reason) two days after the final game of the series. I know, I know. You’re falling all over yourselves for that honor.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Luke Hancock is pretty sure he has a horse named after him…Salem Sox rebound nicely with 8-0 victory…Bruins top Penguins in 2 OTs to take a 3-0 series lead over Penguins…Stephen Strasburg hits the 15-day DL with a lat strain.

NAME THAT TUNE
You said you didn’t need her
You told her good-bye (good-bye)
You sacrificed a good love
To satisfy your pride
Now you wished that you should have her (have her)
And you feel like such a fool
You let her walk away
Now it just don’t feel the same
Gotta blame it on something
Gotta blame it on something…

ANYTHING YOU CAN DO…: A night after Winston-Salem set the tone for a blowout victory with a huge first inning, Salem struck back with an impressive early salvo of its own Wednesday night.

The Red Sox put up four runs in the opening inning, and three pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout as Salem rebounded from an ugly loss with an 8-0 triumph in front of 2,144 at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK: The Sox trailed 8-0 before even coming to bat in Tuesday’s 12-5 defeat, but ace lefty Henry Owens put up a goose egg in the top of the first Wednesday before turning things over to his teammates.

Five of the first initial six Salem hitters delivered hits. Garin Cecchini, Keury De La Cruz, Brandon Jacobs and Henry Ramos all picked up RBIs as the Sox grabbed a quick 4-0 lead.

PUTTING IT AWAY: In the third inning, Salem first baseman Matt Gedman came up with two on and two out.

“I’d been struggling a little bit the last couple days with runners on base, and just in general,” Gedman said. “So I’m just trying to have a good plan up there and see what happens.”

Gedman was looking for a fastball but instead got a low-and-in slider that he dropped the barrel on, clubbing it over the wall in right for his second homer of the year.

MAKE YOUR OWN BREAKS: Salem’s pitchers came into this one with a revised plan against Winston-Salem’s Courtney Hawkins, who belted two long homers in Tuesday’s game.

“Just from watching other guys, it seemed like he struggled a little with the offspeed,” reliever Matt Ott said. “We just basically threw that until he beat us with it. Fortunately, he didn’t.”

Hawkins finished 0 for 4 as Owens and Ott combined to strike him out three times.

SOUND ON THE MOUND: Despite issuing five walks, Owens (4-2) picked up the win by striking out six over five one-hit innings. Ott, a former All-American closer at LSU, fanned five more over three scoreless frames.

LOOSE ENDS: Sox centerfielder Henry Ramos went 2 for 3 and socked his fourth homer of the season in the eighth. He also cut down a runner at the plate with a strong throw to end the second inning…Owens lowered his ERA to 3.21 – best among Salem starters.

ON DECK: Sox RHP William Cuevas (1-6, 7.51) opposes Dash RHP Chris Bassitt (5-2, 3.47) in the finale of the five-game series at 7:05 tonight. – Aaron McFarling

(1) CAN YOU PHIL IT? Organizers of the Greenbrier Classic announce that Phil Mickelson will play in the tournament for the third straight year. He’s still seeking his first made cut at the West Virginia course. As for Tiger, who debuted at The Greenbrier last year and missed the cut, resort owner Jim Justice says: “All I can report on Tiger is that we don’t have a ‘no’, and we certainly don’t have a ‘yes’ either,” Justice said. “He’s in super demand, that’s for sure.”

(2) PREPAPALOOZA Timesland kicked a little fanny last night. The following area teams won their state-quarterfinal games last night and will be heading to Radford for the jubilee:

Baseball: Glenvar, Grayson County, Auburn
Softball: Cave Spring, Floyd County, James River
Boys soccer: Blacksburg, Radford, Galax
Girls soccer: Blacksburg, Salem, Radford, James River
Boys tennis: Hidden Valley
Girls tennis: Hidden Valley.

Full coverage of all of last night’s action can be found here.

(3) GOOD, BAD, UGLY IN MLB: Another big night from Yasiel Puig, who hit his first two homers and drove in five runs in his second game with the Dodgers. Enjoying these impact youngsters. Still, the news of day in MLB yesterday was that the owner of the Miami anti-aging clinic has agreed to cooperate with the league’s investigation into performance-enhancing drugs. Stay tuned on this one.

ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: The ACC announces the cross-divisional football schedule through 2024. Tech won’t host FSU again until ’23…Top White Sox prospect Courtney Hawkins bashes two majestic home runs in Winston-Salem’s win at Salem…Keselowski docked six points for failing postrace inspection at Dover…Doughty checks in with UVa’s Jared King, a former Pulaski County star…Kings beat Blackhawks 3-1 to shave series deficit to 2-1…Ohio State president Gordon Gee to retire July 1.

NAME THAT TUNE
Whitetail buck deer
Munchin’ on clover
Redtail hawk settin’ on a limb
Chubby old groundhog
Croakin’ bullfrog
Free as the feelin’ in the wind
Home grown country girl
Gonna give me a whirl
On a Tennessee Saturday night
Lucky as a seven
Livin’ in heaven...

ROUGH NIGHT: Well, at least the fans at Salem Memorial Ballpark could say they saw a probable future major leaguer put on a laser show Tuesday. They got to see an infielder pitch, too.

Salem would have preferred neither occurred.

Top White Sox prospect Courtney Hawkins unloaded two booming home runs on a five-RBI night, and Winston-Salem put up an eight-run first inning before breezing to a 12-5 victory over the Red Sox.

WALK HIM, PERHAPS? Hawkins highlighted the Dash’s monster first inning with a three-run shot that landed in the trees beyond the left field wall. In the eighth, he hit one even farther off hard-throwing righty Nefi Ogando – a blast Hawkins called perhaps the most majestic of his young career.

“Ninety-eight goes a long ways,” he said with a smile.

STILL LEARNING: Hawkins, a 19-year-old drafted 13th overall last year, has been the definition an all-or-nothing hitter in his first full season. He’s struck out 51 times in 95 at-bats, but 10 of his 19 hits have left the yard.

After injuring his shoulder diving for a ball on May 1, Hawkins rehabbed for a month before returning to action Sunday. He’s homered three times in two days against the Sox.

“I’m comfortable, man,” said Hawkins, a chiseled 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. “Before I got hurt, I wasn’t comfortable in the box, even though I’d hit some here and there, it just wasn’t me. I finished the injury up and I was eager to get back and just kind of settle down. Just playing ball now.”

EIGHT IS ENOUGH: The game was all but decided less than a half-hour after first pitch, as the Dash banged out nine first-inning hits and plated eight runs (seven earned). All were charged to typically reliable Sox starter Mike Augliera, who saw his ERA rise by more than a full point (to 4.76) after lasting just a third of an inning.

GOOSE EGG: With the game out of hand, Sox infielder Nick Natoli pitched the ninth inning. He walked three but escaped unscathed, retiring Jeremy Farrell on a fly ball to the warning track to complete a scoreless frame.

LOOSE ENDS: Sox catcher Blake Swihart hit his first homer of the year in the fifth…He, Brandon Jacobs and Felix Sanchez had two hits apiece for Salem…Joey DeMichele went 4 for 5 to lead a 17-hit Dash attack.

ON DECK: Salem LHP Henry Owens (3-2, 3.53) opposes Dash RHP Myles Jaye (3-0, 4.07) at 7:05 tonight. – Aaron McFarling

THE BIG 4 FOR TUESDAY

(1) I really want the report that Floyd Mayweather bet $5.9 million on the Heat giving 7 points last night to be true. Looks like there’s a good chance it’s a bogus report, but given that news of supposed wager was tweeted well in advance of last night’s game, I had a reason to follow the Heat’s 99-76 rout of the Pacers on Twitter from the ballpark. There would be no reason otherwise, because despite ESPN hyping the likelihood of a competitive Game 7, not for a second did I believe the NBA would stage a Finals without LeBron in it. Hope you made a killing, Floyd.

(2) UVa’s opponent in the Super Regionals is set: Mississippi State. As Andy writes today, the Cavs didn’t get too jacked up about cruising through their region over the weekend; it was just part of the plan. “Expectations are huge here,” UVa coach Brian O’Connor said. “That’s fine. We welcome it. We don’t hide from it. And I think that it’s a sign that we’ve done some really good things.”

