THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 8, 1996 TAG: 9608080552
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER AND PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 60 lines
The stage for the finals of the 15th annual Tidewater Softball Championships is set after first- and second-round play in the men's and women's divisions Wednesday at Princess Anne Park.
Title games for coed, church men, men and will be played Friday following a 6:30 p.m. Tidewater Seniors Athletic Association championship game.
Harrison of Portsmouth and Clancy's of Norfolk both advanced to set up a much awaited rematch of last year's men's final, while Cummings/Easton and Superior Pest Control will battle in the women's division.
Defending champion Cummings/ Easton pulled off a come-from-behind seventh-inning 15-14 win over Rattlers of Norfolk.
Cummings had fallen behind 12-0 after one and a half innings of play.
With two outs and bases loaded Kris Allen reached first on a throwing error to score Debbie Stevens for the right to defend.
The Rattlers, who were shut out until the top of the seventh, when Wintress Page and Callie Matthews pushed a pair of runs across the plate for a 14-14 tie.
Cummings/Easton defeated Hardcore of Chesapeake 17-5 in a quarterfinal.
Superior Pest Control of Chesapeake 12-run ruled P.J.'s Elite 15-3 to advance. Down 3-1, Superior crafted a 5-run fifth and added nine in the bottom of the sixth to end it.
Superior's quarterfinal win came on a bye, as Virginia Beach failed to send a second team.
Harrison again showed its might in quarterfinal and semifinal victories, pounding out a total of 46 runs on 44 hits that included 20 home runs over the newly-constructed 305-foot fences.
Harrison, the defending men's champion, opened the night with a 20-6 victory over Davenport of Norfolk in five innings, then took a 27-14 victory over Chesapeake city champion AA/Zero's/Lake Wright in the semifinal.
Greg Harding was the man of the night, going 8 for 9 with six home runs in the two games. Steve Gilbert was also 8 for 9. Pitcher Dewey Fussell came alive in the second game, finishing the night with a 5-for-7 effort that included a pair of home runs in the second game.
AA/Zero's/Lake Wright advanced to the semi with a 16-12 victory over Virginia Beach's HiTides in eight innings.
Clancy's battled back from a deep deficit in its semifinal victory, eventually defeating Hyman's of Virginia Beach 14-11. Hyman's had scored 10 runs in the first two innings to take a commanding lead.
Clancy's beat Superior Pest Control 18-8 in a quarterfinal, while Hyman's advanced with an 18-6 victory over of Northwest Welding of Chesapeake. Clancy's got a big semifinal from Frosty Clore, who hit a pair of homers. by CNB