Hokie Club33 - Rhett BallardPosition: Pitcher
Class: r-Senior
Height: 6' 6"
Weight: 244 lbs.
High School: SW Guilford
Hometown: High Point, N.C.
- Coach Pete Hughes
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 batters ... Started and pitched five innings at VCU ... Gave up two runs on six hits ... Did not get a decision ... Pitched 2.2 innings of relief in game three against Boston College ... Pitched a shutout inning of relief at Radford and came back the next night with four innings versus VMI to pick up his first win ... Worked seven innings of relief against Appalachian state, allowing just two unearned runs ... Started against Longwood and picked up a win, allowing one run in seven innings ... Pitched 3.1 innings of relief in game three with Duke ... Pitched one shutout inning at Clemson ... Started and picked up a win at home against VCU ... Pitched 5.2 innings ... Suffered a loss in relief against Charlotte ... Worked 4.1 innings of scoreless, hitless relief in second game at Virginia ... Finished with a 3-3 record and 6.22 earned run average.
Liberty: Redshirted during the 2005 season before transferring to Tech.
High School: Played his senior year at Southwest Guilford ... Had a 1.50 earned run average on the way to all-area and all-conference honors ... Attended Oak Hill Academy in Virginia prior to his senior year ... Was team MVP as a pitcher his junior year ... Played basketball at both schools.
Personal: Rhett Christopher Ballard ... Born 11/13/85 in Greensboro, N.C. ... Son of Rick and Diane Ballard ... Enrolled in residential property management.
- INTEGRITY - SERVICE - HONOR - EXCELLENCE - STRONG TOGETHER
© 1996 - 2018 Virginia Tech Athletics. All Rights Reserved. | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | hokipoki@vt.edu
"; }});
return false;}function showLightModal(promoID,promoLINK) { document.getElementById("promoTitle").innerHTML=""; if (promoLINK!='') {document.getElementById("promoText").innerHTML=""; } else {document.getElementById("promoText").innerHTML="
";}$('#promoModal').modal('show');return false;}