(3) Huge day for high school sports, as teams across the area play in the state quarterfinals with a shot to punch their ticket to the Spring Jubilee in Radford. Here is your full schedule. And Ray has a feature story on Glenvar shortstop/pitcher Tyler Crockett here. Whether your sport is baseball, softball, soccer or tennis, hope you get a chance to catch some of the drama.

(4) Welcome to the big leagues, Yasiel Puig. The Cuban outfielder — so freakishly strong and fast that Matt Kemp compared him to Bo Jackson this spring — makes a splash in his Dodgers debut, collecting two hits and ending the game with a rocket from the warning track in right that doubled off a runner at first.

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: NFL Hall of Famer Deacon Jones dies at age 74….Mookie Blaylock charged with vehicular manslaughter…Tiger Woods and Nike are close to finalizing a new long-term endorsement deal.

NAME THAT TUNE

So, I’m back up in the game
(Running things like my swing)
Lettin’ all the people know
That I’m back to run the show
Cause what they didn’t know was wrong
And all the nasty things you’ve done
So, baby, listen carefully
While I sing my comeback song

RETURN OF THE MACK: After a breakthrough 2012 season put him firmly on the prospects radar, Keury De La Cruz has spent most of this spring in Salem trying to recapture that form.

Monday was a good start.

The Dominican outfielder went a combined 4 for 6 and delivered crucial blows in both ends of a doubleheader, leading the Red Sox to a sweep of Winston-Salem in front of 1,664 at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

GAME 1 SKINNY: De La Cruz hit a three-run triple in the first inning and finished 2 for 3 with four RBIs as the Sox bolted to a 5-0 lead and held on for a 5-4 victory.

GAME 2 SKINNY: De La Cruz ripped a tie-breaking, RBI double high off the wall in the fifth inning, sparking Salem to a 6-3 triumph.

ON THE UPSWING: De La Cruz became the first Red Sox farmhand in seven years to post a 20-20 season last year, but he came into Monday’s game mired in a 4-for-33 slump.

“When he hits the ball how he did tonight, you can see how he could have a breakout year last year,” Sox manager Billy McMillon said. “The deal for him is just to be able to do that day in and day out.”

WALKING TALL: Garin Cecchini, who’s leading in the Carolina League in average and on-base percentage, boosted both of those figures with another big night.

Cecchini found his way aboard in all seven plate appearances, lacing two singles, drawing three walks, reaching on an error and getting hit by a pitch. His circuit-topping walk total now stands at 35.

WELCOME TO SALEM: Called up from Greenville to pitch the nightcap, right-hander Kyle Kraus gave the Sox four solid innings in his first start of the year. The University of Portland product had gone 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA in 13 relief appearances for the Drive.

Kraus allowed one run on four hits, striking out three. The one he pitch he wanted back was to Courtney Hawkins, the top prospect in the White Sox system, who blasted a long homer to left leading off the fourth.

LOOSE ENDS: Virginia Tech alum Matt Price earned his third save in the nightcap…Noe Ramirez got the win in the first game with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief…Second baseman Sean Coyle is day to day with a knee injury.

ON DECK: Sox RHP Mike Augliera (4-2, 3.70) opposes Dash RHP (2-4, 5.43) at 7:05 tonight. – Aaron McFarling

—-
ONLINE-ONLY NOTES
-Given that some fans were turned away from Saturday’s game because of parking scarcity caused by the concert next door, the Sox announced that they have added June 15 as a Silver Slugger/Kids Club Family Night.

-De La Cruz railsed his average 12 points to .251. He only has three homers this year after hitting 20 last year. “This league is kind of challenging,” McMillon said. “You play the same teams over and over again and if a team has an idea of how to get you out, they’re going to try to do that. He’s had to deal with how pitchers have been adjusting to him.”

-De La Cruz nearly missed a homer on that opposite-field double. “Him and everyone else, being able to take advantage of pitches on the outer part of the plate is important,” McMillon said. “Most hitters get into trouble when they are strictly pull, so to see that not only he can hit the ball to the opposite field but have some power to it is impressive.”

-McMillon said Coyle, the Sox home run leader who hasn’t played since Wednesday, could be back in there as early as Tuesday depending on how his evaluation goes in the afternoon.

