Collegiate Times

By Matt Jones, sports editor

Although they came away with a come-from-behind 9-6 win Tuesday night, the Virginia Tech baseball team left English Field with their heads down for the most part.

Senior Ronnie Shaban, the Hokies’ No. 3 hitter and closer, left the game in the ninth inning after aggravating a hamstring injury sustained against Iowa on Feb. 26.

Shaban, appearing in a non-save situation up 9-5 in the ninth, threw just one pitch — a strike on the outside corner. The infield, along with coach Pete Hughes, surrounded Shaban on the mound before he walked back to the dugout. Jake Joyce, who will be serving as Tech’s closer while Shaban is out, finished off the game.

The injury overshadowed everything done by reliever Andrew Aizenstadt, who came on in the fourth inning with the bases loaded to get a big out, and ultimately got the win. I’ll have more on him tomorrow.

Here’s what Hughes had to say following Tuesday’s game about Shaban, Tech’s sloppy play, last weekend’s series against Georgia Tech and reliever Eddie Campbell.

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On the Shaban injury: “I feel so bad for the kid. For over three weeks we’ve done the right things, probably cost us a few games not using him when we probably could have used him. Eventually you have to get him back on the mound when he says he feels good, when he’s healthy and our training room says he feels good, you just have to go out and test it. He’s loose; he played the whole game, even his bullpen. His first pitch he just tweaked it. The kid’s devastated. He came back to school to be one of the top two-way plays in the country and to be our closer and help us go to Omaha, that’s all he wants to do. The kid’s devastated…he’s crushed. He tweaked it pretty good, so I don’t know where we’re going to be. We’ll know more tomorrow.”

On the injury coming when he’s finally getting back on track after missing 10 games: “He played all of this weekend at Georgia Tech, and I thought he had some good at-bats tonight. I thought his balance was back and his timing was back, he ran the bases well. That last at-bat he ran hard around the bases, came hard around third. He threw a hard bullpen last week, threw his warmup pitches hard. I can’t explain it; I can’t figure it out. I really feel bad for him most importantly. That’s a big one, that’s a tough one.”

On the second-straight Tuesday night game in which the Hokies played sloppy: “Terrible. It’s a trend that has to stop if we want to play postseason baseball. It’s sloppy baseball. Whether it’s on the mound, whether it’s giving up at-bats, defensively — we can’t play sloppy baseball if we want to play in the postseason, or if you want to win series on the weekends. You are who you are when you show up on the baseball field, and Tuesday night if you’re sloppy, you’re going to be sloppy Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It’s going to expose itself. We won, I never apologize for winning, but I’m definitely aggravated.”

On the blowout losses to Georgia Tech over the weekend: “Manny (Martir) has been really good for us in his career, he just had a bad start. We have to get more than two runs to support the kid. We can talk about (Marc) Zecchino letting up a three-run homer in the first, but we should talk about me not intentionally walking when he was 3-0 with first base open. That was what was wrong in the first inning. Now we’re chasing four against a good arm on Sunday, their closer who they converted to a starter to pitch on Sunday. We can’t beat anybody if we only get one run. That’s what we did.”

On putting the series loss to Georgia Tech behind them: “You have to, you have to keep moving forward. We have to start winning some series and stop talking about the one good win we had on Friday night at UVa or the Saturday at Georgia Tech — we have to start winning series. You do it by playing clean and throwing strikes and finishing games, which we didn’t do tonight either. Cornell outplayed us; they got more hits, they left more guys on base. They made one more error than we did and they walked some people. They outplayed; that’s a good team right there. They’re hitting .358 or something coming into this game. Now our bullpen is stretched out for tomorrow, so some guys better step up and start throwing strikes on the mound. We better start doing a better job offensively or we’ll get beat tomorrow.”

On Eddie Campbell’s last two rough outings: “I think more of it is just confidence level. He’s got the best stuff from four pitches of anyone on our team. At some point, he’s got to get the switch on and say I’m good and I’m going to execute. We’ve seen glimpses of it, and he’ll get there. I just don’t know when. It’s going to be all on Eddie, but he’s certainly is talented enough, and we need him. We need that talent to show on the field for us, but he’s got to make a move and keep getting better and learning from bad outings.”

On what he wants to see Wednesday against Cornell: “Clean baseball. I don’t want to walk anybody, I don’t want to make any errors, I want to make productive outs when we have runners in scoring position with less than one out.”

Notes:

• Colin O’Keefe (2-0, 1.54 ERA) will start Wednesday against Cornell. Game time is set for 5:30 at English Field.

• Tuesday night’s win is the Hokies’ ninth straight against non-conference opponents.

