THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 20, 1996 TAG: 9604200474
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
Taylor Blair turned in the ultimate relief appearance - seven innings in a seven-inning game - to lead seventh-ranked Maury past No. 8 Granby 8-4 Friday night at the Industrial Park Athletic Complex.
Maury improved to 7-2 and 2-0 in the Eastern District. The Comets, playing in their district opener, hurt their cause with six errors and fell for the first time in 10 games (8-1-1).
Blair (3-1), who took over for starter Aaron Ambrose with the bases loaded and no one out in the first, held the Comets to just three hits and struck out eight. He retired 13 in a row from the first inning until the fifth, gave up a pair of singles, then retired the final eight Comets, four on strikeouts.
``I had command of all of my pitches (fastball, curve and slider),'' said Blair, who on Thursday drove in the game's only run in Maury's victory over Lake Taylor. ``So I was able to keep them off balance by doing things like throwing first-pitch curves and 0-2 fastballs just a few inches off the plate.''
Granby pitcher Ryan McFadden (1-1) was also sharp, as he struck out 11 and allowed only two earned runs.
But his effort was sabotaged by his own defense. A three-error first inning allowed the Commodores to put up two runs without getting a hit, and the Comets added numerous other fielding mistakes - physical and mental - throughout in what coach Vince Zebro termed ``an uncharacteristic team-wide defensive breakdown.''
The choppy infield at Industrial Park yielded several adventurous bounces, and the lighting was so poor Blair said he had trouble seeing catcher Fritz Bertsch's signs.
But Zebro wasn't interested in excuses.
``We've been playing well in the field all season, but today, our defense didn't show up,'' he said.
``The important thing to me is to see how we respond to this.'' by CNB