THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 4, 1996 TAG: 9606040450
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 60 lines
A common misconception entering the baseball season was that Cox's Jeff and Ted Tignor were brothers, but not pitchers.
``We're cousins, but we might as well be brothers,'' Jeff said. ``Everybody thinks we are.''
Nobody thought they were pitchers - not at the varsity level - until Falcons coach John Ingram began sending them out to the mound on a regular basis.
The results are little short of astounding.
The two seniors, who had never pitched in a varsity game before this season, are a combined 14-0 entering tonight's 7 p.m. state quarterfinal game against Atlee at Old Dominion University.
Jeff, who is four inches taller than Ted at 6-foot and more of a power pitcher, is 7-0 with a 1.56 ERA. Among his victims are First Colonial in the Beach District tournament final and Lake Taylor in the Eastern Region quarterfinals.
Jeff played three seasons for Princess Anne before transferring - he had an eye problem that was aided by a special reading course offered only at Cox, he said.
While at Princess Anne, Jeff said he begged former Cavaliers coach Leon Proffitt to let him pitch.
``I told him at least I can throw strikes,'' Jeff said. ``But he wouldn't let me pitch. That ticked me off.''
Ted also is 7-0 with a 1.52 ERA and was the winning pitcher against Denbigh in the region final. He transferred to Cox from Bayside in the fall of 1994.
``I went to Independence (Middle School) and all my friends live in the Cox district,'' Ted said. An astronomy course not offered at Bayside was his ticket to Cox.
``No one believed I could pitch,'' Ted said. ``I guess they thought I was too small.''
Cox coach John Ingram turned to both Tignors when Eric John struggled early in the season, but it wasn't quite the desperate measure it sounds.
``Both of those guys pitched for us in American Legion last summer and did a good job,'' Ingram said. ``They throw strikes, get ahead of the hitters and we play pretty good defense behind them.''
The Tignors would have been key contributors for Cox even had they not pitched. Ted is the All-Beach District second baseman and is batting .362.
``In all my years of coaching Ted is the best second baseman I've seen, not just coached,'' Ingram said.
Jeff is the consummate utility player and has started at second base, shortstop and centerfield.
``He takes the spot of whoever is pitching,'' Ingram said.
Jeff is batting .392 with 25 RBIs and scored the winning run on a passed ball in the region semifinals against Bethel.
Now for the pitching-cousin Tignors and for Cox, it's down to the biggest games of the season. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot
Ted, left, and Jeff Tignor are cousins, not twin brothers, though
their pitching stats in Cox's 24-1 season are nearly identical: 7-0
and a 1.56 ERA for Jeff, 7-0 and 1.52 for Ted. by CNB