THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 2, 1995 TAG: 9505310154
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
WHEN CHECKING OUT the statistical leaders on the Churchland baseball team, one name keeps popping up.
Second baseman Gary Denette led the Truckers in nearly all categories in hitting.
Sparking Churchland to runner-up honors in the Southeastern District tournament and a fourth-place finish in the regular season, Denette has been chosen as Portsmouth's outstanding high school baseball player for the 1995 season.
Denette edged teammate Robert Jones for top honors.
Churchland, a fourth-place finisher in regular-season play in the Southeastern but only a game behind co-champions Indian River and Western Branch, dominated the annual all-city squad by grabbing seven of the 12 positions.
Denette, a senior, led the Truckers in batting, hits, runs batted in, slugging percentage and on-base average. He struck out only twice in 51 trips to the plate. He had only five errors all season at second base, fielding
Denette hit .490 with 25 base knocks. He drove in 16 runs, had a .588 slugging average and a .566 on-base average.
Jones had a 0.73 earned run average with a 3-3 district record while pitching against only the league's strongest teams. The fastballer, clocked at 83 mph in the district tournament, struck out 76 batters in 48 innings. He also played first base when not pitching and batted .389.
Also chosen from Churchland were first baseman Brian Hill, shortstop Dale Heely, outfielders Otis Jones and Aaron Bailey and pitcher Chris Kelley.
The other first-team picks were Wilson's Scott Parker and Brad Ragland, Norcom's Lennie Wilson and Armand Smith and Alliance Christian's Scott Turner.
The team has six seniors, four juniors and two sophomores.
The only repeater on the squad is Bailey. Denette, Heely, Otis Jones, Turner, Wilson and Ragland all moved up from last year's second unit.
Kelley had a 5-0 district record with a 1.25 earned run average. He also was chosen on the all-city second team as an outfielder. He batted .276.
Hill had a .237 batting average but fielded .909. He also pitched a victory for Churchland.
Heely batted only .200 but drew a lot of walks and had a .408 on-base percentage. He batted cleanup for the Truckers. Heely had a wide range at shortstop and made only five errors.
Otis Jones and Bailey were solid .300 hitters. Jones batted .372 and Bailey hit .361. The fleet Jones topped Churchland in runs scored (19), walks (14) and stolen bases (10). Bailey had a .444 slugging average and a .500 on-base percentage. He hit two home runs.
Turner, picked as a designated hitter on last year's second team, pitched and caught for Alliance. The versatile senior batted .421 and was an extra-base hitter, slamming one home run and four triples.
Wilson, an outstanding third baseman, batted .290. Teammate Smith, a good clutch hitter, had a .292 average and was an excellent center fielder. Both are seniors.
The two Wilson players, Parker and Ragland, are both sophomores. Parker, who has a strong throwing arm, batted .309. Ragland was a pitcher-catcher for the Presidents and batted .356.
The second team had three players from Churchland, three from Wilson, three from Portsmouth Christian, two from Norcom and one from Alliance Christian.
It includes five seniors, five juniors, one sophomore and a freshman. The ninth-grader was Wilson outfielder Paul Connolly. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
Churchland High second baseman Gary Denette, a senior, led the
Truckers in batting, hits, runs batted in, slugging percentage and
on-base average.
[For a list of the roster, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB