THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 11, 1994 TAG: 9406110479
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940611 LENGTH: RICHMOND
Anderson's battery mate, Nick Ardagna, couldn't catch what was being thrown either.
{REST} Five Anderson wild pitches in the first three innings and a costly throwing error led to four Clover Hill runs as the Cavaliers, ranked eighth in the country by USA Today, beat the Bruins, 6-2, in a Group AAA state quarterfinal game Friday at Mills Godwin High.
Anderson struck out nine Cavaliers in the first three innings. But between the whiffs, the Cavaliers (24-1) piecemealed four unconventional runs.
Brad Simpson was the only Cavalier to put the ball in play in those opening innings. But Simpson's two-out grounder to the right side with runners on second and third started a chain reaction that led to two Cavaliers' runs.
Second baseman Jason Howell and first baseman Leigh Phelps both broke for the weakly-hit ball. When Phelps realized Howell had it, he tried to scramble back to cover first. Meanwhile, Howell tried to lob a well-timed throw and ended up overshooting Phelps, allowing two runs to score.
``That opened the flood gates,'' Western Branch coach Jim Stanko said. ``It's been something we've had problems with this season.''
In the third, momentary control problems stung the overpowering Anderson, who was drafted last week in the ninth round of pro baseball's amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After walking leadoff hitters Chris Creswell and Ben Bradford, Anderson uncorked four wild pitches - all on curve balls - in a nine-pitch stretch as Creswell and Bradford came around to score.
``The curve just wasn't working well,'' said Anderson, who lost for the first time in 21 decisions. ``Plus, the umpire wasn't giving me the curve for strikes. I started trying to make perfect pitches. That killed me.''
The Bruins had scored in their half of the third when Dre Bly singled sharply up the middle, advanced to third on a perfect sacrifice bunt by Howell and came home on Anderson's groundout to first.
Western Branch managed another run in the sixth when Bly led off with a walk and scored on Anderson's double.
But that was as close as the Bruins (19-7) would come. Sidearm righthander Robbie Preston, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first, struck out five of the last seven batters.
Anderson fanned 14 and had his no-hitter broken up in the sixth when Clover Hill strung together three singles and a hit batsman to add two insurance runs.
``Anderson was a novelty for us,'' said Clover Hill coach Tim Lowery. ``An outstanding lefthander. But I told the kids that if we made the routine plays we'd be in the game.''
by CNB