-Reliever Madison Younginer got the win in the nightcap but had to leave in the sixth. McMillon said he had a problem with his side and will be evaluated later tonight in tomorrow.

-Ramirez, a righty out of Cal State Fullerton, continues to impress. “He’s been one of our more consistent guys out of the pen,” McMillon said. “He has a couple pitches that work for him. Pitching last year at Greenville and playing at a high level of college, he has some stuff, and so far it’s been playing up here pretty well.”

-Tonight began a stretch of 17 games in 14 days for Salem. McMillon said there might be more comings and goings than usual with the pitching staff if necessary, but they won’t change their approach on pitch counts during the demanding end of the first half. “We’re just going to have to grind through this,” he said.

BLACKSBURG – That all happened so fast. A 2-0 Virginia Tech lead became a 4-2 Tech deficit. A one-run thriller became a six-run loss.

A chance at a winner-take-all game today disappeared, lost in a flurry of Tech errors and Oklahoma hits.

Salute the journey, hate the ending. That’s all you can do if you’re the Hokies, who had visions of Omaha that fell two steps short after Oklahoma rallied to defeat them 10-4 Sunday night, ending one of the finest baseball seasons in Tech history.

The game got away in the ninth, when the Sooners put together five hits and capitalized on the fourth Tech error of the game to plate six runs. And it’s a cinch to identify what Tech didn’t do well enough this weekend: defend.

Nine errors in the four games? That can’t happen when you’re trying to win one of the toughest regionals out there, host or not. And Tech compounded those fielding errors with multiple blunders on the bases that minimized their scoring chances.

The difference between Tech’s defense in the first five innings and the last four Sunday night was striking, and it speaks to the demands of this level of postseason baseball. Defend well, as Tech did early, and the Hokies can beat anyone. Kick it around a bit? Watch the other guys dogpile near your mound after the final out.

What’s most disappointing for the Hokies is this: It’s anybody’s guess when this will happen again. Two regional appearances in four years have laid a nice foundation for the program, but logic tells you it could be a while before Tech gets another opportunity to host.

The Tech roster will turn over in a big way. Slugger Andrew Rash and the top two starting pitchers, Joe Mantiply and Devin Burke, have exhausted their Tech eligibility. Shortstop Chad Pinder, whose brilliant defense this weekend stood out even more given his teammates’ fielding struggles, is a junior who should go in the top three rounds of the draft. If he does, he’s likely to sign and move on.

Closer Clark Labitan, who picked up his 11th save with 3 2/3 innings of brilliant relief in Tech’s win over Connecticut on Sunday afternoon, is a senior. So is fellow reliever Jake Joyce. The Hokies will have some talent coming back, but another 40-win season is asking a lot

There’s still a gap between Tech and those teams that can automatically reload. The Hokies have to identify and lure hidden talent as they continue to build their program.

The two pitchers who combined to beat Connecticut, Brad Markey and Labitan, are both shy of 6 feet tall. Both have live arms, but both took unusual paths to Blacksburg. The 5-foot-11 Markey started his career at Georgia Tech before spending a year at junior college and transferring to Tech.

The 5-foot-8 Labitan, who led the team in ERA this season, is a West Coast product who was overlooked before the Hokies spotted him at a tournament and tendered him his only Division I offer.

“We don’t get tall pitchers, honestly, because those are the pretty guys in the recruiting process,” Tech coach Pete Hughes said. “We have to sometimes go with – I don’t want to say bad-body — but [players who are] undersized and not pretty as far as recruiting profile.

“But who’s effective and who has and competitiveness? That fits both those guys’ profile. Those guys love to compete and their stuff’s really good. Give me some more Clark Labitans. I’ll take ‘em any day.”

Hughes will need to find some more, and he’s been good at it. He brought a struggling Burke in from Duke and developed him into a draft prospect. He fielded a lineup with game-changing power that could hang with the best in the ACC.

It was fun to watch – the run to the ACC tournament final, the pageantry of the first game on Friday, the tension of win-or-go-home battles in Blacksburg.

Salute the journey, hate the ending. The Hokies can only hope it turns out to be the beginning of something bigger.