There are several former Virginia Tech athletes playing professionally across the country. Every week, there will be a special section with updates of these players as their seasons unfold.
Joe Saunders
Saunders went toe-to-toe with Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay in Toronto on Tuesday, and came out on the wrong end for his third loss in four starts. The Angles lost the game 6-4, to fall to 25-25 on the season. Saunders gave up six runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out four batters and did not allow a walk. His next start is on Sunday, June 7, at the Detroit Tigers.
Kerri Gardin
In preseason action, Gardin and the Connecticut Sun defeated the New York Liberty on May 22, 74-62. Gardin played 25 minutes, scoring 9 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. On May 27, the Sun fell to the Atlanta Dream on the road 76-73. Gardin played only seven minutes and failed to score. She grabbed two rebounds in the limited action. The Sun wrapped up its preseason schedule at home against the Los Angeles Sparks, with Gardin seeing the floor for 18 minutes and scoring 3 points. Connecticut opens up the regular season on June 6 at home against the Washington Mystics, where Gardin is expected to be in the starting lineup.
Patrick Nyarko
On the road against Chivas USA on May 28, Nyarko scored one unassisted goal in the 89th minute to lead the Chicago Fire to a 3-2 win. Nyarko's goal late in regulation tied the score at 2 apiece, sending the match into overtime, where Cuauhtemoc Blanco's second goal of the match came in the 96th minute to win the game. On Sunday the 31st, Nyarko started, but his comrades fell to FC Dallas 3-0 in front of the home crowd. It was the team's third game in eight days. The loss was the Fire's first of the season, after beginning the year 5-0-6, one game short of the league record for longest unbeaten streak to start the season.