College '04 Preview : CAA

SHORT HOPS

Virginia Commonwealth meets Old Dominion in a three-game conference series April 9-11, one that will be marked with a red circle by eastern scouts and national crosscheckers if VCU's Justin Orenduff and ODU's Justin Verlander should match up head-to-head. Both project as first-round picks. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Orenduff led the CAA with nine wins a year ago, while the 6-foot-4, 180-pound Verlander led in strikeouts. They were teammates for Team USA's college national team last summer and went 11-1, 1.32 between them with 81 strikeouts in 81 innings . . . Verlander posted remarkably similar seasons as a freshman and sophomore at ODU, going 7-6 both years for teams that had sub-.500 records. He led the CAA with a 1.90 ERA as a freshman and posted a 2.40 mark a year ago. He had 43 walks and 137 strikeouts in 116 innings in 2002, and had 43 walks and 139 strikeouts in 114 innings in 2003. He made 15 appearances both years . . . VCU posted the best team ERA in the nation last year at 2.54 while tying a school record with 46 wins, and the Rams return Orenduff and all-conference closer Cla Meredith, who led the league with a 1.19 ERA. The Rams biggest losses are the Marshall twins--Sean (7-2, 2.62), who was drafted in the sixth round by the Cubs, and Brian (5-5, 2.81, 12 SV), who was drafted in the fifth round by the Red Sox . . . Meredith, who takes over as the full-time closer for Brian Marshall, is one of three dominant relievers in the CAA this season. Also back are William & Mary junior LHP Bill Bray (4-1, 1.95, 3 SV), who went 2-1, 1.44 with 29 strikeouts in 25 innings for Orleans of the Cape Cod League last summer. UNC Wilmington closer Blake Cross went 4-4, 2.04 and led the CAA with 13 saves in 2003 . . . James Madison faces a major rebuilding job after losing a first- and third-rounder to the draft in 2002 and four more a year ago, including conference player of the year Eddie Kim (.412-12-67). With the exception of two juniors and one senior, every other player on the Dukes roster is a freshman or sophomore. "We are very young," JMU coach Spanky McFarland said, "but we should be pretty good by season's end." Junior OF Mike Butia (.362-8-43) will be expected to carry much of the offensive load . . . Drexel dropped baseball after the 2003 season, leading the league to scrap its two-division format for 2004.