THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 13, 1996 TAG: 9605130037
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: HERTFORD LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
In the old days, a fastball from Jim ``Catfish'' Hunter could retire a Rod Carew or a George Brett. On Saturday night, a Jim Hunter fastball couldn't retire his son. Paul Hunter drove in two of six runs as the Perquimans County High School team defeated the Perquimans County High School Old-Timers 6-2 in a rain-shortened three-inning game.
After Shelby White retired the old-timers in the first inning, the elder Hunter, sore shoulder and all, took the mound. Hunter struck out Mark Clinkscales, who looked at a curve. Brock Nixon smacked a one-out ground rule double to right.
Then the two Hunters faced each other. The elder threw a fastball right down Broadway; his son smacked it down the first base line for an RBI single.
``I knew he was going to pull it,'' Hunter said. ``I told the first baseman to play closer to the bag because he (Paul) is a pull hitter.''
One pitch from father to son was all it would be on this night. The elder Hunter left the game in the second inning, but a surprise was waiting for the capacity crowd. Out stepped Ron Davis, an 11-year major league hurler with the Yankees, Twins, Cubs, Dodgers, and Giants. Davis was a Yankee teammate of Hunter's in the '70s as a setup man for Rich Gossage.
Davis, who now lives in Texas, was greeted with a barrage of Perquimans hits. Clinkscales nailed him for an RBI single. Brock Nixon chopped a single past first base for an RBI. Paul Hunter ripped an RBI single up the middle. White struck out but reached base on a passed ball, allowing the sixth run to score.
Baseball is serious business in Perquimans County, proven by the sizable crowd and the caliber of play. Every year, the fans come back to honor Perquimans' four state championship teams in 1952, 1954, 1960, and 1963. Honor is at stake in this game, even though it's only for fun.
Just try to tell Matt Tunnell this game meant nothing. He made a diving catch out in left field in the second inning. ``Baseball has always been the big sport in Perquimans,'' said Harrell Thach, PCHS athletic director. ``It's the type of sport that farm kids would get together on a Sunday afternoon and play. We've had some great ball players come through here.''
Gene Nixon, who played third base on the 1963 championship team, said he remembers his four years on the diamond as if it were yesterday.
``I remember just about every ball and strike and who got a hit,'' he said. ``We played right here on this same field.''
Nixon looked out across the diamond toward center field, under ominous storm clouds. ``There used to be a tree out there in center,'' he pointed. ``I remember Jimmy (Hunter) hitting one over that tree. I can't remember if it was in the championship or not.''
Nixon said baseball was nearly the only activity kids had in Perquimans County in those days.
``Years ago there wasn't any entertainment here,'' he said. ``They played in pastures on Sunday afternoons. We had good teams through the years. The young boys coming up now are trying to continue that tradition.''
Hunter's sore arm has kept him from participating more in the Perquimans program. He used to throw batting practice for the Pirates but hasn't stepped on the hill for a few years. He still believes in baseball the way it used to be played in Hertford.
``They always say that when the lights go on at the ball park, the tractors cut off,'' he said as he got a closer look at the field from his seat in front of the dugout. ILLUSTRATION: Catfish Hunter
by CNB