THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606130181
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 43 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER
CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 88 lines
KENNY MEEKINS had been there twice before, but never had a state championship been so sweet.
When the Manteo High School baseball team erupted onto the playing field after the final out of the 2A state championship in Garner last Saturday, Meekins admitted it was the best team he had ever coached.
Unlike Manteo's four previous playoff games, the two wins over East Davidson did not come as easy. The Manteo pitching, which had been a trademark throughout the season, was not up to standard. But the hitting, which has also been there all year, came through to save the two contests.
Manteo won Game One with power, as the Redskins belted three homers on the way to an 11-5 victory.
The team struggled early on. Starting pitcher Matt Meekins couldn't get out of the second inning, and Manteo was behind 5-0. On this day, however, pitching didn't matter as much as hot bats.
Manteo scored nine runs in the third inning to take command. Jimmy Forrest and Danny Davis both smacked two-run homers in the inning. Ted Toler, who went six-for-eight in the series, contributed a two-run double; Meekins added a two-run single.
Gerald Crawford completed the Manteo scoring with a two-run homer in the sixth.
Toler shut the door in relief of Meekins. He didn't allow a run in five-plus innings of work.
Game Two was a tense thriller, exactly what playoff baseball should be. Manteo wanted desperately to end the best-of-three series in two games, while East Davidson was hanging on for dear life.
``We didn't want to go to a third game, and they were doing everything they could to get to that third game,'' Meekins said, recalling the contest.
Manteo held a 5-0 lead into the third inning. With ace Foye Minton on the mound, the Redskins could almost taste victory. Then, a funny thing happened on the way to Meekins' Gatorade shower. East Davidson scored four runs in the third off Minton, mainly on errors.
``We kind of threw it around that inning,'' Meekins said. ``The wheels kind of fell off.''
Later, with the lead changing back and forth, East Davidson took an 8-7 lead in the sixth.
``We did not play our best game by any means,'' Meekins said. ``I really got on their case about the fifth or sixth inning.''
In the top of the seventh, Manteo worked the magic spell that it had been perfecting all season.
Trip Hooks led the inning with a bloop single over first base. Playing for a tie at this point, Davis was up in a sacrifice situation but failed to lay down the bunt. He ended up hitting into a fielder's choice.
Joel Daniels followed with a shot to left that moved Davis to third. Minton hit to the right side of the infield. Davis got a good jump off third but was thrown out at home on a disputed call. This left runners at first and second with two outs and Manteo still trailing by a run.
Matt Meekins came up to the plate, and with two outs and two strikes drove in the tying run with a single in the hole at short.
Then, the Golden Eagles made a fatal mistake. They elected to intentionally walk Gerald Crawford to load the bases and to pitch to Toler. The go-ahead run was at third.
``We overheard somebody say before the second game that they weren't going to pitch to Crawford,'' Meekins said. ``I felt like Toler was the hotter man.''
Toler hit a shot to second baseman Pat Kennedy. Kennedy picked the ball up, but instead of throwing Toler out at first, he elected to take a stab at tagging pinch runner Darius Collins, who was heading to second. Kennedy dropped the ball, and the go-ahead run scored for a 9-8 Manteo win.
``It's a great feeling,'' Meekins said. ``I can't say enough about these kids. They've come a long way, especially with me.''
It was Meekins' third state championship. He was also victorious in the 1A state championship with Princeton in 1992 and 1994.
Manteo, which finished the season at 25-3, had some incredible statistics.
The team hit .340 with 23 homers in 28 games. Leading the offense was Daniels at .444, Gerald Crawford at .410 with seven homers and 35 RBI, and Matt Meekins at .340 with 31 RBI.
On the mound, Manteo's team earned run average was a minuscule 1.40. Minton ended up 8-0 with a 1.60 ERA, Toler was 8-1, and Meekins was 8-2. Toler's strikeout-to-walk ratio was astounding: In 51.3 innings, he struck out 97 and walked just 11 batters. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SUSAN VAUGHAN
Manteo catcher Gerald Crawford makes a play as pitcher Matt Meekins
comes off the mound during the second championship game against East
Davidson. by CNB