THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 14, 1994 TAG: 9407140575
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
The major league All-Star game is known as the Midsummer Classic. But when the state's high school All-Stars met Wednesday night, it was anything but.
With the East and West teams combining to commit a dozen errors - six by each team - and the coaching staffs taking liberties and combining to bat two dozen players out of order, this 19th edition, played at War Memorial Stadium, was hardly memorable.
Nansemond River's Brett Craun, however, made everyone forget the game's shortcomings momentarily as he propelled the East offensively and shut down the West in the ninth inning for an 8-5 victory.
Craun, who is headed for William and Mary this fall, drove in two game-tying runs with a sharp single in the seventh, then came on in relief in the ninth to strike out Steve Walston, Mike Colangelo and Chris Carr to end it. All three were caught watching Craun's sneaky fastball after being set up with off-speed pitches.
Craun's late heroics earned him East squad Most Valuable Player honors as the East cut the West's all-time record to 10-9 and broke a three-year losing streak.
``(William and Mary) got themselves a bona-fide player,'' said East coach Norbie Wilson of First Colonial High. ``And that's no joke.''
``William and Mary recruited me as a pitcher, but I'm hoping to show them I can be a position player as well,'' Craun said.
Craun seemed the least likely of heroes through the first six innings. While playing a flawless but relatively untested centerfield, he flied out twice at the plate. But with two outs and runners at second and third in the seventh, Craun ripped a 3-2 pitch from Hylton High's Jon Hand up the middle as the East tied matters, 5-5.
The East rallied for three more in the eighth, with Kecoughtan's Robert Arrendondo delivering a run-scoring double and Louisa's Daniel Shiflett a two-run single.
THIS AND THAT: South Hampton Roads' four representatives all played well. Craun's Nansemond River teammate Brian Elms was 0-for-4 at the plate but ripped line drives to short and to left and made three sterling plays at second base. . . . Princess Anne's Derek Lindsay saw time at first and third and was 1-for-2 and scored a run in the ninth. . . . Cox pitcher Andy Ward gave up two hits and two unearned runs in two innings of action. . . . Colangelo, who was 2-for-3 and scored a run, was the West MVP.
West 000 210 200 - 5 10 6
East 010 001 33x - 8 9 6
Anderson, Scarce (3), Wagner (4), Carr (6), Self (7), Hand (7), Camp (8) and Camp, Hodges (3), Bishop (7); Preston, Ward (3), Morris (5), Tingen (7), Craun (9) and Shiflett, Munzel (4), Arland (9). W-Tingen. L-Self. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
The West's Mike Colangelo steals second as Nansemond River's Brian
Elms reaches for the throw.
by CNB