THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 22, 1996 TAG: 9608220522
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 51 lines
BABE LIVES: The Sultan of Swat, or at least a reasonable facsimile, will be on hand Saturday at the Babe Ruth World Series finale in Manteo. Willis Gardner of Oberlin, Ohio, travels throughout the nation wearing Yankee pinstripes as the country's top impersonator of George Herman Ruth.
Gardner's performance has drawn rave reviews from Ruth's granddaughter, Linda Tosetti.
``If my mother were still alive, she would have fainted when she saw him,'' Tosetti said.
AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR: The Babe Ruth World Series is a double-elimination tournament, except where television is concerned. To accommodate Home Team Sports, Saturday's championship will be a one-game playoff. That means if a team with one loss faces a team with no losses in the final, and the team with one loss wins, it takes the title.
Winner's-bracket teams are Iron Area, N.J., and Alacosta, Calif. They get a couple of days off, however, before meeting in Friday's noon semifinal game.
COIFFED BY CONNECTICUT: Ansonia, Conn., player Corey Somerville is more than a top-notch high school baseballer and football quarterback. He's also gifted with a comb and scissors.
Somerville, whose father is a barber, showed off his tonsorial skills, giving his host, Pete Hunter of Colington, and two teammates, Jason Lydem and Brian Chaplik, haircuts before Ansonia's game against Iron Area.
Somerville led his football team to the Connecticut state title.
``He's a great kid,'' Hunter said. ``He's been playing piano with my daughter, Kelsey. He's teaching her to play by ear. She's teaching him to read notes.''
THE HOUSE THAT COY BUILT: Manteo High's baseball stadium is named for a local semipro baseball legend, Coy Tillett Sr. In the 1950s, Manteo High was the only team in its conference without a lighted stadium. As a a result, Redskin teams played their games in the afternoon. Tillett organized a drive that provided the money for lights, and when a new diamond was developed, it was named for him.
RING CEREMONY TODAY: Manteo High's Class 2A state champion baseball team will be honored tonight, not Wednesday night as earlier reported. Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry will present championship rings to the team.
THEY SAID IT
When asked how his family feeds three teen-age baseball players, host parent Pete Hunter of Colington responded, ``With a shovel.''
Kill Devil Hills police officer and tournament volunteer Bill Walker came up with a great name for the World Series: ``The Greatest Show on Dirt.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Willis Gardner by CNB