Jeff Cunningham
05-28-2007, 10:55 PM
Kempsville a perfect 10 in pitchers' duel
By Jeff Cunningham | jcunningham@hrvarsity.com (j_cunningham_pbp@yahoo.com)
NORFOLK -- When Kempsville last competed in the Eastern Region baseball tournament, Great Bridge came back with four runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the first-round win and eliminate the Chiefs.
So for Kempsville coach Paul Shows, Monday night's 1-0 10-inning win over the Wildcats at Old Dominion University was a long time coming.
"It seems sometimes like that's all coach talks about," shortstop Byron Barbour said. "He's always talking about Great Bridge did to them, and he used that to keep us prepared all week."
And though the Chiefs (17-4) won on an RBI single from Barbour in the top of the 10th, it remains to be seen whether they were ready for the game that transpired.
The game was the definition of a pitchers' duel. Both starters -- Neil Ramirez for Kempsville and Philip McCarthy for Great Bridge -- threw nine shutout innings. Ramirez struck out six and gave up four hits, while McCarthy fanned 12 and had a one-hitter going into the eighth inning.
"It's tough to go pitch-for-pitch with a guy like Neil," McCarthy said. "It's real hard to do. We were going nose-to-nose out there and I gotta thank my teammates and my catcher Ben (Lenda) ... they played their butts off for me and I'm proud of them for that."
Kempsville had its first scoring chance in the fourth inning after a single by Matt Efland and Casey Hassell was hit by a pitch. But McCarthy struck out the side around those runners, helping the Wildcats (17-4) avoid trouble.
Great Bridge nearly drew first blood in the fifth. Designated hitter Taylor Reeves led off with a double in the left-center field gap and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Matt Workman. Brandon Shelton then walked and took second on defensive indifference, but Ty Morrison flew out to center to end the inning.
The Wildcats then had a chance to take the walk-off, sitting with runners at the corners ane one out in the bottom of the seventh. Workman broke for second on Ramirez's delivery, but Justin Jeffers spoiled the hit-and-run play by lining out to the drawn-in first baseman, Steven Murphy. Murphy then stepped on first to complete the double play and end the inning.
"We had to hang on for dear life out there," Shows said. "At this point in the year, every game becomes a matter of survive and advance."
Just as Kempsville survived a couple scares from the Wildcats, Great Bridge did the same ... thanks to that starting pitching.
"I think Phil showed us tonight he's one of the top guys in the region," Wildcats coach Wiley Lee said. "I wanted to leave him in (in the 10th), but he was already over 100 pitches and his future's far more important to us than tonight's game."
"I would've done anything for my team," McCarthy said. "I wanted to go out there, give it one more inning, but I understand and accept the coach's decision."
Ramirez also has a future to look forward to, as he is expected to go high in the Major League Baseball draft June 7. Several professional scouts were on-hand to watch his performance.
"I probably could've gone that extra inning if I had to," he said. "I knew pretty much in the first inning what kind of night I was going to have, and I could've pushed it one more, but coach decided not to."
Shows agreed, adding, "Neil's got a much bigger future coming up in a few weeks than we do now. I just told him to go out there tonight and get the ball to Murphy."
Murphy will likely start in Wednesday's semifinal game against Granby, which beat Bethel 6-1. First pitch is scheduled for around 7:30 p.m.
The 5 p.m. semifinal will pit Beach District top seed Cox against Denbigh. The Patriots, the top seed from the Peninsula District, beat Maury 2-0, while the Falcons beat Hickory 5-3.
EASTERN REGION BASEBALL TOURNAMENT at Old Dominion University
Kempsville 1, Great Bridge 0, 10 innings
Kempsville 000 000 000 1 1 5 1
Great Bridge 000 000 000 0 0 4 1
Standouts -- Kempsville, Barbour 2-4 (2 singles, RBI); Great Bridge, Carter 2-4 (2 singles). Records -- Kempsville 17-4, Great Bridge 17-4.
