THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 22, 1996 TAG: 9605220549
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Athletes of the Week
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 52 lines
When Greenbrier Christian beat Nansemond-Suffolk Academy 6-0 to win the TCIS regular-season baseball title it was a personal triumph for pitcher Nick James, who once played for the Saints.
When Tom Keiper and the Gators followed that up with a 7-1 victory over the Saints in the tournament final Saturday night it was a personal triumph of another sort, a triumph of the human spirit.
Keiper, who is also the football quarterback, was hospitalized in critical condition last November with a liver injury.
Keiper, who is 6-3 but weighs only 165 pounds, was sacked from behind and fell on the ball.
``It felt like I had the breath knocked out of me, but it wouldn't go away,'' he said.
Keiper was rushed to Chesapeake General where a CAT scan revealed a blood clot the size of his fist.
Doctors said he could have died on the field if not for the quick work of trainer Dawn Szilagyi and even then gave him only a 50 percent chance of surviving if the internal bleeding wasn't stanched.
The next day the clot began to shrink.
``The doctors were amazed,'' Keiper said. ``It was kind of a miracle.''
Keiper's recovery was slow, but uneventful. He had to skip basketball season - a major disappointment - but spent his free time doing light weightlifting and throwing with baseball teammate Nick James.
A final CAT Scan in April cleared him to play baseball and in his second start he threw a no-hitter and struck out 15 against Peninsula Catholic.
Keiper was 4-2 with a 2.10 ERA entering the TCIS tournament and not expecting any more work. James, the Gators' ace who has signed with James Madison University, was rested and ready to pitch the final. But coach Gary Lavelle elected to stick with his rotation.
``Coach Lavelle had told me a few days before that I might pitch, but when he made it official I was kind of shocked,'' Keiper said. ``Nick's our ace. I was just hoping he wouldn't get mad.''
Keiper walked Saints leadoff hitter Ben Johnson on four pitches only to have catcher Asher Midgette throw him out attempting to steal.
``That calmed me down,'' Keiper said.
He struck out the next two batters and didn't give up a hit until the fourth, finishing with a 4-hitter and 12 strikeouts.
For that performance Keiper is The Virginian-Pilot male athlete of the week. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Tom Keiper by CNB