Atlantic Coast Conference baseball is stockpiled with talent on both sides of the ball. But if Virginia Tech wants to turn the baseball program into a contender, they have to start with pitching.
So far this year, in-conference games have been extremely tight due to the vast improvement of the Hokies' pitching staff. Younger players gained valuable experience last year and are putting it to use this year. Veterans are continuing to hone their craft and become invaluable weekend starters.
To get an idea of improvement, it's important to take a look back to the forgetful 2008 season. Hokie pitching had an earned run average of 5.76 and allowed 572 hits, 310 earned runs, 236 walks and 55 home runs, as well as striking out 374 batters.
As inflated as the numbers sound, opponents did not crack a .300 batting average - they batted .295.
"We were young," said pitching coach Dave Turgeon. "The transition from high school to college is one thing, but to make the transition to the ACC is a whole other level."
Current weekend starters Rhett Ballard and Josh Wymer struggled. Ballard only mustered a 3-8 record with a 4.66 ERA, and Wymer went 5-5 with a 5.94 ERA.
This year, Ballard, a redshirt senior and the ace of the starting staff, has brought his ERA down to 4.35 and has a 3-2 record against some stiff ACC competition.
Wymer, a junior, has brought his ERA down by three runs to 2.77 in three starts. His record is currently 1-0.
"We put a lot of demands on them with workload in the weight room and conditioning on the field," said Turgeon. "After they get a year under their belt, they get stronger, wiser, and they're competing better."
With these veterans getting better, younger pitchers have been recruited and asked to learn a lot in a short amount of time. It hasn't been something they've turned away from, either.
Take sophomore Sean McDermott, for example. As a freshman last year, he was thrown into the fire of ACC play. He struggled mightily, putting up a 1-5 record with a 6.32 ERA. He allowed as many runs as he did strikeouts (37).
"Just coming into this league (was tough)," McDermott said. "It's some of the best competition in this league, and as a freshman being thrown out there was hard."
Turgeon and head coach Pete Hughes worked with him on mechanics and his mentality to improve his ability.
"(Coach Turgeon helped with) my command and throwing secondary stuff for strikes because pretty much everyone in this league can tee off on a fastball," McDermott said.
McDermott stands now with a 3-1 record in seven appearances (four starts), with a 3.33 ERA. His strikeouts (24) more than double his earned runs (9).
"He can throw that breaking ball for a strike and finish guys off hard and on the handle if he needs to," Turgeon said. "Strike one, strike one, strike one, that's McDermott."
He has struggled with tendonitis in his elbow this year, but it has only been a minor setback. He has been a valuable pitcher in weekday games as both a starter and reliever.
If he can stay healthy, he might become more of a mainstay for weekend appearances.
Another vastly improved pitcher is reliever and redshirt sophomore Brandon Fisher. Last season, he posted a 3.65 ERA in 12 appearances and struck out 18. Opponents only batting .174 against him, tops on the staff.
"I was still new," Fisher said. "I just started pitching last year. I only had a fastball and a slider."
Fisher has been asked to do a lot more this year and with an added pitch to his arsenal, his strikeouts have jumped. He has already matched last year's total of 18, and with almost double the innings of work, opponents are still only batting .203 against him.
"This year coach Turgeon worked with me and I developed a changeup," he said. "It has really helped me out. Last year I was mainly facing righties with a slider and fastball, and this year I'm facing lefties with a fastball and changeup."
A former walk-on, Fisher hopes to be the closer, and as long as his stats continue to improve, the Hokies will have the good kind of tough decision - if he or sophomore Jesse Hahn should close.
Both Turgeon and Hughes teach each member of their pitching staff the same approach.
"I think the mentality that we preach all the time is to be aggressive," said Turgeon. "Don't pitch to corners as much as pounding the zone. Be on the offensive on the mound, and put the hitters on the defense. With that you can't have a problem pitching to contact. You're going to get ahead in counts, and hitters expand the zone once pitchers get ahead."
McDermott and Fisher are not relaxing on the new skills they learned during the offseason. They still are trying to improve their game and help the team.
"(I'm working on) throwing my breaking ball for a strike, being more consistent with offspeed pitches and pitching out of jams," McDermott said.
"(I need to) stay ahead in the count," Fisher said. "Sometimes I fall behind in counts and that hurts me, but if I can stay ahead I'll be fine."
At the season's midpoint, pitching will become more important, especially with a spot in the ACC tournament on the line. Mistakes made last year may no longer hamper the Hokies' hopes for postseason play.
"We tell them (pitchers) every day," Turgeon said. "You're going to win some and lose some, but if you keep going after hitters and attacking the strike zone, you're going to win a hell of a lot more than you're going to lose."