THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 11, 1996 TAG: 9606110442
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUMFRIES, VA. LENGTH: 40 lines
Jason Dubois handed Cox assistant coach Tyree Brown a baseball splattered with signatures and asked him to sign it. The ball will be a treasured keepsake for the junior pitcher, who had just helped the Falcons win the Group AAA state title with a solid performance on the mound.
And it will be used as a motivator next year as Dubois will be thrust into a leadership role - nine of the signatures he got Monday were those of graduating seniors.
``Next year will be totally different,'' said Dubois, who threw 120 pitches in the 4-2 victory over Potomac. ``It'll going to be hard losing them all. We won state and I thought it would be a neat idea to have everybody sign it.''
Dubois was his signature self after a slow start, heating up at the end as the victory got closer.
With the win he pushed his record to 9-0, going the distance, striking out nine and walking only two. And he did it overcoming a sore elbow.
``It was getting stiff earlier, but it got better and better as the game went on,'' he said.''
No need to tell that to the six Potomac batters he struck out in the last two innings.
``The kid didn't have much early, but he sure had the gas at the end,'' coach John Ingram said. ``The kid really stepped up.
``I think he was really nervous about his arm early, but they clocked him at about 89 miles per hour those last couple of innings.''
``He sucked it up and we gave him the runs and great defense he needed,'' Ingram said.
And when it was all over, someone gave him the baseball, and he did with what he had in the game - turned it into a lasting memory. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian Pilot
Cox pitcher Jason Dubois exhults after the final out as the Falcons
defeated Potomac 4-2 to secure the Group AAA state championship. by CNB