New Commitment to Baseball at Radford Univ.

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Highlanders baseball program gets a big boost

By Ray Cox

Radford University baseball is going places.

It's going wherever there are full wallets and heavy hands when the time comes to write checks.

"There has to be people out there who have an interest in Radford University baseball who will be willing to contribute," university President Penelope Kyle was saying the other day.

Joe Raccuia, the new coach Kyle had just introduced, said he'll gladly take part in fundraising efforts.

"That's the way it is everywhere," he said.

Although the new Highlanders baseball boss hasn't been everywhere, he has been an assistant coach at George Mason University, George Washington University and most recently at the mighty University of Alabama. Radford, too, where the 1995 alumnus began his coaching career. Raccuia was also the head coach at Marist College.

There is plenty of stuff the Highlanders program still needs: new artificial surface for Dedmon Center Field, new grandstand, new lights, new indoor batting and pitching facilities, to name a few. But the university has taken the first bold step to baseball relevance by committing to the new coach and full funding for the NCAA Division I scholarship level.

What that amounts to is the full complement of 11.7 scholarships; $70,000 for the first two full-time assistant coaches in Radford history, Brian Anderson and Allen Rice; and the $85,000 contract for Raccuia. The five-year deal inked by the new coach is the same length as that of new men's basketball boss Brad Greenberg.

"They'll both outlast me," cracked Kyle. "Their contracts are longer than mine is."

Say this for Raccuia's deal: It's more than double that of his predecessor, Lew Kent. The scholarship allotment is near double what Kent operated with.

All in all, this is a clear indication that Radford means business baseballwise.

"I got everything I asked for," Raccuia said.

What the Highlanders baseball faithful can now realistically ask for is the school's first Big South Conference baseball championship and NCAA tournament bid.

Raccuia was recruiting players for Radford even before his hiring was publicly announced. The day he was introduced, he made an appearance at Calfee Park at the American Legion game between New River Valley and Covington.

He got a chance to take a look at not only pitcher and Radford High graduate Abram Williams -- enrolled at Liberty University but never signed to an NCAA letter of intent there -- but also prospects such as power hitters Joey Phillips of Blacksburg and Steven Keener of Covington, both rising seniors.

Raccuia plans to be at the four-team Commonwealth Games in Salem this weekend. All those players, hand-picked for those teams, were juniors or younger last high school season.

Radford was thorough in finding its man. A committee chaired by NCAA faculty representative Elizabeth Dore led the search. Members included two former Highlanders players and a former coach. The ex-players were Phil Leftwich, who once pitched for the California Angels, and Northern Virginia banker Dave Blum. The coach was Greig Denny, the outgoing Radford athletic director.

The panel fielded no fewer than 150 applications.

"I've never seen anything like it," Denny said. "The applications came and just kept coming."

So did the Raccuia endorsements, including one from Pete Hughes, the Virginia Tech coach, and counterpart Brian O'Connor of the University of Virginia.

Hughes was on hand for the press conference announcing Raccuia's hiring.

"Great hire," Hughes said to Kyle as he headed back to Blacksburg.

"Thank you! We think so, too," she replied. "We'll be over to play a game."

For the first time, the playing field for the two neighbors will be approaching level.