THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605240205
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 28 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 71 lines
GREEN SLAM. Firecracker Falcons. Ingram's Artillery.
Any baseball team that bats .399 and averages 12.6 runs per game like John Ingram's Cox Falcons did in the regular season deserves a nickname.
The Falcons, who were 20-1 entering Thursday's Beach District tournament final, exploded out of the box with a 9-1 rout of Ocean Lakes March 26 and have been hammering away ever since.
Cox tied with First Colonial for the Beach District title and then pounded the Patriots 11-1 in a playoff for a region tournament berth.
That marked the 12th time in 20 games Cox had scored in double figures. The Falcons scored 27 runs against Green Run, 22 against Princess Anne and 20 against Atlee.
``We've got a lot of terrific athletes and all of them can hit,'' Cox third baseman Aaron Strausbaugh said.
Every member of the starting lineup is batting more than .300, led by Jason Dubois at .554. Dubois also leads the team in RBIs with 40 and is second in home runs with five.
Shortstop Tim Lavigne is batting .453 and leads the team in home runs with seven and runs scored with 39 in the regular season. Outfielder Eric John is batting .412. A remarkable seven Falcons have driven in at least 20 runs.
Pitching?
The staff ERA is 2.06. Dubois is 7-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 49 innings.
Ingram's biggest concern entering the season was settling on a rotation after Dubois.
When Eric John struggled in the No. 2 role at the start of the season, Ingram turned to Jeff and Ted Tignor.
Jeff was 5-0 with a 1.95 ERA and Ted was 5-0 with a 2.03 ERA in the regular season. Lavigne supplied the hammer, going 1-1 with four saves and a 0.86 ERA in relief.
Fielding?
Cox committed only 21 errors in its first 19 games and the double-play combination of shortstop Tim Lavigne and second baseman Ted Tignor is one of the slickest in the region.
``Defense is the key,'' Ingram said. ``Our pitchers have confidence to throw strikes knowing the defense will make plays behind them.''
Base running?
The Falcons were successful on 43 of 49 stolen base attempts. John and Lavigne were both 9 of 10.
The district championship and region berth are Cox's first, according to Ingram.
So where did these guys from from?
The Tignors (Bayside) and Lavigne (Florida) transferred in last season when the Falcons won 13 games and qualified for the district tournament. John (Green Run) joined the cast this year.
``All four of those have fit in well,'' Ingram said.
So where does Cox fit in among the great Beach District teams? It's still too early to tell.
It's been only three years since First Colonial went 28-0 and won the state title. Green Run repeated that feat with a 27-2 mark last spring.
``Cox scores a lot of runs, plays good defense and Dubois is dominating,'' Ocean Lakes coach Gary Spedden said. ``If people have a question - and it's not a knock - it's how good are they when Dubois isn't pitching?
``It's been good enough to roll through the Beach. I've been nothing but impressed.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Cox pitcher Jeff Tignor was 5-0 with a 1.95 ERA in the regular
season. by CNB