Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 4, 1993 TAG: 9306040248
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS BACHELDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DRY FORK LENGTH: Medium
But the monstrous thunderstorm that had been patiently creeping over the Tunstall High School field was not going to wait out extra innings.
Moments after Tunstall scratched for two tying runs in the bottom of the seventh, some serious rain and lightning put an end to the day's second semifinal.
In the first game, sophomore star Katie Phillips pitched her fifth no-hitter of the season and struck out 15 as Rustburg shut down Lord Botetourt 2-0.
The suspended game will be resumed at 5:30 p.m. today at Tunstall, weather and field conditions permitting. The score is tied 2-2 and Salem has a runner on first with nobody out in the top of the eighth.
The winner will face Rustburg in the championship game immediately following the completion of the suspended game.
Phillips (21-1) had an impressive outing. She struck out nine different Cavaliers, retiring the side on strikes in the first, the third and the ninth.
She allowed two runners - on an error and a wild-pitch strikeout - and faced 22 batters, one more than the minimum. Eleven of her 15 strikeout victims went down swinging.
"This was typical of the games she's pitched this year," said Rustburg coach Glenn Reichard. "She's had four no-hitters and two perfect games.
"I think maybe [Lord Botetourt] hadn't seen a pitcher like Katie, and that was the difference. Maybe she surprised them a bit."
Maybe not.
"William Byrd brings it like that and so does Salem," Ward said. "The difference was we couldn't put it in play. It was just one of those days. If we played a couple more times, I think the results might be different."
Rustburg got one run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Chatty Bailey and tacked on an unearned run in the sixth after two Cavaliers errors.
Senior Janell Sowers pitched a four-hitter, striking out seven and giving up one earned run. Sowers led the Cavs to the regional tournament four consecutive years and finished the season 12-3.
In the second game, Salem knocked four consecutive hits in the top of the first inning and took a 2-0 lead after run-scoring doubles by Candy Munsey and Dee Garrett. But the Spartans didn't get another hit off of Brenda LaFlamme until Michelle Harrison's single to start the eighth.
Rhonda Rankin limited the Trojans to two hits through six innings, but the Spartans unraveled in the seventh. Tunstall used two hits, a walk, an error and a wild pitch to rally. \
Region C
Glenvar catcher Jennifer Dennis' two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning gave the Highlanders a 2-1 victory over James River in the Group A Region C championship game at Walrond Park.
Dennis' single scored Amy Vonderhofen and Bobbie Jo Wright.
In the top of the seventh, Glenvar's Christina Pulliam made a running catch in deep center field to keep leadoff hitter Kara Mundy off the bases.
Glenvar (15-6) advances to the state tournament. Its first game, scheduled for June 11, will be rescheduled because it falls on the school's graduation date.
James River (18-3) also advances to the state tournament. The Knights got an RBI single from pitcher Sherry Allison.
For Glenvar, Wright gave up three hits, four walks and struck out three.
\ see microfilm for box score
by CNB