• There was a 1:53 rain delay prior to Tuesday night’s game.

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Photo by CJ Yunger, SPPS

By Matt Jones, sports editor

After dropping two out of three games this past weekend to Georgia Tech, the Virginia Tech baseball team looks to get back on track this evening against Cornell.

The Hokies (15-6, 2-5) will throw junior right-hander Patrick Scoggin tonight. Scoggin is 0-1 with a 2.21 ERA this season.

Tech allowed 30 runs over the three game series against Georgia Tech, bringing their team ERA this season up to 3.93. Outside of Joe Mantiply’s 6.2 inning performance of five-run baseball Saturday, Pete Hughes’ team got hit-around by the country’s No. 14 team.

Tonight’s game kicks-off a five game home stand for the Hokies, who face Cornell again tomorrow before their ACC home-opening series against Duke this weekend.

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HOKIES (15-6)

Mark Zagunis C

Tyler Horan LF

Ronnie Shaban 1B

Johnny Morales SS

Chad Pinder 3B

Andrew Rash CF

Sean Keselica DH

Kyle Wernicki RF

Alex Perez 2B

Pitcher: Patrick Scoggin (0-1, 2.21 ERA)

BIG RED (9-2)

Brenton Peters 2B

Marshall Yanzick SS

Brian Billigen CF

Chris Cruz RF

Matt Hall DH

Kevin Tatum LF

Frank Hager 1B

Brandon Lee C

Ben Swinford 3B

Pitcher: Rick Marks (2-0, 2.19 ERA)

TIME/TV: 5:30

WEATHER: 72 degrees, partly cloudy

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Photo by Steven Silton, SPPS

By Matt Jones, sports editor

Following his arrest Saturday night, linebacker Telvion Clark (redshirt-junior, Norfolk, Va.) has been dismissed from the Virginia Tech football team for violations of team policies.

In the release, Frank Beamer said there will be no further comment on the situation.

Clark appeared in four games last season and had six tackles.

By Brooks Tiffany, sports staff writer

Height:  6-feet

Weight: 301 pounds

Position: Defensive Tackle

2012 Year: Junior

High School: Highland Springs

As things stand now, there will only be one Hopkins starting on the defense line and that’s Derrick Hopkins. Unfortunately, his talented brother Antoine Hopkins remains hindered by the rocky road that is an ACL recovery and we most likely won’t get to see their tag-team onslaught again like we did last season. The good news is that despite the loss of his brother next to him on the line, Hopkins is surrounded by just-as-capable talent.

Rated the No. 12 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times, Hopkins came to Tech in 2010 and had an immediate impact as he was able to pick up playing time in 13 games. In those 13 games Hopkins was able to create some trouble for opposing offenses as he recorded nine tackles, including 1.5 sacks a couple QB hurries. Hopkins displayed exceptional strength in the weight room with his 485-pound front squat, best among his fellow defensive lineman, during Tech’s off-season testing.

Hopkins really got the ball rolling in the 2011 season as he started all 14 games at defensive tackle, tallying 51 tackles, including five for loss and three sacks, plus 12 quarterback hurries. In addition to his ability to track down opposing ball-carriers, Hopkins was able to get after the ball itself, recording a pass breakup, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery on the season.

Hopkins stands poised to have an even better year than last, and with or without his brother, the guys next to him now have at least a season under their belts. If Hopkins and the defensive line can stay healthy, look for them to terrorize opposing offenses and play a crucial role in making Tech, once again, a top-ten defense.

By Brooks Tiffany

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 269 pounds

Position: Tight End

2012 Year: r-Junior

High School: C.D. Hylton

The tight end position is up for grabs this year as a plethora of players enter the spring hoping to earn the starting gig. While no one player has been singled out as the likely number one thus far, Martin seems to be the early favorite as he simply stands next in line on the depth chart to move up and has proven his worth as a “safe bet” holding down the end of the line.

Last year Martin held down the No. 2 spot, playing in 10 games, but missing four due to a shoulder injury. Out of the 10 games played, he earned a start against UNC, caught his first career touchdown against Duke, and saw numerous snaps on offense throughout the season as he was utilized primarily for blocking.

Martin’s outstanding blocking is what has him slated to slide into the No. 1 spot this year, but he doesn’t stand out as a receiver. Tech used Martin more as an extra lineman when he saw playing time and will likely continue to do the same with him in the upcoming season as that has been the nature of the offense.

