THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504160185
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Western Branch's combination of power hitting, big-play defense and a little luck was too much for Cox in the championship of the Hampton Roads Invitational baseball tournament Saturday at Cascade Park.
The unbeaten Bruins put everything together against the Falcons in an 8-0 victory.
Cox (3-4) was never in the game. That everything was going Western Branch's way was underscored when pitcher Dale Goodrich used a behind-the-back stop of a sharp hit up the middle in the sixth inning.
``They're a great team,'' Cox coach John Ingram said. ``If there are any better in their district, I don't want to play them.''
Third-ranked Western Branch opened with a four-run, two-home run top of the first and never looked back.
The inning appeared uneventful for the Bruins when Nick Ardagna reached on a fielder's choice to third that got Bruce Austin tagged out at home for the second out of the inning.
But Cory Bausell followed by crushing a home run over the centerfield fence to give Western Branch (9-0) a 2-0 lead.
The Bruins weren't finished.
After designated hitter Pat Cusick was hit by a pitch, Doug Brennan hit an in-the-park home run down the rightfield line for a 4-0 lead.
Cox mounted a short-lived threat in the bottom half, but stranded two runners.
Cox went down 1-2-3 the rest of the game, while Western Branch scored twice in both the third and seventh innings.
``This was our best game of the year so far,'' Bruins coach Jim Stanko said. ``Dale threw strikes, we got some great defensive plays and we hit the ball.
``This will do a lot for our confidence.''
Brennan was named the tournament MVP - going 9 for 14, including a home run, a triple, two doubles, eight RBIs and five runs scored.
In the third-place game, Bayside held off a late Maury rally for an 8-4 victory. The No. 10 Marlins used a five-run sixth to all but finish the game.
Ocean Lakes used an 11-run first inning to erase a 2-0 deficit and put Granby in too deep a hole in the fifth-place game. The Comets, however, held the Dolphins to only two more runs in losing 13-9. by CNB