Collegiate Times

Although dropping two hard-played, high-hitting games to No. 9 Georgia Tech, the Virginia Tech baseball team seeks to maintain its recent offensive momentum against the Appalachian State Mountaineers tonight.

The Hokies (13-19, 2-13 Atlantic Coast Conference) will battle the Mountaineers (12-18-1, 2-10 Southern Conference) for the first time since 1997. In the last meeting, Tech dominated Appalachian State 10-4, and holds a 20-11 lead in the overall series.

Last weekend?s three-game series against the Yellow Jackets resulted in one win and two disappointing losses for the Hokies, but Tech?s previously dormant bats came to life ? an important stride for the remainder of the season.

"We?ve been playing intense defense lately and our offense is coming around right now," said junior shortstop Warren Schaeffer, who chose Tech over Appalachian State in 2002. "We hit pretty well against Georgia Tech and that is something that we need to carry over for the rest of the year."

Aggressive batting will be key tonight. Tech was able to plate 22 runs against the Yellow Jackets, with freshman designated hitter standout Luke Padgett accounting for half of the Hokies hits in the final game.

"Padgett had an awful good weekend," said Tech head coach Chuck Hartman. "He really showed signs of sparking our offense. That?s something I?d like to see again."

Padgett would also like to see the offensive momentum continue.

"For Appalachian State, it?s going to be important to keep hitting the ball and scoring runs like we?ve been doing recently," he said.

Although the Mountaineers have had a rocky season thus far, the team has produced heavy hitting numbers on occasion, forcing the attention to Tech?s pitchers.

"They have very aggressive hitters, so that means we?ll try to get them to chase some pitches out of the strike zone," Hartman said. "I hope we can get some of our younger pitchers into the game and get some more pitches under their belts."

Despite Appalachian State?s tenacity at the plate, the Hokies remain confident.

"We have a good enough pitching crew to deal with any team we face," said red-shirt sophomore Josh Canova, who pitched five innings of two-run relief Saturday night in Tech?s 8-6 victory over the Yellow Jackets.

Overall, to succeed against Appalachian State, the Hokies look to play without lapse for the entire game.

"Our biggest challenge is going to be playing strong for nine innings," Canova said. "That?s what we try to do every game, but that?s our biggest challenge every game."

Tech takes on the Mountaineers tonight at 7 p.m. at English Field. The game will be broadcasted on Cumulus NRV?s Supertalk 101.7 FM.