However, some athletes on the depth chart stand to challenge that offensive nature that has been favoring the block-first tight ends and may overtake Martin for the top spot. Players like Randall Dunn and Ryan Malleck, who have that receiver potential, can lock down the starting position should they prove the ability to block at the level that Martin does, giving the Tech offense the best of both worlds at tight end and a potential stud– something Tech has not truly seen at the position before.

Whatever does happen this spring at the tight end position, you can pretty much count on Martin being at least No. 2 on the depth chart because he knows how to block and can catch the ball if the situation calls for it. Look for Martin to earn at least a few starts throughout the season, despite the athletes on the depth chart that are hot on his heels. Regardless, Martin will see plenty of snaps throughout the year on plays that require his skillset and who knows, the Hokies might use that as a little misdirection and sneak him a big play or two.

By Zack Conway

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 196 pounds

Position: Free Safety

2012 Year: Redshirt Sophomore

High School: Hermitage

Theron Norman entered Virginia Tech in January of 2009 after playing his first semester at Hargrave prep school at the safety position. Coming out of high school Norman was highly talented player that had great athletic ability and had the versatility to play many different positions. He was ranked as high as the No. 16 athlete in the country by ESPN. While playing at Hermitage High School Norman played some quarterback, but most of his paying time came at the safety and receiver position. He was named to the first-team All-Colonial team.

Coming to Tech in January, Norman went through all of the off-season workouts and earned 100% effort awards for four of the six pre-spring workouts. His first playing time came in the team’s first major scrimmage where he had a pair of tackles. He later saw some playing time in the Maroon-White game where he had a tackle and a pass break up.

In 2010 Norman was redshirted while working at the safety position. Norman was able to add some bulk over the winter and he was able to enter spring bigger than and ready to prove himself to coaches. During the team’s second spring scrimmage Norma was in on four tackles.  Norman was later sidelined because on an injury to his left shoulder, this put him out the rest of the spring. He was not able to participate in the Maroon-White game because of his injury.

2011 brought some brighter moments to Normans career. He played in three games, totaling to 11 snaps on the defensive side of the ball. Norman was injured early on in the season in a game against Appalachian State; this held him out for the next couple games. Norman assisted on two tackles, in his first collegiate game against Marshall. Norman did not see a lot of action in the 2011 season mainly due to his injury setbacks and his lack of experience in the Virginia Tech defensive scheme.

This upcoming season should bring about better times for Norman. Norman has the skills and athletic ability to play in Bud Foster’s defense, but if he can’t stay healthy then there is no way he will be able to see the field. Injuries have plagued his time here so far at Tech, but if he can stay healthy then Norman will have an impact on this defense. Norman is a young athletic safety and can provide big pays for the Hokies. Look for Norman to see a bit more action on defense this upcoming season, but if injuries creep in again then he could see himself right back on the sideline. He has the ability; he just needs to be given the chance to show it.

By Zack Conway

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 224 pounds

Position: Split End

2012 Year: Senior

High School: Goochland

D.J. Coles came to Virginia Tech in 2009 from prep school, where Rivals ranked him the No. 7 prep school player in the country. In 2009 Coles played in all 13 games, he came right in and had an impact on special teams. He played on the punt return and punt block team for the Hokies through out the year. While most of his time was played on special teams, Coles saw some action at the receiver position. When the off-season came, Coles took full advantage and was able to earn Iron Hokies honors. In the team’s final spring scrimmage Coles played at the receiver position and had three catches for 29 yards.

In 2010, Coles played in nine games getting most of his snap on special teams and then another handful of snaps at the receiver position. Coles started on special teams on the punt return and punt block team. Through out the season Coles saw most of his action on special teams, while on the offensive side of the ball he caught three passes for 27 yards. Once again he earned Iron Hokie honors during off-season workouts, and turned in the best front squat at the receiver position with a total of 450 pounds. In the team’s last major spring scrimmage he caught six passes for 80 yards, and then added one grab for 11 yards during the Maroon-White game.

The 2011 season brought brighter moments for Coles. He played in all 14 games, started in three of them and had a total of 36 catches for 480 yards and three touchdowns. This season Coles played much more on the offensive side of the ball racking up over 400 plays on offense while just having 21 snaps on special teams. He caught his first career touchdown in a win over Arkansas State. In his first career start the next game against Marshall he recorded a career high in catches with eight for 66 yards. Later in the season against North Carolina, Coles caught the game-winning four-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Coles next big game came in the ACC Championship game against Clemson when he had a career-high 116 receiving yards to go along with a 45-yard touchdown reception. Coles finished the season strong and hopes to carry that over to his senior year, but with offseason surgery on his PC he has missed spring practice.

