Collegiate Times

Athletic Tech alumni continue to play hard in the professional leagues.

Patrick Nyarko

Nyarko enjoyed perhaps the best game of his short career with the Fire, when he scored the game's only goal to lift Chicago past Real Salt Lake 1-0. His goal came in the 76th minute, lifting Chicago to its fifth straight match without a loss.

Nyarko got his fourth goal of the season on a header that caromed off the left post, and he freed himself from the defense long enough to get on the end of a cross from Tim Ward.

The Fire currently sit with 32 points in the conference standings. They trail Columbus by one point, but the Crew have played one more game than the Fire.

Joe Saunders

On Saturday, August 1, Saunders took the mound for the red hot Angels in Minnesota against the Twins. Saunders went six innings, allowing four runs on nine hits with two strikeouts, as the Angels took down the Twins 11-6.

It was Saunders' first winning decision since June. His ERA is now 5.07, and his record improved to 9-6. With the win, the Angels improved to 13-3 since the all-star break, the best record in the majors in that time span.

Kerri Gardin

On Thursday, July 30, Gardin came off the bench to score six points in 13 minutes of action, but the Sun fell to the Indiana Fever, 94-85. It was the most time Gardin had played since being taken out of the starting lineup before the all-star break.

Her improved play put her back in the starting lineup two days later against the Chicago Sky, where Gardin played 17 minutes, scoring four points with two rebounds in the Sun's third straight loss. The Sky defeated Connecticut 84-72.

The next day, the Sun righted the ship against the Detroit Shock at home, winning 83-65. Gardin was back to the bench, however, and she failed to score in five minutes of playing time.

The Sun are now 10-9 on the season, a full five games behind the Fever in the eastern conference.

Wyatt Toregas

On July 31, former Hokie catcher Toregas was called up to the Cleveland Indians from the minor leagues, making him the second Hokie to play in the major leagues this season.

In his first game with the team, the catcher recorded a single in his first-ever at bat against the Detroit Tigers. It was his only hit of the game, as he went 1-5 in the Indians' 4-3 loss.

Toregas was called up after the Indians sent catcher Victor Martinez to Boston. He has not appeared again since the Tigers game.

Justin Harper

The former Hokie wide receiver Harper made waves at Baltimore Ravens training camp last week. He caught the attention of the coaches early in last Wednesday's practice when he caught a long touchdown bomb from Joe Flacco in warm-ups.

He only picked up his play from there. A few minutes later he caught a bullet over the middle of the field and turned towards the end zone, splitting the defense for a score.

The play of the day at Ravens' camp came from Harper as well when he turned a 60-yard reception into a 99-yard touchdown. He caught a jump ball launched from Flacco, grabbing the pass over defensive back Lardarius Webb before turning and making his third touchdown of the day.

Harper missed all of last season with a knee injury, and will need more big days like that in training camp to find himself on the roster come September.