Fastball

Phillies players didn't need to read the list of probable starters in the newspaper to know they'd be facing New York Mets ace Pedro Martinez tonight. "We knew who their starters would be days ago," Mike Lieberthal said. "Pedro always stands out. " Martinez, who ranks third in the National League with 182 strikeouts and is holding opposing hitters to a .192 batting average (second lowest in the NL), will oppose Brett Myers. Myers (11-6, 3.55) has turned in ace-like work at times this season, but he's still prone to inconsistency, as shown in his 5.01 ERA in five August starts.

Alyssa Neilson earned the starting pitcher's role as a freshman last year for the Kennedy-Kenrick softball team. The Wolverines went all the way to the Catholic League championship game before losing to Conwell-Egan. The hard-throwing righthander - Neilson has been clocked at more than 60 m.p.h. - wasn't about to rest on her laurels, however, in preparation for this season. Working with pitching coach Courtney Hankes McGovern, a former Downingtown standout, Neilson put in long hours over the winter.

A radar gun has clocked his fastball at over 90 m.p.h. He is a tall lefthander with a terrific pick-off move to first base. And he has a curveball that often turns hitters into statues. So it's no wonder that scouts from many major-league organizations have shown interest in Spring-Ford's Craig Clark. The list includes the Phillies, Expos, Mets, Yankees, Devil Rays, Orioles, Cardinals, and Rangers. "There are about three scouts at every game I pitch," Clark said. "It makes me a little nervous before the game, but I'm usually fine when I go out on the mound.

The plan yesterday was simple for Archbishop Carroll pitcher Frank Gailey: throw fewer fastballs and more curveballs. The plan worked. After getting rocked in the first four innings of the Patriots' Catholic League Southern Division game against visiting Cardinal O'Hara, Gailey, Carroll's ace, allowed no runs over the final three frames. He was the winning pitcher as the Patriots rallied past the Lions, 8-6, in a game that featured six home runs, three by each side. Gailey, a senior lefthander, went the distance.

The first pitch could fly out of Curt Schilling's hand at 100 m.p.h. This is new territory for the former Phillies ace, who feeds off adrenaline and is still infatuated with his former team even though he has been a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks since July. Earlier this week, after defeating the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, Schilling conceded that he was thinking ahead to tonight's highly anticipated 10:05 start against the first-place Phillies at Bank One Ballpark.

It wasn't exactly that Larry Bowa couldn't bring himself to compliment Chan Ho Park, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He did, praising the Dodgers righthander's stuff. Then came the postscript. "It might be a combination of his good pitching and our terrible hitting," the Phillies' manager said. "I think our hitters have no clue right now. Every pitcher we see looks like Cy Young to me. " The Phillies closed out their April schedule with a whimper at Dodger Stadium yesterday, losing their fourth consecutive game, 4-1. They were swept over the weekend by a team that had to make do without Gary Sheffield and Mark Grudzielanek for the entire series.

Senior Chris Clem began his Conestoga baseball career as a sophomore with a sizzling fastball, but little else in his pitching repertoire. He was a one-pitch pitcher. Although he was effective at times, he says now that he did not think that highly of his ability. "Honestly, I never thought I was that good," said Clem, a righthander. "I never went to any showcases. I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself. I didn't realize that I had a gift that I could use. " Clem started to realize that gift last season.

It was the kind of moment that always distinguished him from other pitchers, the kind that always seemed to bring out the tiger in him. It was the eighth inning, and Curt Schilling was clinging to a 2-1 lead when he suddenly found himself in big trouble. WHACK! Leadoff hitter Quilvio Veras ripped a double off the wall in left-center. WHACK! Andruw Jones ripped a single to right. Quickly, the Braves had runners at first and third. Heating up in the bullpen for the Phillies were Chris Brock and Jeff Brantley, but manager Terry Francona remained anchored to the bench.

Reliever Jeff Brantley was far from overpowering Friday night, far from dominating. That's to be expected, said the veteran righthander. Manager Terry Francona concurred. "I think we'll have a better idea where he's at after three or four consistent outings," Francona said before last night's game, one night after Brantley had pitched in a major-league game for the first time in almost a year. Brantley allowed one run - it scored on a wild pitch - and two hits while pitching the eighth inning of the Phils' 6-5 loss in Atlanta.

It wasn't pretty, but it certainly was exciting. The Cherokee softball team rallied from two deficits for a thrilling 6-5 victory yesterday over visiting Eastern on a cold, windy, and rainy afternoon. With the win, the Chiefs moved closer to the Olympic Conference American Division penthouse. In a sloppy game marred by wild pitches and errors, the Chiefs scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, capped by Katie Morad's game-winning single. Cherokee improved to 9-3 overall and 3-1 in the American, a half-game behind Eastern.