DATE: Tuesday, April 22, 1997               TAG: 9704220332

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   42 lines

COURTNEY O'KONEK: COX HIGH PITCHER THREW 14 SCORELESS INNINGS IN TWO WINS

Cox softball pitcher Courtney O'Konek earned player of the week honors by throwing 14 scoreless innings in victories over Green Run and Tallwood last week.

But truth be known she'd rather win the award this week. No. 5 Cox plays No. 2 Salem on Wednesday and No. 1 Princess Anne on Friday.

They are the only Beach District teams to beat the Falcons.

``They were our first two games of the year and when we lost them both everybody got pretty discouraged,'' O'Konek said. ``I think we're more ready now. We're making the routine plays as well as the difficult ones.''

There was nothing routine about O'Konek's outings against Green Run and Tallwood. She allowed only four hits and no walks in tossing the pair of shutouts.

O'Konek needed only 59 pitches - 41 strikes - to blank the Lions 9-0. She allowed three hits and struck out five.

She was even more stingy, if not as efficient, against Green Run. O'Konek needed 88 pitches to beat the Stallions 15-0.

She allowed one hit, a fifth-inning single, and struck out seven.

``The hit was a line shot right above my head,'' she said.

O'Konek, whose vanity plate on her 1990 Mustang reads NO HITTER, was aware of the situation.

``I started thinking no-hitter in the third inning,'' O'Konek said. ``Darn.''

O'Konek throws a fastball and a drop curve that starts inside to a righthanded batter and breaks over the plate. Catcher Andrea Bussey calls the pitches.

``We work well together,'' O'Konek said.

O'Konek has been pitching since ninth grade and plans to walk on at Longwood College unless she gets a better offer.

With another week like last week she'll need an agent to handle negotiations. ILLUSTRATION: Photo KEYWORDS: ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

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