Hokie ClubWhen the Angels and the Tigers face off on Sept. 2 in Detroit, a unique pitching match-up with Virginia Tech ties will be on display. Going head-to-head on the mound will be Los Angeles lefty Joe Saunders, the only former Hokie currently in the majors, and Detroit righty Chris Lambert, the first player who was either recruited or coached by current Tech coach Pete Hughes to break into the major leagues.
Saunders was an American League all-star back in July and pitched for the Hokies from 2000-02, while Lambert, who played for Hughes during his tenure at Boston College, made his big-league debut last week.
Making the showdown even more interesting is the fact that it serves a rematch of a classic pitcher’s duel that occurred during the BIG EAST tournament on May 23, 2002, when the two were still in college. Both pitchers tossed a complete game, and although Lambert fanned eight batters on five hits, it was the Hokies who emerged with a 2-1 victory behind Saunders’ effort of 10 strikeouts on just four hits.
Though Lambert is the first of Hughes’ former players to crack into the majors, he is part of a long line of recent major league draftees (33, in fact, since 1999) who were developed by the third-year Hokie head coach. Of those 33, only four were drafted out of high school at the time of their recruitment, which serves as a testament to Hughes and his staff’s ability to develop talent. Three of those four who were selected out of high school improved their draft status by going to college, and 18 of the 33 – including Lambert – were pitchers. Those figures are bolstered by the fact that all but one of the 33 graduated from their respective universities with academic degrees.
Most of those players were showcased during Hughes’ eight-year reign at BC, but if the pattern continues, it won’t be long before some of Tech’s young players join that exclusive list.