Regional sports briefs

Staff reports
Published: August 12, 2008

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said he’d like to narrow the Hokies’ group of running backs down to three primary ballcarriers soon to prepare for the coming season. Redshirt freshman Josh Oglesby made a strong case to be included in that group during the team’s first scrimmage Tuesday at Lane Stadium.

Oglesby rushed for a team-high 65 yards and a touchdown on five carries in the 78-play scrimmage. His touchdown covered 34 yards. He also blocked a punt.

Senior defensive back Victor “Macho” Harris blocked two field goals, including a 44-yard attempt by Matt Waldron, who is currently third on Tech’s depth chart at kicker. Neither Dustin Keys nor Tim Pisano played because of injuries.

Waldron made three of four field goal attempts, including kicks of 35 and 38 yards.

Freshman cornerback Eddie Whitley led the defense with six tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Senior defensive end Orion Martin had five tackles, and defensive end Jason Worilds had three tackles a sack and a fumble recovery.

Senior quarterback Sean Glennon completed 6 of 10 passes for 49 yards. Tyrod Taylor also completed 6 of 10 passes for 20 yards.

The Hokies will hold another scrimmage Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Lane Stadium. It is open to the public.

New format for Seminole golf

Monday’s Heritage Invitational Golf Tournament, which annually tees off the season for most Seminole District teams, is weighted more heavily than usual this year. The scores for the district’s seven schools — Liberty (333), Amherst (339), Jefferson Forest (342), Rustburg (351), Brookville (353), Staunton River (389) and Heritage (incomplete) — counting toward a three-round cumulative score to determine the Seminole’s regular season champion. The second round that will be tallied into that total are Thursday’s district match at Ivy Hills and the Sept. 22 Seminole District tournament at Winton Country Club in Amherst.

UVa picked fifth

in ACC volleyball

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Virginia volleyball team has been picked to finish fifth in the annual Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll, as released Tuesday while senior Shannon Davis and junior Lauren Dickson were selected to the All-ACC preseason team.

Coming off an 18-13 season, the Cavaliers share the fifth spot on the poll with Florida State, who went 16-14 a year ago. Clemson, the defending ACC Champion, was selected first in the poll with 143 points and 11 first-place votes. Georgia Tech was picked second with 130 points and the remaining first-place vote, while Duke (119) and North Carolina (102) finished third and fourth, respectively. Virginia and Florida State rounded out the top-five, each collecting 84 points.

Daniels hired as Director of Baseball Operations at LU

Liberty announced the hiring of former Flames player Billy Daniels as the Director of Baseball Operations on Tuesday.

Daniels will oversee several administrative phases of the Liberty baseball program.

“Billy Daniels will be a great addition to our baseball staff. He has gained valuable experience at VCU and Longwood, and we are excited to have him join our staff,” said baseball coach Jim Toman. “He is a former Liberty pitcher and is an LU graduate, so he understands the Liberty Way. We welcome Billy and his wife Kristin to the Liberty family.

“Billy will be the Director of Baseball Operations and assist the coaches in all phases of the program, including team travel, camps, budget, academics, alumni relations and the day-to-day operations of the office.”

Daniels served as an assistant coach at Longwood during the 2007-08 academic year. The Lancers’ pitching coach during the 2008 season, he oversaw a Longwood staff which posted a 4.83 ERA with 291 strikeouts over 429 innings. The Lancers recorded a 23-26-1 record last season.