University of Virginia Library

Cavaliers On Southern Trip,
Clemson, USC Prep Lefties

By John Markon
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Hoping to avoid the losing habit
that seems to grip Virginia teams
when they travel south of
Charlotte, the Cavalier baseball
invades the state of South Carolina
for four important games, two each
with Clemson and South Carolina.

The Clemson series began
yesterday with an afternoon game
and will conclude this afternoon
with another single contest. The
Cavs then move to Columbia for
Saturday and Sunday set-tos with
the Gamecocks. Also down south at
this time will be Maryland, at
present holding a one-game lead
over Virginia in the ACC race.

Probably pitchers for Virginia in
the Clemson series are aces Ed
Kihm and Steve Brindle and, if the
recently established pattern holds,
the Tigers may counter with a pair
of lefthanders. Rusty Gerhardt and
Dave Von Volkenbure constitute
such a pair of south-paws but, with
a combined record of 13-6, they
also seem to make up the Clemsons
best set of pitchers.

Other Tigers worthy of mention
are Craig White, a .367 hitting left
fielder and his fellow outfielders
Pete Hendricks and Johnny Severs,
both hitting over 300. Gerhardt and
Von Volkenburg are also no
slouches at the plate, Gerhardt
hitting .333 and Von Volkenburg
being a part-time first baseman,
both have hit two homeruns

With Maryland following the
Cavaliers into the Clemson there is
a chance that Virginia could miss
one of the Tigers' star lefties but
the word has seemed to have gotten
around the league that the Cavs.
with left side swingers Billy Hall.
Mike Cubbage and Steve Sroba, are
worth saving southpaws for.

South Carolina lies right behind
Clemson in the standings and could
prove more difficult. Rick Spigone
is in line for a start here but
Sunday's assignment is up in the
air. Candidates are Al Strange, who
was impressive against VMI, and
Dave Lacross, the only Wahoo with
a losing record and a man who, at
this point, would probably much
rather be lucky than good.

Gamecock pitching will depend
on who gets the calls against
Maryland. The most stellar USC
moundsman is Bo Robinson who
has a 1.69 ERA and a 4-0 record.
He is, of course, left handed.

The Cavaliers seem healthy
enough for the trip with the
exception of rightfielder Dave
Bratt, who has a pulled hamstring.
His place has been taken by Sroba
who seems to have found his
position in the outfield.