THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407150271
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 28 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 151 lines
AFTER THREE HOURS and 15 minutes, and two extra innings, the Aragona/Pembroke Braves finally overcame the Creeds Athletics to win the Virginia Beach Department of Parks and Recreation's boys junior division baseball championship.
Chris Labriole's bases-loaded blooper down the right field line in the bottom of the ninth scored Keith Jones to give Aragona/ Pembroke the 7-6 victory.
Both teams came into the championship game with 8-2 records, high hopes and rabid fan support.
Creeds coach Ronnie Boykin said his team was prepared.
``We got hitting, pitching, stealing bases - everything,'' he said.
Boykin wasn't merely bragging. Creeds has won the championship and has finished second a couple of times in recent years.
His counterpart, Charlene Gollihur, was more cautious but hopeful before the contest.
``We're confident and ready,'' she said. ``We won our last regular-season game, 11-1, and Matt (Barnes) pitched a no-hitter.
``We lost some players (from last year's team) to transfers. One kid's family moved to Naples, Italy, and we lost our fastest runner.''
The game featured two gutsy right-handed pitchers. Both Matt Barnes of A/P and Creeds' Craig Stillman went the distance in the marathon. Both deserved a win for the gritty performances they put on.
Barnes fired fastballs past Creeds batters most of the evening. Stillman has a good arm, a better head and heart. The Creeds starter yielded four runs on three hits and a couple of walks in the bottom of the first. Stillman then threw a blanket over Braves batters for the next five innings. He allowed one hit and no runs.
Barnes allowed four runs in the fourth, but was overpowering most of the way. The 17-year-old, a rising junior at Princess Anne High, baffled hitters with a curveball, change up and knuckleball when he wasn't firing smoke.
Creeds third baseman Chris Eason got the A's off to a promising start. He led off the game with a single, stole second and third and came home after A/P catcher Nick Swanson dropped a called third strike and had to throw the batter out at first base.
Barnes led off the A/P first with a walk to spark a 3-hit, 4-run first inning.
The game then settled into a pitching duel, with Stillman and Barnes quieting bats, except for Creeds four-run rally in the fourth inning.
Creeds combined a couple of hits with A/P errors and stolen bases to regain the lead, 5-4. Lee Waterfield's double to the left centerfield gap keyed the comeback.
After the fourth inning, Barnes said: ``My arm's fine. Cut on my knee's bothering me a little.'' He pointed to a red spot on the right leg of his uniform.
The Braves tied the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth. Labriole singled and was standing on first when an errant pick-off throw rolled to the fence behind first base. When the first baseman picked up the ball and threw wide of third base, Labriole trotted home.
Creeds got the run back in the top of the sixth. Stillman reached on an error, stole second base and scored on Waterfield's single to right field.
With Creeds two outs from a championship, Stillman surrendered a hit to Swanson. The A/P catcher attempted to steal third base. Creeds catcher Derek Jones' throw sailed down the line into the outfield and Swanson crossed the plate to tie the score, 6-6, and give his team new life.
That ended the night's scoring until A/P filled the bases in the bottom of the ninth and Labriole delivered the blooper that won the championship.
``He'd been throwing curves to me all night. I reached out and tried to make contact (on the winning hit),'' Labriole said. ``Keith could have scored even if the ball was caught, but it felt great to get the hit.''
Gollihur agreed.
``Be sure to mention I'm the first female to coach a championship team,'' she said amid the noisy celebration.
Stillman sat in the bleachers behind third base and looked across the field as an A/P player held the championship trophy aloft.
``I was throwing a drop ball for the strikeouts,'' he said when asked about his pitching.
The strain of pitching well for nine innings and losing by one run showed on Stillman's face. The 16-year-old, a rising senior at Kellam High, said he hasn't decided whether he'll play high school baseball next year.
Said Barnes: ``My arm feels real good now. I could throw another nine innings, I think.''
In other city championship games:
THE KEMPSVILLE PINK PANTHERS defeated the Arrowhead Angels, 11-2, to claim the junior girls softball title.
``We had an outstanding season, 15-0,'' coach Carl Woodhouse said. ``We were a young team, with seven returnees from last year's team.''
Woodhouse said infield play was a key to the success.
``They turned two fantastic double plays in the tourney. Just unbelievable, pitcher to short to first on one of them,'' he said.
He praised the tournament play of Kelly Tellefsen, Angela Oliveto and Marcee Timlin.
IN PRE-TEEN GIRLS SOFTBALL, the West Kempsville Wizards edged the Woodstock Saints, 13-12, in a high-scoring game on July 6. The Wizards completed a perfect 15-0 season.
Germaica Bradley went for 11-for-11 at the plate with four home runs during the three-game tourney. Brooke Bourdon hit the game-winning triple in the bottom of the seventh.
``It was the best game of season, certainly the closest and most exciting,'' said Chris Miller who coaches the Wizards along with his wife, Cheryl. Miller said his team routed most opponents.
THE THALIA/MALIBU RICKY RUDD RACERS beat the Arrowhead Renegades, 8-4, to take the senior girls softball title.
Jim Simpson, Thalia/Malibu coach for five years, said: ``If we could name the whole team, all 13 of them played great,'' when asked about outstanding players.
``I gave all of them a Most Valuable Player award,'' he added.
``Excellent defense, good pitching, and hitting was good too. Scored 251 runs in 14 games, team average was .640, hit 37 homers and gave up 96 runs. A great bunch of girls.''
The T/M Ricky Rudd Racers also won unofficially in the most original team name category. Pitcher Karen Burchuck is NASCAR driver Rudd's niece.
THE MIDGET BOYS BASEBALL championship went to the Woodstock Pirates for the second straight season. They defeated the Courthouse Pirates by a score of 16-5.
Coach Bob Conover credited three holdovers for providing a solid core, but emphasized team effort. His son, Chase, and Brent Jackson returned from last year's team, as did Brett Mooney who pitched a complete game against Courthouse in the final.
``I had coaches who helped, too,'' said Conover. ``Paul Mooney, Rhett Bray and Bill Jackson.''
The Woodstock squad is 26-1 over the past two seasons.
THE WEST KEMPSVILLE CARDINALS edged the Woodstock Pirates, 1-0, in a rare pitching duel to win the boys intermediate baseball championship, July 11 at Princess Anne Park.
West Kempsville pitcher Jimmy George surrendered seven hits in going the distance. His counterpart, B.J. Radford, turned in a six-hit, complete game effort in a heart-breaking loss.
The Cardinals, who finished 12-3 overall, scored the game's only run in the second inning. It was unearned. Robert Troupe was hit by a pitch, stole second and third and came home on a passed ball.
Winning coach Rodney Moore said, ``We overcame adversity this season to win. I'm really proud of our boys.
``Our defense was like a vacuum cleaner out there. It was a heckuva game and Woodstock deserves a lot of credit, too.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Matt Barnes, a junior at Princess Anne High School, outdueled
Creeds' Craig Stillman in a 7-6 extra-inning victory by
Aragona/Pembroke.
by CNB