ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, May 27, 1996 TAG: 9605280144
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
DATELINE: TUSCALOOSA, ALA.
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND STAFF REPORTS
Alabama had a season-high 24 hits and Joel Colgrove recorded his second victory of the NCAA South I Regional as the Crimson Tide beat Virginia 18-8 Sunday to advance to the College World Series.
Alabama (49-17) got four RBI each from David Tidwell and Corey Spiers, whose three-run homer keyed a five-run third inning that made the score 6-0.
Colgrove (10-2) was named tournament MVP after going seven innings, allowing three runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
Alabama batted .410 during the regional, scoring 49 runs in four straight victories.
Jason Sekany (6-4) gave up six runs on nine hits before being lifted in the third, when Alabama's offensive punch kicked in gear.
With only nine pitchers available, the Cavaliers were undermanned. Sekany pitched on only two days rest and reliever Pat Danneker had only one day to rest.
``With teams at this level, you've got to be able to throw the ball at them and throw at them well,'' Virginia coach Dennis Womack said. ``The tournament didn't fall like we wanted pitching-wise and even though it was one of our better days offensively, we couldn't stop them.''
With Alabama up 3-0 off RBI by Doug Hall in the second inning and Dax Norris and Dustan Mohr in the third, Spiers homered to right field to bring in Mohr, who was 4-for-5, and Chris Moller.
Spiers - one of four Alabama players with three hits - drove in another run on a single in the seventh, when Alabama added six runs, highlighted by a three-run double by Tidwell.
Down 13-3, Virginia (44-21) scored five runs in the eighth inning after Skip Ames relieved Colgrove.
``We tried to make a game out of it,'' Womack said. ``I think the one inning [where] the score was 6-2 was kind of a key inning. [Colgrove] got out of a bases-loaded jam and maybe only got one run and got a big strike out of E.J. Anderson. That was a key pitching series for the young man. From that point on, we were just always going uphill.''
Junior left fielder John Galloway went 3-for-5 for Virginia and got his 80th hit of the season, breaking a record of 79 set by Keith Kowalski and Bill Narleski in 1985.
Catcher Justin Counts, third baseman Brian Sherlock and right-hander Craig Zaikov were named to the all-tournament team.
Counts batted .348 in the tournament, had three RBI and scored three runs. He also hit his sixth home run of the season. He finished his career with 114 walks, 46 doubles and 195 hits, and had a combination of 124 runs and 106 RBI during his career.
Sherlock led the team a .412 batting average, three RBI and scored four runs during the tournament. An error Sunday was his first in his past 15 games.
Zaikov had 14 strikeouts in relief to beat Stetson 5-4 in 10 innings on Saturday.
``We didn't give up, but they were just a little too much for us today,'' Counts said.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Alabama's Dax Norris tags out Virginia's Johnby CNBGalloway at the plate during their NCAA South 1 Regional game on
Sunday. The Crimson Tide eliminated the Cavaliers from the
tournament with an 18-8 win. color KEYWORDS: BASEBALL