Meet the Hokies
Tony Balisteri #10
INF, 5-10, 178, R/R Sophomore Lexington, Va. 2 0 0 9 B A S E B A L L
Hughes says: “Tony is one of our most talented infielders. He can make plays that no one else can make, but he needs to make the routine plays, and we need him to put the ball in play more consistently at the plate. He had a very productive summer offensively and he made advances in both areas this fall. He will make us a really good defensive team if he can settle in at shortstop; it would give us more options. We’re looking for him to keep growing and to become the player that we recruited, and he’s shown spurts of that.” 2008: Made 32 starts at shortstop, finishing the year with a .220 average … Committed a team-high 17 errors, but was second on the team with 79 assists … Made his first collegiate start in the opener against Pitt and went 1-for-3 with a run scored … Also had a hit and a run scored in the second game with the Panthers … Walked twice and smacked a double in an extra-inning loss to Coastal Carolina … Was 2-for-3 with two RBIs in second game with CCSU … Also had two hits in third meeting with the Blue Devils … Had a two-run triple against JMU … Delivered an RBI single in game one with FSU … Had a two-run single against Longwood … Tallied a career-high three RBIs in game two with Maryland … Went 2-for-4 with two RBIs against VCU … Was Fox Sports television’s player of the game for game two with Wake Forest after going 3-for-5 with two runs, two RBIs and his first collegiate home run … Also doubled in game two … Went 2-for-3 with two runs, three RBIs and a triple at Liberty … Went 2-for-4 in game one at Clemson with a double. High School: Played his junior and senior seasons for Coach Paige Owens at Rockbridge County High … Batted .482 as a senior with five home runs and 22 stolen bases, earning all-district recognition and All-Timesland honors by The Roanoke Times … As a junior for the district champs, regional runners-up and state quarterfinalists, he hit .442 to earn the team’s slugger and co-MVP awards in addition to another All-Timesland nod … Was also selected for the Virginia Commonwealth Games in the summer of 2006 … Played his freshman and sophomore seasons in New York, earning first-team All-Catholic honors while playing for a team ranked in the top five in the state among small schools. Personal: Anthony Michael Balisteri, III … Born 12/29/88 in Buffalo, N.Y. … Son of Tony and Michelle Balisteri … Enrolled in university studies. G AB R H RBI BAvg BB SO 2b 3b HR TB SB- SBA 2008 42 118 19 26 19 .220 10 38 5 3 1 40 2- 2
Rhett Ballard
P, 6-6, 244, R/R r-Senior (Team Captain) High Point, N.C.
24
#33
Hughes says: “Rhett will be our No. 1 starter and he is invaluable because he is one of the most impressive physical specimens I’ve ever coached. He never gets tired and his pitch counts are way higher than anybody else’s. I know he’s consistent enough to throw enough pitches in game one of a series that the bullpen is not going to be burned out for games two and three. He’s gotten better every year and I think he’s one of the most consistent and productive guys in the league. As soon as we start winning, he’ll get more respect around the league. I can’t believe he didn’t get drafted last year, but I’m glad he’s back. He’s evolved into a great kid, an unbelievable student-athlete and one of the top leaders in our program.” 2008: Began the season as a reliever before transitioning to starting duty midseason … Appeared in a team-high 26 games, including seven starts, and led the team with 75.1 innings pitched and 74 strikeouts … Tied an NCAA record by hitting seven batters in one game against Duke on May 15, but almost went the distance, taking the loss after tossing 8.1 innings with only three earned runs allowed … Struck out the side in the ninth inning of Tech’s opener with Pitt … Pitched one inning in the first game with Coastal Carolina, striking out two batters … Took the loss in the second Coastal game, hitting three batters and allowing a run and two hits … Earned a save in the second game of the CCSU series … Picked up a win against Radford with 2.2 shutout innings that included six strikeouts … Struck out three in 1.2 innings in game three at Georgia Tech … Struggled in 1.2 innings against JMU, allowing five runs on six hits … Tossed a season-high 3.0 innings in game two at UNC, and gave up only one unearned run, but was tagged with the loss after walking a career-high five … Pitched a scoreless inning in game two vs. FSU before giving up a season-high seven hits and seven runs in game three … Pitched two shutout innings in game two at UVa, then added 3.1 innings of one-run ball and six strikeouts in game three, but took the loss … Picked up his second save by retiring the last batter against Longwood … Made his first start since 2006 in game one against Maryland, and pitched a season-high six innings while fanning six … Threw a complete game in game one with Wake Forest to earn the win … Struck out a career-high nine on eight hits and two walks … Allowed three runs (two earned) in his 132-pitch effort … Took the loss in game one against NC State, allowing six runs on nine hits in six innings … Closed out the ninth against Radford on April 22 to pick up his third save … Got roughed up in game one at Clemson, allowing eight runs (five earned) on five hits and six walks in four innings … Took the loss and then got pegged with another loss at VMI after allowing two unearned runs in relief … Bounced back with a career-high 11 strikeouts in game one with Presbyterian and picked up the win while giving up just one unearned run in six innings … Threw a career-high 137 pitches over 7.1 innings in game one with Miami, but took the loss. 2007: Appeared in a school record 34 games, all in relief … Went 6-2 with a save and a 4.48 earned run average … Hit a record 21 batters, but led the team in strikeouts (74) and walked just 27 batters in 64.1 innings … Pitched in all three games during tournament at Coastal Carolina … Allowed just one hit and no runs in 3.2 combined innings against ODU and Pitt … Took a loss against Coastal, allowing three hits and three runs (two earned) in 1.2 innings … Pitched 2.1 scoreless, hitless innings for a win against The Citadel … Struck out five in that game … Picked up a win against North Carolina A&T … Picked up a save and a win against Georgia Tech … Allowed three runs in four innings in game three at NC State, but picked up a win in extra innings … Posted a career-high seven strikeouts … Pitched two innings with three strikeouts in a win over UNC … Took a loss at JMU, allowing three runs on three hits in the eighth inning … Struggled in game three against Virginia, hitting four batters in two innings and giving up four runs … Struck out three in 1.2 innings against Clemson … Picked up a win with three scoreless innings against Richmond … Gave up one earned run during two appearances against Miami … Worked six innings for a win against Liberty, allowing three runs on two hits … Allowed just one hit during his last five appearances … Held opponents to a .220 batting average over the course of the season. 2006: Pitched in 19 games … Made his first collegiate appearance with a start against West Virginia … Pitched just 2.1 innings, allowing six hits and four runs in a loss … Also started at Richmond and worked 4.2 innings without a decision … Had four strikeouts in that outing … Started at home against JMU and pitched just 2.1 innings in a no-decision … Came out of the pen for 1.2 innings against FSU allowing one run on two hits and striking out three