Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 4 | March 2019

V irginia Tech baseball player Luke Horanski never meets a stranger and isn’t afraid to have a good time—an approach that has helped him become one of the Hokies’ top players by Jimmy Robertson T he popularity of the video started not long after its posting on the Virginia Tech baseball Twitter account . The team spent a fall morning at War Memorial Hall swimming pool, participating in the latest stage of the Hokie Challenge. This is an events-based, baseball-specific conditioning ordeal designed to build strength, toughness, and most importantly, mental fortitude. Seeing the need to add some levity to a torturous outing, Luke Horanski hopped onto one of the pool’s diving boards. The burly catcher screamed, “Cannonball,” and ran toward the end of the board, thoroughly prepared to grab his knees, tilt slightly backward and make as big of a splash as possible. Horanski, however, took a misstep toward the end of the board—and the result was a flailing mass of humanity that tumbled awkwardly into the water. Laughter resonated loudly off the walls, and as Horanski surfaced, he, too, was smiling. Most would be embarrassed, but not him . 36 Inside Hokie Sports