Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 31, 1993 TAG: 9307310120
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN DeVIDO STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The future of the Post 68 American Legion team lay in the flip of a coin. The coin would decide which team the Yankees would face in the playoffs and which would play Martinsville (9-9), a team that ended up with the same winning percentage as the Yankees.
The coin landed tails - which means the Yankees (8-8) will play Post 3 Roanoke North (13-5) 7:30 tonight at Salem's Municipal Field in the opening round of the 10-team Blue Ridge District playoffs. Had it landed heads, the Yankees would have faced Post 3 Roanoke West - a team that beat them twice this season. Giles head coach Danny Evans said he would have rather played Roanoke West.
"They beat us twice," he said. "It's hard to beat a team three times."
The playoffs are single-elimination format, unless top-seeded Danville (15-3) loses. Since Danville was the district's regular-season champion, they must be beaten twice to be eliminated. Danville has won 12 games in a row.
The Yankees lost earlier this season to Roanoke North 18-2 but beat them last weekend 11-5.
"They hit everything we threw," said Evans of the early-season loss to Roanoke North. "We had seven or eight pitchers throw to them, and they hit everything. Nolan Ryan could have been pitching that night and they still would've hit him."
Senior Ryan Brittle from Radford High School will start on the mound for the Yankees tonight. He beat Roanoke North last weekend and is 2-1 on the season.
"He's got a good curveball and a mean fastball," Evans said.
Evans is excited by his team's chances this year.
"I hoped they'd come into their own at the end of the season, and they are," he said. "We're not making many mistakes right now, and we're hitting well, too."
Evans said Blacksburg slugger Wayne Caldwell, who had not homered until last weekend, has turned it on lately. Caldwell hit two home runs last weekend in a three-game series. The Yankees won two of those games. Leon Hopkins, who plays for Peterstown (W.Va) High School, has hit well all season, batting in the .500 range.
Solid pitching has come from Blacksburg junior Brian Smith, who played on Blacksburg's junior varsity last season, and Christiansburg's Charlie Schrader.
The winner of tonight's Yankees-Roanoke North game will play on Sunday against the winner of today's Roanoke West-Martinsville game.
by CNB