THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 31, 1996 TAG: 9605310657
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 62 lines
On a night when Cox's push-button offense went strangely silent and its workhorse pitching ace Jason Dubois broke down after five innings, the Falcons found a new way win.
Jeff Tignor scored on a disputed passed ball with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning lifting Cox to a 2-1 victory over Bethel in an Eastern Region baseball semifinal Thursday at Old Dominion University.
The Falcons' 18th straight win sends them soaring into next week's state tournament. But first Cox (22-1) must play Denbigh (21-1) today at 2 p.m. for the region title.
The time of the game was moved up two hours because Denbigh's prom is tonight.
Cox's Brandon Ramsey was at the plate when a high fastball from Bethel's Paul Hall either ticked off the knob of the bat - Bethel catcher Craig Grainger's story - or flew unimpeded to the backstop.
Tignor hesitated when Grainger didn't immediately pursue the ball and then broke for the plate, scoring easily on a head-first slide.
``The other team was yelling foul,'' Tignor said. ``I didn't know what to do so I took off.''
Grainger said he told Ramsey ``that was a foul ball'' and said the Falcon concurred.
Asked for his version, Ramsey was more oblique.
``He called what he called,'' Ramsey said of plate umpire Jeff Doy.
The bizarre finish ended a splendid pitching duel. Neither team got a hit until the fifth inning or scored until the seventh.
Dubois removed himself from the mound after throwing 94 pitches. He gave up two scratch hits, walked five and struck out six.
``I felt something tighten in my elbow,'' Dubois said. ``I've never had a problem before and hopefully it will be better tommorrow.''
Denbigh's Norm Martel was even better. He allowed only two runners and no hits until Tim Lavigne beat an infield single with one out in the sixth.
Lavigne relieved Dubois and gave up Denbigh's run only run in the seventh. Travis Cobb beat out an infield single, was sacrificed to second and scored on Paul Hall's opposite-field double down the third-base line.
Lavigne was perfect otherwise, striking out five and retiring the last seven batters he faced for his second win of the season.
Cox, which averaged 12.5 runs per game in the regular-season, finally broke through against Martel in the bottom of the seventh. Aaron Straughsbaugh reached on an error, went to second on a passed ball and took third on Jeff Tignor's two-strike bunt.
With the infield in, Frank McDonnell poked a slow roller through the right side, driving in Straughsbaugh.
Straughsbaugh also triggered Cox's winning rally with a leadoff double to the warning track in left-center. Jeff Tignor was walked intentionally and Scott Magnuson beat out a bunt loading the bases.
Eric John tapped back to the mound and Straughsbaugh was forced at the plate.
That brought up Ramsey, who fouled off a suicide squeeze attempt before Grainger gave up the passed ball. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian-Pilot
Losing Bethel pitcher Paul Hall seems adrift in a sea of jubilant
Cox players following Thursday's wild finish. by CNB