THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 4, 1995 TAG: 9506020246
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
AS HAS BEEN TYPICAL in the past, pitchers dominated the voting for player of the year on the All-Beach District softball team.
The format was changed this year by the district's 10 coaches to make the team uniform with the all-state and all-region format. Coaches selected two pitchers, two catchers, four infielders, three outfielders, a designated hitter and a utility player.
But they could not settle on one pitcher for player of the year, with the voting tied, 5-5.
So Princess Anne's Melissa Hirsch and Salem's Bronwyn Blair were named co-players of the year.
Hirsch, only a freshman, led the Cavaliers to the regular-season championship. Blair, a sophomore, helped the Sun Devils win the tournament championship and advance to the Eastern Region final last Friday against Booker T. Washington. By making the final, Salem automatically goes into Tuesday's Group AAA quarterfinal round.
Hirsch was 15-3 after Wednesday's region semifinal loss to Booker T. and finished with a 1.27 ERA and 105 strike outs. She batted .288.
Blair has a .97 ERA while striking out 113 batters and walking only 11. She hit at a .363 clip and had 19 RBIs.
Joining the two on the first team are catchers Tracey Berger of Bayside and Jennifer Goudy of Salem; infielders Lisa Slingerland and Lori Ferguson of Princess Anne, Dawn Bell of Bayside, and Theresa Holliday of Salem; outfielders Michelle Pritchard of Salem, Stacie Berney of Princess Anne, and Jen Moricle of Bayside; ultility player Amy Hooks of Bayside; and designated hitter Catherine Howard of Kellam.
Hooks, a senior, is a three-time member of the Beach team and a two-time Beach and Tidewater player of the year. She pitched to a 7-5 record and 2.99 ERA and played left field. One of the area's top leadoff hitters, she had a
Teammate Dawn Bell, a junior short stop, is also a two-time Beach selection. She finished with a .400 average and a fielding percentage of .970. She had two home runs and 18 RBIs.
A senior, Goudy had a .228 average and threw out seven of 15 on attempted steals. Berger, a junior, had a .230 average.
A junior first baseman, Slingerland had a .371 average, a .951 fielding average, stole a team-leading 27 bases, and had eight RBIs and one home run. Teammate Ferguson, a junior third baseman, hit .373 with five home runs and 25 RBIs, and had a .889 fielding average. Holliday, a junior short stop, had a
A junior rightfielder, Pritchard hit .361 with 18 RBIs and five home runs. A junior centerfielder, Berney hit .373. Moricle, a junior centerfielder, hit
A senior, Howard hit .481 with 12 RBIs and three home runs. ILLUSTRATION: ALL-BEACH DISTRICT SOFTBALL
Melissa Hirsch, co-MVP
Princess Anne
Bronwyn Blair, co-MVP
Salem
Tracey Berger
Bayside
Jennifer Goudy
Salem
Lisa Slingerland
Princess Anne
Lori Ferguson of Princess Anne
Dawn Bell
Bayside
Theresa Holliday
Salem
Michelle Pritchard
Salem
Stacie Berney
Princess Anne
Jen Moricle
Bayside
Amy Hooks
Bayside
Catherine Howard
Kellam
[For a copy of the roster, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB