Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 34

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE FRIDAY. AUGUST 13, 1999 ecciaTs 27-strikeout game lives on SCOUTING REPORT i moss played the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium. The two have remained friends, although they weren't teammates very long. In his next start, Necciai struck out 24 in a two-hitter. In 42 innings with Bristol, he gave up just 10 hits, was 4-0 and had a 0.42 ERA He was quickly promoted to the Pirates' Class club in Burlington, N.C., and did so well a 1.57 ERA and 172 strikeouts in two months that in July he was called up by Pittsburgh.

He had control problems, though, and went 1-6 for a struggling team. "I was really not a pitcher1; I was a thrower," Necciai said. "I just threw it down there toward home plate. "In Pittsburgh, I had wildness problems. I walked so many people, I had the vendors walking around in the stands." He wasn't able to work on his control during the off-season because he got drafted into the Army.

He got a medical discharge because of his ulcers the following April, and in trying to rush himself back into shape he injured his shoulder. "Today they would call it a rotator cuff, but then there was nothing they could do," Necciai said. He was just 21 or 22. He went into business selling hunting and fishing gear and now is retired. "I still get letters and cards to sign from people who read about it," Necciai said.

Anyone wanting to contribute toward the plaque fund can send a check to Necciai Plaque, First Tennessee Bank, PO. Box 3189, Bristol, Tenn. 37625. Funds beyond the estimated cost of $1,500 for the project will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Bristol. By Shelly Anderson Post-Gazette Sports Writer tt was May 13, 1952.

Manager George Detore and catcher Harry Dunlop were discussing the no-hit shutout Ron Necciai had just thrown for the Class Bristol (Va.) Twins. Dunlop suddenly realized something Necciai, a 19-year-old righthander from Monongahela, had strticfk out 27 Welsh Miners batters in the Appalachian League game. "That's the God's truth. We didn't realize it at all during the game," Necciai said this week. ''Me being a smart mouth, I said, They've been playing this' game for 100 years.

Somebody has done Butfio one in organized baseball had. Or has. The old ballpark in Bristol, Shaw Stadium, is long gone. For that mattered is Class baseball. And Nec-ciai's: career with the Pirates was scuttled just a couple of years later because of a shoulder problem.

But' Necciai's feat still stands alone, And after tonight, there will be, plaque in Bristol which spans the Virginia-Tennessee border commemorating the time he strucJt'Out 27. Necciai, about a dozen of his relatives and friends and anyone who could be rounded up who was there thajf, game stadium employees, teammates, even fans will be at Bristol's current minor-league park, DeVault Memorial Stadium. There will be a ceremony between games of a Bristol White Sox-Kingsport Mets doubleheader. The plaqug will be erected on a custom like that really cdfitieas a shock," Necciai said of Steve MellonPost-Gazette Former Pirates pitcher Ron Necciai has a home in Monongahela. that May day.

But after a few innings, it dawned on him that he hadn't given up a hit, and the no-hitter became his focus. It wasn't a perfect game because of a couple of walks and errors. In an early inning, one of the Welsh Minersgrounded out. So with two out in the ninth, Necciai had 25 strikeouts. He struck out the next batter, too, but the third strike was a curveball that bounced in front of Dunlop and skidded away.

The runner was safe on first, and Necciai then got strikeout No. 27 to end the game. Dunlop is now an instructor with the Cincinnati Reds, so Necciai and Dunlop got together to visit and reminisce this week when the Reds the fuss. "Gee whiz. "But I'm very honored." The idea came from Kurt Pom-renke, a Bristol lawyer who has no family ties or history in the area but was so impressed when he learned about the 27-strikeout performance that he spearheaded the plaque drive and helped organize tonight's celebration.

It was a fluke, really, that Necciai was even in Bristol in 1952. He had gone to spring training with the Pirates after impressing General Manager Branch Rickey, but bleeding stomach ulcers sidetracked him. He was sent to the Class farm club on a medical rehabilitation assignment. Necciai still wasn't feeling well SCOUTING REPORT The series: Pirates vs. Houston, three games in the Astrodome.

Times: Tonight and tomorrow night at 8:05, Sunday at 2:35. RadioTV: All games on KDKA-AM (1 020); WCWB today and tomorrow and Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh on Sunday. Probable starters: Francisco Cordova (7-5), Kris Benson (10-8) and Todd Ritchie (10-8) for the Pirates; Mike Hampton (16-3), Chris Holt (2-11) and Shane Reynolds (14-8) for the Astros. ABOUT THE PIRATES Playing their last three games in the Astrodome. The Astros are scheduled to move into their new downtown stadium next season.

Are 3-3 against Houston this year, exchanging three-game, home-and-home sweeps. Pirates were outscored, 31-10, in Houston May 10-12. Have lost 11 of their past 13 games in Houston and been outscored, 72-31, including four shutouts. Cordova lifetime against Houston is 5-2 in 13 appearances. In 64 innings, he's given the Astros 1 7 earned runs.

In five games in the Astrodome, Cordova has allowed four earned runs in 22 innings. Lifetime against Cordova, Jeff Bagwell is 3 for 25 with two home runs. Carl Everett is 12 for 17. Derek Bell is 0 for 18 with nine strikeouts. Benson has won his past three starts, allowing 14 hits and three runs in 24 innings.

Kevin Young this season is 13 for 20 against Houston. Warren Morris is 5 for 1 2 with six RBIs. Ed Sprague is 2 for 1 7. Off closer Mike Williams, Bagwell is 6 for 14 with two home runs. ABOUT THE ASTROS Since Manager Larry Dierker's return after a grand mal seizure June 1 3, the Astros are 1 8-1 0.

They were 1 3-1 4 in the 27 games Dierk-er missed. Houston is 60-0 when leading after eight innings. The Astros are the only major league team still unbeaten this season when holding a lead after eight innings. Hampton has won his past seven starts, working at least seven innings in each, and 1 1 of 12 starts since June 4. Since Aug.

10, 1998, Hampton is 18-4 in 33 starts. The Astros are 27-6 in those 33 games. The Astros had beaten the Pirates five consecutive times when Hampton started before the Pirates lit up the left-hander for 1 0 hits and five earned runs in 4 innings in a 7-3 win May 30. Holt is 1 -2 in his past five starts despite allowing only nine earned runs in 34') innings. The Astros are averaging 3.1 runs per game in his 1 1 losses.

Reynolds is 9-1 lifetime in 13 starts against the Pirates. They' hung that loss on him May 29, getting six hits and three runs in Tk innings. Al Martin lifetime is 5 for 25 with a home run off Reynolds. Young is 2 for 13. Everett this season is 7 for 1 6 with eight RBIs against the Pirates.

Bagwell is 4 for 16 with four RBIs and eight runs scored. Craig Biggio is 5 for 23. Houston is just 20-21 in the Central Division. ON DECK Pirates begin a four-game series in Cincinnati Monday night; Astros begin a four-game series with Milwaukee Monday night. Ritchie's overnight success took nine years Ritchie was 2-3 with a 4.83 earned run average, all in relief.

And he didn't complain. "I guess they just didn't have confidence in me," Ritchie said. "Todd's not a guy to burn bridges," Meares said. "He just goes about his work." The Pirates' take on Ritchie was that he had a good arm but almost no chance to make the team as a reliever this spring. "In spring training, we get a syn opsis of what our scouts say about the guys we bring in," Lamont said.

"And the most interesting pitcher we brought in was Todd Ritchie. For pure stuff, he was better than any non-roster pitcher we had and surely comparable to the LholdoverJ guys we had." Ritchie, though, didn't last long in the big-league camp. He didn't seem to throw as hard as the Pirates had hoped, and his control wasn't good. Plus, right-handers PIRATES FROM PAGE C-l 1 -'l up when we were down or pitched were winning big. He never got to see what he could do not even Manager Tom Kelly was kind of set in his ways as far as opportunities.

More than one guy over there got a third or.foutth chance and there was always fresh meat coming in." in 57 games for the Twins, PIRATES STATISTICS 2B 3B SB CS 0 0 0 3 61 4 93 0 0 3 7 8 17 HR RBI 1 2 8 41 16 70 12 61 24 78 0 5 18 48 18 67 82 130 50 113 76 118 12 22 74 112 59 111 4 8 2 2 0 3 2 9 6 23 2 2 BB 0 38 55 45 63 8 33 41 21 7 2 2 19 19 19 5 2 2 32 84 60 58 16 77 68 26 10 6 5 78 32 63 11 4 21 22 17 3 1 0 13 3 3 2 0 0 1 2 6 0 0 5 4 1 34 17 24 5 1 10 36 0 16 29 6 1 BATTERS AVQ OBA AB Cruz 400 .400 10 Kendall 332 .428 280 Young 310 .395 420 Morris 306 .379 369 Giles 300 .396 393 Meares 297 .373 74 Martin 289 .344 388 Sprague 288 .372 386 Brown 261 .360 138 Oliver 259 .338 58 Wehner 250 .300 28 Sveum 238 .304 21 B. Brown 227 .289 242 Nunez 219 .298 178 Benjamin 219 .275 247 Osik 195 .241 82 Tremie 071 .188 14 Totals 267 .343 3880 PITCHERS ERA Anderson 1 0 1.00 Williams 2 2 2.22 Clontz 0 3 2.41 Sauerbeck 2 0 2.62 Wallace 1 0 3.69 Ritchie 10 8 3.72 Schmidt 10 8 3.91 Cordova 7 5 4.11 Benson 10 8 4.37 Hansell 1 2 4.38 Christiansen 2 3 4.46 Wilkins 2 1 4.50 Loiselle 3 2 5.28 Schourek 3 6 5.36 Silva 2 8 6.39 Peters 1 1 6.88 579 1037 219 26 GS SV Send a 1: 0 in our 0 HI i. I i (hi, III I i I Mr I wotimh vwnm. 3 1 12 0 38 0 14 0 32 0 22 20 24 24 17 17 21 21 119 546 9 38 30 40 21 132 160 104 126 27 25 32 16 114 94 50 2 1034 418 787 76 31 107 ER HR BB SO 1 10 3 4 14 11 4 22 59 15 9 6 19 27 15 13 5 29 36 14 13 2 34 33 65 54 13 44 74 77 68 11 56 1 111 47 46 8 35 64 74 65 10 58 92 12 12 2 6 21 17 17 2 19 32 16 16 2 11 24 9 9 2 9 14 64 56 18 38 78 65 57 9 31 62 32 27 6 14 25 4 4 0 2 1 553 487 102 439 765 0 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 IP 90 44.2 33.2 44.2 31.2 130.2 156.2 100.2 134.0 24.2 34.1 32.0 15.1 94.0 80.1 35.1 1.0 1011.2 23 15 20 12 12 4 1 0 Osik 0 0 36.00 Totals 57 57 4.33 114 114 21 1 SB CS 0 0 22 4 13 5 21 10 24 7 5 1 Rich Loiselle, Mike Williams and rookie Jason Phillips had bullpen spots locked. Ritchie went to the minor-league camp, which was a disappointment to him.

But then he learned he'd be used as a starter by Class AAA Nashville. That was a lift. Ritchie had been a starter in the Minnesota minor-league system until he had shoulder surgery in May 1994. After that, he began to relieve more and more. By June, 1996, he was strictly a reliever.

But he wanted to be a starter. He felt he could win as a starter in the major leagues. "I have confidence in myself," he said. "I think everybody should have confidence in themselves. I was just looking for a chance.

I've always liked to compete and mix it up out there. I get a rush out of it. I love playing the game. I feel like I'm a pretty good pitcher, but it had been a while since I had a chance to start." Ritchie made one start for Nashville once the season began. By then, the Pirates had put Francisco Cordova on the disabled list.

They needed a starter for a game in Cincinnati April 18. Nashville Manager Trent Jewett recommended Ritchie. He did well against the Reds. In 6's innings, he allowed six hits and a run. He also got two hits himself.

John R. Tunis would have been proud. After the game, Lamont said Ritchie "more than likely" wouldn't make another start. He'd pitch out of the bullpen. But two weeks later, with Chris Peters on his way out of the rotation, Ritchie found himself back in.

He's stayed. And thrived. "It surely doesn't surprise me," Lamont said. "He's shown he has quality pitches." Ritchie, who makes $225,000 this year, has been a bargain. He'll get a decent raise for next year.

But he isn't thinking about that just yet. "Of course, this has meant a lot," Ritchie said of his overnight success that was nine years in the making. "I got a solid chance. It's what every kid dreams of. But I'm just thinking about pitching my next start.

I can't think beyond that. "I'm having some success. Well, a little success. But I'm not going to jump up and down. I've learned not to take anything for granted.

If I've learned anything, I've learned that. If I lose, I'm going to stay the same. If I win, I'm going to stay the same. It's a long season." "That kind of makeup can take you a long way," said Meares, also drafted by Minnesota in 1990. "I think he's happy as heck with the opportunity he's had here.

Now he just wants to close out this year and not stumble. "There's not a lot of security in this game. Anybody can have one gooa year. Tom Kelly impressed that on me. And one good year is not what this is about." It's about a second good year.

And a third. And a fourth. And so on. That's what Todd Ritchie would like to see happen. "The carrot's in front of Todd," Meares said, "and he's chasing it.

