DATE: Tuesday, May 20, 1997                 TAG: 9705200251

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JAY LIDINGTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   42 lines

GRANBY, LAKE TAYLOR TO MEET IN FINALS

Heath Cataulin pitched a one-hitter as Granby beat Wilson 5-0 Monday night to qualify for the finals of the Eastern District baseball tournament.

The Comets (17-5) will meet Lake Taylor (14-8), which upset regular-season district champ Maury 13-3 in the first game. The two teams will play at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Churchland High School.

Cataulin struck out 14 Wilson batters and retired his first 18 opponents before surrendering a single to the Presidents' Brandon Todd to open the seventh inning.

``We had a dominating pitching performance tonight,'' said Granby coach Vince Zebro. ``You can't get much more dominant than that.''

After scoring once against Wilson's Nate Anthony in the third inning, Anthony walked the bases full with two outs and then gave up back-to-back doubles to Granby's Joey Wood and Aron Tabor to conclude the scoring.

Scoring was at a premium in the the opening game, at least until Maury came unglued in the eighth inning and gave up 10 runs to break a 3-3 tie.

Lake Taylor sent 14 batters to the plate in that inning and needed only five hits and two Maury errors. Lake Taylor lost its two games with Maury this season.

``We were just determined not to lose three times in a row,'' said Lake Taylor pitcher Robby Hale, who went eight innings for the win and had three hits.

``I think we wanted this game. Without this game, there is no finals. We go home.''

Maury automatically qualifies for the regional tournament next week at Old Dominion University by virtue of its Eastern District regular-season crown.

Lake Taylor coach Towny Townsend said his senior pitcher steeled himself to stay on track over the course of his 124-pitch performance.

``On a day like this - he's a senior and it could be his last game. It can do some things to you,'' Townsend said.

Lake Taylor scored a run in the first, second and fifth innings, but it was catcher Bobby Cleck's eighth-inning line drive that hit Maury pitcher Bruce Miller that seemed to break Maury's confidence.

The Titans scored their final seven runs after that on four hits.

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