By Jeff Cunningham | jcunningham@hrvarsity.com (j_cunningham_pbp@yahoo.com)
NORFOLK -- When Kempsville last competed in the Eastern Region baseball tournament, Great Bridge came back with four runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the first-round win and eliminate the Chiefs.
So for Kempsville coach Paul Shows, Monday night's 1-0 10-inning win over the Wildcats at Old Dominion University was a long time coming.
"It seems sometimes like that's all coach talks about," shortstop Byron Barbour said. "He's always talking about Great Bridge did to them, and he used that to keep us prepared all week."
And though the Chiefs (17-4) won on an RBI single from Barbour in the top of the 10th, it remains to be seen whether they were ready for the game that transpired.
The game was the definition of a pitchers' duel. Both starters -- Neil Ramirez for Kempsville and Philip McCarthy for Great Bridge -- threw nine shutout innings. Ramirez struck out six and gave up four hits, while McCarthy fanned 12 and had a one-hitter going into the eighth inning.
"It's tough to go pitch-for-pitch with a guy like Neil," McCarthy said. "It's real hard to do. We were going nose-to-nose out there and I gotta thank my teammates and my catcher Ben (Lenda) ... they played their butts off for me and I'm proud of them for that."
Kempsville had its first scoring chance in the fourth inning after a single by Matt Efland and Casey Hassell was hit by a pitch. But McCarthy struck out the side around those runners, helping the Wildcats (17-4) avoid trouble.
Great Bridge nearly drew first blood in the fifth. Designated hitter Taylor Reeves led off with a double in the left-center field gap and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Matt Workman. Brandon Shelton then walked and took second on defensive indifference, but Ty Morrison flew out to center to end the inning.
The Wildcats then had a chance to take the walk-off, sitting with runners at the corners ane one out in the bottom of the seventh. Workman broke for second on Ramirez's delivery, but Justin Jeffers spoiled the hit-and-run play by lining out to the drawn-in first baseman, Steven Murphy. Murphy then stepped on first to complete the double play and end the inning.
"We had to hang on for dear life out there," Shows said. "At this point in the year, every game becomes a matter of survive and advance."
Just as Kempsville survived a couple scares from the Wildcats, Great Bridge did the same ... thanks to that starting pitching.
"I think Phil showed us tonight he's one of the top guys in the region," Wildcats coach Wiley Lee said. "I wanted to leave him in (in the 10th), but he was already over 100 pitches and his future's far more important to us than tonight's game."
"I would've done anything for my team," McCarthy said. "I wanted to go out there, give it one more inning, but I understand and accept the coach's decision."
Ramirez also has a future to look forward to, as he is expected to go high in the Major League Baseball draft June 7. Several professional scouts were on-hand to watch his performance.
"I probably could've gone that extra inning if I had to," he said. "I knew pretty much in the first inning what kind of night I was going to have, and I could've pushed it one more, but coach decided not to."
Shows agreed, adding, "Neil's got a much bigger future coming up in a few weeks than we do now. I just told him to go out there tonight and get the ball to Murphy."
Murphy will likely start in Wednesday's semifinal game against Granby, which beat Bethel 6-1. First pitch is scheduled for around 7:30 p.m.
The 5 p.m. semifinal will pit Beach District top seed Cox against Denbigh. The Patriots, the top seed from the Peninsula District, beat Maury 2-0, while the Falcons beat Hickory 5-3.
EASTERN REGION BASEBALL TOURNAMENT at Old Dominion University
Kempsville 1, Great Bridge 0, 10 innings
Kempsville 000 000 000 1 1 5 1
Great Bridge 000 000 000 0 0 4 1
Standouts -- Kempsville, Barbour 2-4 (2 singles, RBI); Great Bridge, Carter 2-4 (2 singles). Records -- Kempsville 17-4, Great Bridge 17-4.