He's still chasing that carrot." In that regard; Ritchie has something going for him. Because in the John R. Tunis books, the kid always seemed to reach flie carrot. 4 ,1," 0 4 0 7 5 8 7 5 5 4 1 4 8 2 2 1 0 0 0 4 2 1 2 0 0 5 6 OPPONENT: ASTROS STATISTICS BATTERS AVG OBA AB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Mieske 355 .382 62 8 22 2 0 4 20 4 7 Everett 332 .389 337 53 112 22 3 14 77 27 66 Barker 325 .378 40 12 13 2 0 0 6 4 11 Biggio 312 .397 465 87 145 48 0 10 57 59 80 Bagwell 309 .448 411 106 127 25 0 36 99 102 95 Caminiti 292 .373 130 18 38 5 0 2 17 18 25 Spiers 282 .359 280 43 79 15 3 3 29 34 31 Johnson 281 .361 114 19 32 8 0 4 17 16 22 Bako 273 .360 150 14 41 12 1 2 13 22 39 Gutierrez 273 .348 143 21 39 5 4 1 13 15 21 Ward 268 .317 56 4 15 2 0 3 8 4 15 Eusebio 259 .346 212 23 55 8 0 2 15 28 44 Bogar 250 .338 272 39 68 14 2 4 30 33 45 Bell 246 .314 460 58 113 19 0 11 60 45 112 Hidalgo 1 227 .328 383 49 87 25 2 15 56 56 73 Diaz 220 .264 50 3 11 2 0 1 7 3 13 Howell 212 .366 33 2 7 2 0 1 1 8 9 Meluskey 212 .316 33 4 7 1 0 1 3 5 6 Knorr 185 .214 27 2 5 1 0 0 0 1 7 Totals 270 .354 3929 586 1061 223 18 118 560 496 805 PITCHERS ERA GS SV IP ER HR Wagner 2 1 228 45 0 27 51.1 26 14 13 5 Hampton 16 3 2 96 23 23 0 1641 141 60 54 7 Elarton 6 3 3 12 34 7 1 78 0 60 29 27 5 Reynolds 14 8 3 57 25 25 0 171.1 181 73 68 16 Powell 4 2 3 61 46 0 3 52.1 56 22 21 3 Lima 15 7 3.62 25 25 0 1790 184 77 72 23 Williams 1 1 4.24 33 0 0 46 2 41 23 22 1 Holt 2 11 4.38 21 19 1 117.0 135 64 57 8 Berqman 4 6 5 23 16 16 0 930 122 55 54 8 Henry 1 2 5 64 18 0 0 22.1 28 16 14 7 T. Miller 1 1 621 33 0 1 33.1 39 23 23 6 Totals 69 47 3.87 116 116 33 1034.0 1046 477 445 95 129 55 70 I -v itr i Him 11 ml -i T- -ft t.

T-f i-C -(-C 7- fcf -lv -V r-c It RYAN OODZX CAKIVIN CATHOLIC HS. Have a great season. Good luck! Love, Mom, Dad, Rod, Ron Russ. killyahns smith ligonier valley h.s. Strutt Your Stuff, Girl! Love, Aunt Patti SO 86 111 76 152 55 129 36 76 37 23 23 827 16 62 26 21 26 29 25 38 22 15 20 312 The Post-Gazette's High School Football Preview is one of our most popular sections -the top players, the top teams it's the most complete guide to the high school football season.

You can be part of it Friday, August 27. With the PC's "Cheer Ads," you can send a good luck wish to your favorite player, cheerleader or band member. Cheer ads can be placed for just $2.08 per line of copy. Each line is approximately 30 letters and spaces. Photos may be included for $31.20.

All of those who place an announcement receive a gift compliments of the Post-Gazette. Deadline for placing your ad by Monday, August 23, 1999. For details, call (412) 263-1236. Stay Posted. 2- i -i if -t MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT Wednesday's results NASHVILLE (68-46) beat New Orleans, 2-1 in a game called after five innings because of rain.

Paul Ah Yat (4-2) allowed two hits in five innings. Center fielder Chad Hermansen hit his 31st home run and stole his 17th base. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez was 1 for 2. ALTOONA (61-57) beat New Britain, 5-3. Brian O'Connor (5-9) pitched eight innings with seven strikeouts.

David Daniels earned his eighth save. Left fielder Adam Hyzdu hit his 20th homer. Right fielder Alex Hernandez hit his 14th homer. LYNCHBURG (22-28) lost to Kinston, 11-3: Second baseman Kurt Bultmann was 2 for 4 with a triple and an RBI. Designated hitter Derrick Lankford doubled and drove In a run.

Lyle Prempas (0-2) took the loss, allowing four runs in five innings. HICKORY (18-27) beat Piedmont, 4-2: Luis Torres (1-1) pitched 5 innings with four strikeouts to earn the victory. Third baseman Rolando Segura was 2 for 4 with a run and a RBI. WILLIAMSPORT (28-26) beat Jamestown, 4-3, in 10 innings: Felix Montilla (1-0) won in relief of starter Andy Prater, who allowed one run in seven innings. Second baseman Antonio Alvarez went 2 for 4 with a run and a RBI.

First baseman J.R. House drove in two runs. BRADENTON (20-25) beat the Reds, 4-3: Jon Searles (1-0) won in relief of starter James White, who allowed two earned runs in six innings. Right fielder Vicente Castro was 2 for 4 with a double. Designated hitter Ryan Doumit was 3 f4 with an RBI..