Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 13, 1993 TAG: 9306140045
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Gilleland's labors in the weight room for football also bore fruit in baseball.
The additional muscle he put on in the off-season helped him beef up his power production to Timesland-leading levels. His hitting and his other well-rounded skills helped him anchor a Cavaliers team that is making a run at the Group AA state title.
For those contributions, Gilleland is the Timesland player of the year.
Joining him on the All-Timesland honor roll picked by the Roanoke Times & World-News sports department is the coach of the year, Owen Shields of Tunstall. Shields, a 12-year head coach, directed the Trojans to a school-record 21-game winning streak before they were knocked off by Jefferson Forest in the Region III tournament.
Gilleland is a junior on an All-Timesland team that is dominated by juniors. Outfielders Kevin Davis of Cave Spring, Khris Law of Tunstall and Whitey Blankenship of Narrows are 11th-graders, as are infielder Al Holland Jr. of William Fleming and pitchers Bubba Scarce of Tunstall and Jason Anderson of Glenvar.
Other team members include Cave Spring infielder Will Goodman, William Byrd infielder Gary Wiggins, Byrd catcher Kevin Saunders and Northside infielder Kelly Dampeer, who was chosen to the team as a designated hitter. All are seniors.
Covington pitcher/infielder Jeff Tucker, the Pioneer District player of the year, was chosen the Sizzling Sophomore of the Year.
Gilleland endured an early hit-it-hard-straight-to-the-fielder slump, then broke loose with a 12-for-15 (.800) tear at mid-season. Going into the state quarterfinals, he was hitting .429 with a Timesland-leading nine home runs and 31 runs batted in while playing the demanding position of shortstop.
"I was lifting weights every day last summer and I continued to lift them for football," Gilleland said. "That helped me a lot."
He, in turn, helped Jefferson Forest march to the Group AA Division 3 state football championship in 1992. Gilleland was an end and linebacker for the Cavaliers.
He also plays basketball, but by his own admission, baseball is his sport. It's hard to find something on a baseball diamond that he doesn't do well.
Take, for example, his pitching. There are those who say Gilleland easily could be the Cavaliers' ace. But Jefferson Forest coach Jim Thacker is reluctant to make him a full-time hurler because the coach hates to lose a terrific shortstop. The solution is to bring Gilleland out of the bullpen.
Gilleland went 3-1 with a 1.75 earned run average and two saves. One of the relief victories came as Jefferson Forest rallied to beat Tunstall in the regional tournament.
"I have a whole lot fewer innings pitching than I did a year ago," he said. "Our starting pitching has been so good that I haven't had to pitch as much."
Shields rebuilt a team that was gutted by graduation and brought it back stronger than ever.
A year ago, the Trojans lost six key players from a Region III tournament participant, including nine-game winner Kent Lovern and All-Timesland shortstop Wayne Young. To plug those holes, Shields was fortunate to come up with multitalented junior Bubba Scarce, who also won nine games while coming close to Young's production at shortstop.
But there were others who helped, too, particularly veterans Law and second baseman Cal Scarce, Bubba's older brother.
"I'd hoped that by the second half of the season that we'd be competitive with the better teams in the Piedmont District," Shields said. "What surprised me was that we were able to win early like we did. By virtue of playing summer ball, a lot of our players - particularly the younger ones - were able to adjust more quickly this spring."
Tunstall swept through the Piedmont District regular season unscathed, rallying for several victories. In the tournament, the Trojans had grueling battles in the semifinal and final to win it.
"Being able to play defense has helped us as much as anything," Shields said. "We were very solid on the right side of the infield, and at third and short we only had something like 13 errors, which is pretty good for high school ball."
In addition to Shields, several Timesland coaches had distinguished seasons. Among them were Roger White, who directed Cave Spring to a surprising Roanoke Valley District title; Glenvar's Larry Wood; and Jefferson Forest's Thacker.
by CNB