Painter, Via Out for Spring

Virginia Tech has lost two backup offensive linemen for the remainder of the
spring. Michael Via and Vinston Painter were both practicing with the #2 offense
and were expected to provide the Hokies with depth. They’ll be watching from the
sideline for the rest of spring practice, and Tech will have to find offensive
line depth elsewhere.

Via (6-7, 287, r-So.) was expected to be a very important reserve for the
Hokies this season, and was also a candidate to take over the starting left
tackle position. He started three games at center last season as a r-freshman
and performed well in the absence of Beau Warren. He will have surgery to repair a stretched ACL, but is expected to be back in August.

Via’s injury greatly impacts the center position. Fellow backup center Andrew
Miller (6-2, 282, r-Fr.) is also injured, which meant Via couldn’t get a fair
shot at the left tackle position. Now with Via and Miller both hurt, walk-on Bo
Gentry (5-9, 240, r-So.) will take over the #2 center spot for the balance of
spring practice.

#2 right guard Vinston Painter went down in Saturday’s scrimmage with a
dislocated kneecap. He will miss the rest of the spring, and he can’t be further
evaluated until the swelling in his knee goes down.

Here’s a look at the updated offensive line depth chart with the injuries
taken into account.

Virginia Tech only has four healthy scholarship players at the three interior
offensive line positions. One of them, left guard David Wang, has never taken a
snap during his college career. The Hokies can’t afford anymore injuries up
front.

Baseball Team Moves up in Rankings

The Virginia Tech baseball team took two out of three games against then-#9
Miami over the weekend. Tech broke into the rankings of the Baseball America
poll at #25 last week, the first time since 1992 that the Hokies have been
ranked. This week the Hokies moved up to #20 in the Baseball America poll.

Virginia Tech is also ranked by three other publications. The Collegiate
Baseball poll ranks Tech 25th, Rivals.com has the Hokies at #24, while the
National Collegiate Baseball Writers poll puts VT at #29. They narrowly missed
being ranked in the coaches’ poll Top 25, though they are in the “others
receiving votes” category and have the 27th most votes.

Tech went 3-1 over the course of the week. They blew out NC Central 13-0 on
Tuesday in a game that was called after seven innings. They won the series
opener against Miami 9-7. The Hokies trailed 6-1 in the sixth inning, but a
furious rally down the stretch gave them the win.

After losing 9-2 to the Canes on Saturday, Jesse Hahn took the mound on
Sunday and beat Miami 4-2.

The Hokies have a difficult stretch ahead of them. After hosting North
Carolina A&T on Tuesday, Tech will take to the road this weekend and travel
to Charlottesville to take on in-state rival UVA. The Hoos are ranked #1 by the
National Collegiate Baseball Writers, #2 by Baseball America and Rivals, #3 in
the coaches’ poll and #4 by Collegiate Baseball.

The following weekend Tech will play a series at Georgia Tech, who is also
ranked in the top five.

TechSideline.com Spring Game Tailgate Information

OK, Hokie Sports Fans…time once again for the VT Spring Game. The team has
been busy throughout the winter in the weight room, has endured the dreaded 6 AM
workouts, and is busy sharpening their skills in Spring practice. It is just
about time for the annual Maroon and White Spring Game. The least we can do, as
fans, is come out and cheer them on, and what better way to get in a cheering
mood than to do a little tailgating!

The 2010 Edition of the Award Winning TSL Spring Game Tailgate Party is in
the planning stages! Your
hosts this year will be Pops & Co., knucklejunction, Hokie Carol, F4EHokie, and
TSL’s Will Stewart. Russian Hokie will be our official photographer.

Here’s everything you need to know:

When:  April 24th, 2010, starting at 10:00 a.m.

Where: The tailgate location is a little different this year: It
will be held at 710 Southgate Drive, the very first house on Southgate
after you pass the South end zone. This location is being provided through the
courtesy of John Cline of John’s
Camera Corner in Blacksburg. For a map, click
here.

Parking:  There is no parking at the actual tailgate location.
You’ll have to park in
a VT lot (we recommend Lot 3 or Lot 5) and make the short walk, but as I said
… it’s a short walk.

In addition to the usual food and camaraderie, we’ll have some VT merchandise on location, at
silly-low prices. This is leftover stock from when we used to have our online
store, TechLocker.com, and we’ll be selling lots of stuff cheap. Come with cash
and walk out with stuff!

Here’s what will be provided:

• BBQ Pork!
• Plates, napkins, cups, and utensils
• Buns and condiments
• Ice
• Grills

Here’s what you need to bring:

• Your favorite beverage, adult or otherwise
• Hamburger, sausages, hot dogs, or anything else you want to grill
• Chips, salsa, veggie trays, chicken, side dishes, etc.
• Cookies, cake, or other baked goods for desert.
• Whatever else you want to eat (But plan on sharing!)

We will be cooking about 125# of pork, and it will be first come, first
served.

As usual, to help defray costs, there will be a donation jar at the
tailgate. Please chip in and help us pay our expenses!

We’re looking forward to it, and hope you are as well!!!