THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 1, 1995 TAG: 9506010583
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Steve Tyler might bat at the bottom of First Colonial's order, but he was on top of the world Wednesday night.
Tyler, the Patriot's No. 9 hitter, belted a two-run home run with one out in the bottom of the seventh as First Colonial pulled out a 9-8 victory over Tabb in the nightcap semifinal game of the Eastern Region baseball tournament.
The Patriots (23-2) will meet Green Run (22-2) in tonight's region final at 7 p.m. The Stallions downed Maury, 8-4, in the evening's first game at Old Dominion University.
Tyler's shot, his second home run of the season, propels the Patriots into the state Group AAA tournament for the fifth consecutive year and marks the fourth time in those five years in which First Colonial won a regional playoff game in its last at-bat.
``So many times, I've been sitting there in the last inning wondering what I was going to tell these kids after we lose this one,'' First Colonial coach Norbie Wilson said. ``I was doing it again tonight.''
The Patriots, however, believe there is a mystique surrounding their team come playoff time.
``Ever since I was a little kid, I can remember watching First Colonial always come back somehow to win,'' catcher Ryan Dunbar said. ``There's just something about this baseball team.''
The lead had see-sawed four times before Tyler's heroics, with Tabb (15-8) taking an 8-7 lead in the top of the sixth when Patriots reliever Steve Johnson walked three batters, threw a wild pitch to allow a run, then gave up a two-run double to Charles Felder.
But the inning many of the 1,000 spectators will remember was the bottom of the fourth.
Leading 4-3 with two out and runners at first and third, First Colonial base runner Jason Bozard was called out for runner's interference after colliding with Tabb second baseman Brian Duffy. David Winter's liner up the middle ricocheted off the left foot of Tabb pitcher Robert Dye and Duffy, initially going to his right, changed direction and slammed into Bozard as the ball spun in the infield grass.
The call, which came after the umpiring crew met for 20 minutes and referred to a rules book, negated a Patriots run and killed what was already a two-run rally.
Tabb scored twice in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Felder and a run-scoring single by Ryan Ansama to retake the lead, 5-4.
First Colonial scored three times in its half of the fifth as Jamie Booth doubled, Dunbar tripled, Brad Tetlow doubled, A.T. Vasta singled and Brian Ruzzi laid down a squeeze bunt.
With the bottom of First Colonial's lineup due up in the seventh, things weren't looking good for the Patriots.
A.T. Vasta struck out to lead off. But pinch-hitter Tom Horvath, after working Dye to a full count and fouling off two pitches, drew a walk, brining up Tyler, who had singled and scored in the fourth, but had struck out in his other two at-bats.
Dye threw Tyler a belt-high fastball on the inside half of the plate.
``The kid turned on it,'' Tabb coach Doug Baggett said. ``That's why he's in the lineup. But I feel like if Robert threw that pitch 20 more times, it wouldn't get the same result.''
Green Run's victory was a little more predictable.
Stallions ace lefthander Chris Elmore struck out 13, but had control problems throughout, walking five. The four runs are the most Elmore has given up this season.
``I didn't have my good stuff, but I had enough,'' Elmore said. ``The scary part in the regionals is that teams tend to get here and rise to the occasion. Maury had done that to Denbigh on Monday.''
In the top of the second, Fred Bertsch's two-run single up the middle pulled Maury (15-8) into a 2-2 tie.
But Green Run retook the lead in the third when David Abbott singled to left to drive in Gene Mugler. The Stallions increased the lead to 4-2 in the fourth when Joe Clark singled to right, scoring Eddie McInnis.
The Stallions used a big sixth inning to give Elmore more than enough cushion. Three consecutive doubles by Clark, Mugler and Abbott were enough to chase starting Maury pitcher Rick Hart and plate two runs. Jason Healey's grounder to second later in the inning plated another run and Green Run led 8-2 after Chip Basnight's run-scoring single to right.
Maury struck for two more runs in the top of the seventh on Todd Davidson's two-run single to right as Elmore struggled to finish.
But the Stallions' damage had been done.
``They're like a time bomb,'' Maury coach Gary Masterson said of the Stallions. ``You just don't know when they're going to go off. Their whole order can hit, especially one through six.'' ILLUSTRATION: GARY C. KNAPP
Green Run first baseman Eric John leaps for throw as Maury's Drew
Richardson closes in Wednesday during the Eastern
by CNB