THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 3, 1994 TAG: 9407020176
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 23 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: John Gordon
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Who says expansion teams are destined to be losers?
In the recently concluded Great Bridge Baseball Mustang season for 9- and 10-year-olds, the International League's Marlins proved all the so-called experts wrong by winning their division and compiling an enviable 16-1 record.
This was the most wins for any of the 24 teams at their level. And in the winning the division, the underdog Marlins had to defeat six established teams and one other expansion club.
Early in the season, it was apparent that the division would be a two-team race between the Marlins and the Mets. Sure enough, at the end of the regular season, the two squads were tied for first with one loss apiece, and each loss had come at the hands of the other club.
In a playoff game last Monday to determine the division champion, the Marlins scored three runs in the last inning and nipped the Mets, 6-5. The combined scores of the three games between the two teams was 15-14 in favor of the Marlins.
The leading hitters for the Marlins were Keith Williams, with a .641 batting average, and James Brandt, with a .600. William Cochrane Jr. hit .595, and Scot Sizemore had a .486. David Pugh was the winningest pitcher with a 6-0 record.
Other members of the team were Chris Beech, Clay Fletcher, Robert Hernandez, Will Phillips, Sean Phillips and Sean Keating. Terry Sizemore was the manager, while Bill Cochrane and Pat Phillips served as coaches.
GIRLS SLO-PITCH SCORES: The Robins blasted the Emeralds, 15-2, and the Bombers beat the Pink Panthers, 13-6, in the midget division of girls slo-pitch softball action at Indian River recently.
In the junior bracket, the Zingers topped the Hustlers, 15-7, the Summer Ice trimmed the Super Stars, 16-11, and the Braves bested the Obsession, 13-8. In the teen classification, the Untouchables whipped the Good Girls, 16-4, and the Aces crushed the Flames, 22-1.
Over in the South Norfolk district, the Red Sox clobbered the Pirates, 11-7, in a teen game, and the Red Devils blanked the Tigers, 9-0, in a midget outing. The All Stars won over the Summer Heat, 15-8, and the South Norfolk Gold Dust nipped the Indian River Angels, 14-13, in junior division contests.
LOCAL SWIMMERS WIN: All three Chesapeake teams won their dual meets in the Virginia Beach Swim League on June 25.
The Great Bridge Piranhas clobbered Pembroke Meadows, 377-273, in a Dolphin Division match, and the Greenbrier Country Club Seahawks blasted Princess Anne, 368-275, in a Porpoise Division meet. Seven Springs edged Glenwood, 321-313, in Tarpon Division competition.
DEAL AT STATE TOURNEY: Curtis Deal, former Great Bridge High star golfer, is at the state amateur tournament in Manassas this weekend. Qualifying was Thursday and Friday and the top 32 golfers went into match play on Saturday.
This is his first tourney since the NCAA championships in Texas. He qualified for that event in a regional tournament in Alabama. by CNB