THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 26, 1995 TAG: 9505260662
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
It turned out to be the biggest game of Steve Eudy's high school career.
But 10 minutes before the Great Bridge senior pitched the Wildcats to a 3-2 victory in Thursday's Southeastern District baseball tournament championship game at Cascade Park, he wasn't even sure he would play.
The Great Bridge coaching staff waited until near game time before giving the starting assignment to the lefthander. Righthander David Allison was favoring a tightness in his shoulder.
``Our pitching coach (Steve Gedro) called a good game and Eudy certainly pitched one,'' said Great Bridge head coach Martin Oliver, whose third-seeded Wildcats head into next week's Eastern Regional for the second year in a row.
``I was really hoping I got to pitch,'' said Eudy, who set down the first nine batters before Otis Jones singled in the fourth. ``I felt good out there all day and just blocked everything out about the importance of the game.''
Eudy, only 2-2 in regular-season play and facing Churchland for the first time this year, scattered five hits. Three of those were back-to-back in the fourth by Jones, Aaron Bailey and Gary Denette, as Churchland registered its runs to pull into a 2-2 deadlock.
Great Bridge had vaulted into the lead in the opening inning on a two-out, two-run triple by designated hitter Zach Younce after walks to Alton Todd and Jeff Myers.
In the bottom of the fourth the Wildcats pushed across the game-winner. Third baseman Bill Baber opened with a single and moved to third when Churchland catcher Chris May's attempted pickoff throw to first base went awry.
Shawn Todd walked and Baber scored on Larry Bowles' fielder's-choice bouncer to shortstop.
Great Bridge managed only three hits off loser Chris Kelley. The other safety was a third-inning single by Myers. Kelley, a righthander who had a 5-0 Southeastern record in the regular season, walked five and hit two, however.
The Wildcats now gain the Southeastern's No. 2 entry into the regional behind regular-season winner Indian River, a loser to Churchland in the tournament semifinals. Great Bridge ousted second-seeded Western Branch Wednesday in the other semifinal.
Maury 7, Granby 6: Todd Davidson pitched a no-hitter through five innings as Maury held off a late rally to beat Granby in the Eastern District final.
The Commodores (14-7) advance to the Eastern Region playoff to face the top seed from the Peninsula District on Monday at 11 a.m. at Old Dominion.
Granby's Sean Morris hit a two-run triple in the sixth inning to break up Davidson's no-hitter.
Down 7-2, the Comets (7-14) mounted a rally in the seventh. Jason Marinucci singled and Tripp Nofplott belted a double to chase Davidson.
Granby's Todd Bowen hit an RBI sacrifice fly and Maury committed a two-run error after Aaron Ambrose came on. Morris hit an RBI single to drive in Frank Thompson, but Ambrose struck out Casey Jackson with runners on first and third to earn the save.
Jeff Firks went 2 for 3 with a triple and four RBIs, while Fred Bertsch added an RBI triple for the Commodores.
JAMI FRANKENBERRY
First Colonial 6, Green Run 1: The Patriots' David Winter stroked two hits, scored twice and drove in a run and Ed Manley pitched four innings of two-hit relief as First Colonial won the Beach District tournament final at Trant Field.
Both teams advance to the Eastern Region quarterfinals. Green Run (21-2) plays Southeastern District tournament champion Great Bridge and First Colonial (21-2) plays Southeastern District regular-season champion Indian River.
Matt Large, a sophomore who spent the season on the junior varsity, allowed only one run in three innings for First Colonial. Manley, who struggled last Saturday in a 9-5 loss to Green Run in a playoff for top seeding in the tournament, came on in the fourth and retired the first eight batters he faced. He struck out the first five and had seven strikeouts overall.
Green Run's Will Someringdyke, who had pitched only six innings on the varsity, lasted only 1 2/3 innings, but didn't take the loss. Marvin Williams, who replaced Someringdyke with the score 1-1 and two outs in the second, gave up five runs in 3 2/3 innings and fell to 1-1.
First Colonial took a 3-1 lead in the fourth on RBI singles by Nate Frost and Jamie Booth. Winter added a two-run single in the fifth.
Joe Clark scored the Stallions' only run on a wild pitch.
First Colonial (21-1) had lost five sconsecutive games to the Stallions over the past two seasons.
ROBIN BRINKLEY
Southampton 1, Nansemond River 0: William Jones shut down Nansemond River on three hits as Southampton claimed its first Bay Rivers District tournament title at York.
The regular-season champion Warriors (17-5) came in hitting over .300 as a team, but Jones held them to a measly infield single through five innings, then squirmed out of a pair of jams to go the distance and improve to 5-0.
Nansemond River pitcher Jason Taylor (4-1) was equally dominant, as he scattered four hits in seven innings and fanned seven. But the Indians got the only run Jones would need in the sixth, when Roger Hill punched a 2-2 pitch past diving Warrior second baseman Kevin McCormick for an RBI single. Hill's hit drove in William Brown, who reached on a walk and took third on Nansemond River centerfielder Donald Turner's two-base throwing error.
The Warriors responded in their half of the sixth by putting runners on second and third with one out and their No. 3 hitter, Lee Parks, at the plate. Nansemond River coach Phil Braswell then rolled the dice and called for a suicide squeeze, but the ploy backfired when Parks couldn't get a bunt down, leaving J.C. Caperton dead at home.
One inning later, the Warriors loaded the bases with two out for Turner, who ripped a shot down the third-base line - right at Southampton's Mark Perry.
Both teams go to the Region I tournament Tuesday. Nansemond River will host Southside District runner-up Park View, while Southampton (16-5) travels to Southside District champion Brunswick.
VIS SEMIS: The Virginia Independent Schools state baseball tournament moves to Old Dominion today for the Division I and II semifinals.
Broadwater (20-0) meets Colonial Beach in a Division I game at 10 a.m. Three-time defending champion Greenbrier Christian (25-5) plays Isle of Wight Academy in the other Division I game at 7 p.m. The winners play Saturday at 4 p.m.
In Division II, Catholic (19-5) plays Lynchburg Christian at 1 p.m. and Nansemond-Suffolk (17-3) meets Fuqua at 4 p.m. The winners play Saturday at 1 p.m. by CNB