Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 19, 1990 TAG: 9005190245
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ask Roger White.
"A big inning is good. It'll get you back in the game and sometimes it'll win for you, but you've got to spread things out," White said after his Cave Spring baseball team topped visiting Patrick Henry 11-10 Friday to win the Roanoke Valley District tournament.
"A lot of times when you have big innings you die the rest of the way. That's kind of what happened to PH."
Both teams, however, advanced to the Group AAA Northwestern Region tournament. Cave Spring locked up a regional bid by winning the district's regular-season title, and Patrick Henry's 6-2 victory over Franklin County in a district semifinal Friday put the Patriots in the regional. In the other semifinal, Cave Spring scored once in the bottom of the seventh to beat Pulaski County 10-9.
Cave Spring (16-4) plays host to Potomac in a first-round regional game Monday, and Patrick Henry (12-5) plays George Washington-Danville on Monday at Maher Field. Times for both games have not been determined.
The Patriots' fourth-inning outburst in the final, stoked by Ted Lamar's two-run double and finished by Barry Shelton's two-run homer, gave PH an 8-6 lead. Cave Spring, which won its 12th straight game, tied it at 8 on Bucky Nelson's leadoff home run and Jason Shafer's RBI double in the fourth.
Then, the Patriots fell apart. Starter Jason Whorley gave up a single to Steve Driscoll to open the fifth and was relieved by Kevin Gabbert, a left-hander who had thrown 150 pitches in the semifinal game while striking out 13 in seven innings.
With two out, Nelson reached second and Driscoll took third when left fielder Chris Peery dropped Nelson's line drive. Dee Dalton was walked intentionally, and first baseman Bryan Sullivan bobbled the throw on Jason St. Clair's grounder as one run scored. Then, Shafer's grounder went through second baseman Jamie Plunkett's legs and two runs scored to give the Knights an 11-8 lead.
A seventh-inning PH rally fell short.
"We make some good plays, but we make some brutal plays," said David Nelson, the Patriots' coach. "That's the way second-place teams play. . . . It went all right for a while, but you've got to be consistent."
White said he hopes his team is on its way to another appearance in the state tournament. Last year, the Knights lost in the championship game to W.T. Woodson of Fairfax.
"We've won 12 straight; that's a pretty good roll," White said. "As long as we keep hitting the ball and play some defense, if we give up 10 and score 11, we win the ballgame." Semifinals Pulaski County0130113-9122 Cave Spring3000061-10122
Sarver, Myers (6), Powell (6) and Jones; Hazelwood and St. Clair. W - Hazelwood. L - Powell. HR - Burrus (PC), 7th, one on. Franklin County0010010-273 Patrick Henry300210x-6100
Anderson and Dillon; Gabbert and Lamar. W - Gabbert. L - Anderson. HR - Lamar (PH), 1st, none on. Final Patrick Henry0008002-10134 Cave Spring204230x-11110
Whorley, Gabbert (5) and Lamar; Ellis, Wicks (5), Spicer (7) and St. Clair. W - Wicks. L - Whorley. S - Spicer. HR - Shelton (PH), 4th, one on; Nelson (CS), 4th, none on.
by CNB