In the upcoming season Coles looks to be one of the playmakers for the Hokie offense. Coles has great six at 6-foot-3 to go along with 224 pounds, he will be a nice target for Logan Thomas to throw to. Coles will more than likely be the third option at receiver behind Marcus Davis and Dyrell Roberts. With Danny Coale and Jarrett Boykin moving onto the NFL, this leaves the receiver position open for playmakers. Coles has the necessary skills and ability to make a difference.  Look for Coles to be given the opportunity to make plays in the offense next season, but it is all up to him what he does with opportunities. The Hokies are definitely hoping that he can have a positive impact on the offensive side of the ball in the 2012 season.

By Mike Platania, sports staff writer

Height: 5-foot-10

Weight: 193 pounds

Position: Cornerback

2012 Year: Freshman

High School: East Stroudsburg South

Kyshoen Jarrett will be coming into the 2012 season with high hopes and a lot of potential. After declining to redshirt his freshman year, Jarrett played last season as a backup to starting cornerbacks Jayron Hosley and Kyle Fuller.

Though much of his time was limited to special teams, Jarrett showed promise when he did get on defense, particularly on passing downs. He was most often the nickel or dime back, and showed great instincts in coverage. He also fielded the occasional punt return, and with Hosley leaving for the NFL, the Hokies will be looking for a primary punt returner and Jarrett may have a chance to take up that role.

Jarrett made a splash before coming to Tech by de-committing from Pittsburgh after a coaching overhaul. The Hokies gladly took him in and now they have a potential shutdown corner on the roster. It may take another year or so before he really finds his place on the field, but last season he showed he’s a fast learner and could really make an immediate impact on defense.

Jarrett is the typical kind of cornerback that Bud Foster loves to coach: slightly undersized, yet very physical with quick feet. In 2012, Kyshoen Jarrett will have a chance on both defense and special teams, and if his development continues on the rate it’s on, he may even be able to break the starting lineup.

By Mike Platania, sports staff writer

Height: 6-foot-0

Weight: 187 pounds

Position: Cornerback

2012 Year: Sophomore

High School: Mount Saint Joseph

In 2011, his sophomore year, Fuller cemented his spot as the number two cornerback for the Hokies. On a carousel of great cornerbacks, Fuller seems to be the next in line. When Rashad Carmichael left, Jayron Hosley took over as the top corner, and now with Hosley leaving, Fuller will likely be the top corner in 2012.

But Fuller’s abilities aren’t limited to the secondary. Despite his size, he started at whip linebacker for half of the season. It’s unlikely he’ll remain at linebacker next season, but if called upon, the Hokies know that Fuller can play just about anywhere they need him to.

In his time here, Fuller has picked off passes, blocked punts, returned punts, forced fumbles, recovered fumbles and even sacked the quarterback. Fuller boasts a complete game, and it shows on his stat sheet.

Kyle Fuller will likely be the anchor in the secondary next season, and will be assigned to cover the opposing team’s best receiver. Fuller was so effective at cornerback last season, that he earned Second-Team All-ACC honors, and don’t be surprised if he moves up to the First-Team after the 2012 season.

By Adam Norman, sports staff writer

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 189 pounds

Position: Cornerback

2012 Year: Redshirt-Sophomore

High School: Luelia

Detrick Bonner came to Virginia Tech from Luelia High School in McDonough, Georgia. In high school he played both defensive back and wide receiver. Bonner’s junior season he 26 tackles and one interception to go with 24 catches for 504 yards and four touchdowns.

In his final year in high school, Bonner dramatically improved on the defensive side getting 74 tackles and three interceptions, good for first team all-district. Scout.com rated him as the No. 88 cornerback in the country and the No. 81 player in Georgia.

In 2010 Bonner redshirted and practiced on the scout team for the Hokies. In the first full spring scrimmage Bonner had five tackles and a broken up pass. During the Maroon-White game Bonner continued to show his improvement by posting again five tackles and a pass breakup while adding one tackle for a loss.

This past season Bonner saw action in all but one game, starting in four of them. He played at both cornerback and whip linebacker (started there against UNC and UVA). On the season he had 27 tackles including three and a half tackles for a loss.

In the UVa game Bonner got his first career interception during the third quarter. In the ACC Championship he went in at cornerback after starter Jayron Hosely got hurt, acquiring six tackles with two for a loss.

Although Bonner got most of his playing time at cornerback last season, coaches will be moving him over to free safety for next year. Since Hosley decided to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft, rising junior Antone Exum will be moved over to corner.

How well Bonner will do depends on how he can adjust to the free safety spot. He didn’t play extremely well near the end of the season last year, but being moved to safety could give him a chance to get more involved in plays.