THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 30, 1996 TAG: 9610290134
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DOUG BEIZER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 96 lines
DOMINANT PITCHING was the deciding factor in the Virginia Beach Middle School League championship games for both girls fast-pitch softball and boys baseball played last week at Kempsville Middle School.
Hard-throwing David Moore pitched 4 2/3 hitless innings for the Independence Eagles in a 4-0 baseball victory over the Salem Sharks; while on the other field, Kristen Cahill pitched a one-hitter for the Great Neck Gulls in their 6-3 softball victory over the Princess Anne Panthers.
Salem threatened to score early in the game when Mark Reynolds was pitching for the Eagles. Brandon Workman hit a double for the Sharks in the first inning, putting runners on second and third with two outs. But Reynolds came up with a strike out to end the inning. Jeremy Owens' single in the third inning was the last hit of the game for the Sharks.
Moore entered the game after that hit, recording seven strikeouts with only one walk.
``We had a little trouble with their second pitcher, I think that was a momentum change,'' said Salem coach Don Spears, whose only regular season loss was to Independence.
``We missed our opportunities early in the ball game, with our guys in scoring position. But other than that, our kids played the best baseball they could possibly play. They played their hearts out.''
The Independence got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning after Salem pitcher Vincent Sibal hit Eagles batter Ben Dickerson with a pitch. One batter later, Chris Barnes' double drove Dickerson in for the first run of the game.
``The turning point is when I got hit by the ball and then I scored,'' said Dickerson, who also had a hit and scored twice.
Independence iced the victory in the sixth inning, pounding four hits against Sibal and scoring three runs. Ricky Carter ignited the Eagles by pounding a ball into deep right-center field. Carter could have had a triple on the play, but he missed tagging first base and had to go back. A throwing error put him on third. Then Moore's base hit drove Carter in. Dickerson followed with another base hit and Ben Wilson's double drove in the third run of the inning.
``I think we did well. Our defense was better than our offense but we pulled it through,'' said Moore. ``I think our defense held them off and then our offense came in with the insurance runs.''
Independence coach William Lawrence agreed that defense behind the pitcher made the difference in the game.
``Great defense, good pitching, timely hitting and a great bunch of kids, was the difference,'' he said. ``Every game has just been a total team victory, they've worked together real well. This is the fifth shutout we've had this year. And we threw about two one-hitters and a couple of two-hitters.''
For Independence outfielder Sean Slaughter, the victory was a total team effort.
``I think we've been playing good all season and we pulled together this game,'' he said. ``This was game we needed to pull together. And that is what makes us champions now.''
In the softball championship game, Sue Taylor of Great Neck hit a solo home run in the first inning and the Gulls never looked back.
Great Neck added four more runs in the third on a triple by Taylor and five walks. The Gulls scored a final insurance run in the fifth.
``Actually this team beat us very badly earlier in the season,'' said Great Neck coach Norm Saniga about Princess Anne - which went unbeaten in the regular season.
``But we had two girls injured at the time. My catcher - and you need a good catcher when you've got a girl throwing like Kristen (Cahill) - was out. And my right fielder who made three or four outstanding plays today was also out. That was the difference. Plus, we hit the ball well today. We were pumped.''
Princess Anne came alive in the fourth, when Kelli Lindsey drove the ball to right field for a base hit. After Cahill walked April Bunn, the Gulls committed two errors that resulted in three runs. But Cahill shut down the threat with two strike outs.
She finished with 13 strikeouts and two walks.
``Kristen is only a seventh-grader,'' Saniga said. ``What can I say? She is going to be awesome. But we played very good defense, we hit the ball well, we did everything we needed to do.''
Cahill played down her performance.
``It wasn't the best game I ever pitched,'' she said. ``But I felt that I did my job. The last inning was the hardest, when we had to hold them.''
Great Neck right fielder Lisa Treece said it was sweet revenge to beat Princes Anne in the championship game.
``I thought it was really good that we beat them, because we lost pretty bad in the first game,'' she said. ``Our confidence was a lot higher this time, because we won a lot of our division games and we just went out there and tried to have a good time.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by DOUG BEIZER
ABOVE: Independence struck first against Salem in the fourth inning
when Chris Barnes doubled in Ben Dickerson. The Eagles won the
baseball game, 4-0.
LEFT: Great Neck coach Norm Saniga surrounds himself with the
victorious Gulls, who defeated Princess Anne, 6-3, in softball.
KEYWORDS: MIDDLE SCHOOL by CNB