THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260598
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
The outcome was very much in doubt early. But in the end, Princess Anne, a softball team which can beat opponents in so many ways, triumphed over Tallwood, a squad which hasn't quite figured out how to stop beating itself.
The second-ranked Cavaliers, who have won pitcher's duels, extra-inning affairs and slugfests this season, used speed and aggression Tuesday, as they pecked out 13 hits and ran the bases with abandon in an 11-2 victory over a group of Lions betrayed by their own gloves.
The Cavaliers - at 8-0 the only unbeaten softball team in South Hampton Roads - created runs expertly with bunts, seven stolen bases and by running the bases with an attitude, challenging the Lions to throw them out.
``We were pumped up,'' said Princess Anne pitcher Melissa Hirsch, who improved to 6-0.
Hirsch, a freshman, scattered nine hits Tuesday and has now allowed only five earned runs in 46 innings.
Her batterymate, Elisa Avery, the lefthanded catcher PA coach Dennis Nixon feels is the equal of Great Bridge first-team all-state pick Marni Magyar, added three hits. The senior brought a .705 average into Tuesday's game.
The Cavaliers' onslaught proved too much for Tallwood, which committed seven errors that resulted in 10 unearned runs. In the Lions' 5-4 loss to No. 10 Cox Friday, all of the Falcon runs were unearned.
The Lions (4-4) made things interesting through four innings, after which they trailed only 2-1. But Tallwood began to break down in the fifth, as a pair of errors and Lori Ferguson's two-out, two-run double highlighted a four-run Princess Anne inning that broke the game open. by CNB