THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 25, 1996 TAG: 9605250731
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES C. BLACK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CLEMSON, S.C. LENGTH: 53 lines
Two mistakes, one pitch, end of Old Dominion's baseball season.
Second baseman Eric Folmar committed two sixth-inning errors and relief pitcher Ron Walker served up a high slider that Clemson's Jerome Robinson turned into a grand slam, eliminating the Monarchs from the NCAA Atlantic Regional baseball tournament 5-1 on Friday at Tiger Field.
``The biggest thing is if we make that play and that pitch, we still have a chance to win and still play,'' ODU coach Tony Guzzo said. ``We compound two mistakes in one inning.''
The play: a routine ground ball that Folmar first fumbled, then fired over the head of first baseman Anthony Forelli. Jason Embler, who would have been the third out of the inning, advanced to second on the two errors charged to Folmar.
And the pitch three batters later: a 1-2 breaking ball to Robinson that got away from the Monarchs' stopper.
``It was a slider that stayed up,'' Walker said.
That's until it finally came down behind the leftfield fence, all but ending the Monarchs' season.
``I was thinking he would come with a fastball but he didn't,'' said Robinson, who drove in all five Clemson runs.
``That's what happens when you play a good team,'' Guzzo said. ``You make a mistake (the errors) and they capitalize on it. And obviously Clemson's that type of team.''
But the errors and slider were not the only rocky moments of the inning for the fourth-seeded Monarchs (39-17).
Paul Galloway followed Embler's at-bat with a high chopper to third. Walker fielded the play and threw the ball to first - too late. And with Forelli holding the ball without calling a timeout, Galloway trotted on to second base.
Will Duffie then drew a walk to load the bases.
Out went ODU starter John O'Reilly, who had thrown 45 pitches in the fifth and sixth innings. In came Walker and the slider.
``That's the hit we've been looking for,'' said coach Jack Leggett, whose top-seeded Tigers (47-15) play the Georgia Southern-West Virginia winner at 11 a.m. today
``It came through for us at the right time.''
O'Reilly, who suffered his first defeat since losing to UNC-Wilmington on April 7, kept ODU's hopes alive through the first five innings.
After allowing a leadoff single in the first to Doug Livingston - who was thrown out trying for a double - O'Reilly retired the next nine Tigers. He faced seven Clemson batters in the fifth but only allowed one runner to score. However, as was the case against Georgia Southern's Julio Ayala on Wednesday, the Monarchs' offense was dead.
Billy Koch retired the first seven Monarchs he face and then worked out of jams in the third and fourth innings. ODU's lone run of the tournament came on a run-scoring single by Forelli in the seventh. by CNB