THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 25, 1994 TAG: 9407250129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CRAIG MERZ, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: COLUMBUS, OHIO LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Butch Huskey had shown little against Columbus pitching this season. The Norfolk third baseman was hitting a meager .158 versus the Clippers. Worse, he hadn't driven in a run - not a good sign for the second-leading RBI producer on the team.
He remedied that situation big-time Sunday night with two home runs, a triple and four RBI to lead the Tides to a 10-2 drilling of the Clippers.
``It's a combination of things. I wasn't seeing the ball well. I think I've finally found my stroke that I had in previous years,'' he said.
The Tides were stroking the ball all over the field, especially against a Clippers bullpen which gave up eight hits and five runs in four innings.
``We didn't pitch very well. That's what happens when you throw ball out over the plate,'' Clippers manager Stump Merrill said.
All Norfolk starters had at least one hit - the team had 13 - and Aaron Ledesma and Shawn Hare chipped in with two RBI.
The big blast was Huskey's opposite field, three-run shot in the sixth to cap a five-run rally as the Tides overcame a 2-1 deficit.
``It was a fastball. I thought I hit it pretty good. It got up and kind of carried,'' Huskey said.
Huskey, who has eight home runs and 42 RBI, made the jump from Double-A to the New York Mets last September when Bobby Bonilla was injured. Huskey batted surgery on the left shoulder.
``The shoulder's about 90 percent right now. The big thing is it feels free, I'm swinging easy again,'' he said.
Such as the home run in the second inning for a 1-0 lead which Frank Seminara carried into the fourth.
Seminara ran into trouble when Columbus opened with three straight hits. Dave Silvestri's double scored Don Sparks tie the game. A sacrifice fly by Chito Martinez plated Russ Davis to push Columbus ahead.
Then the Clippers' lead, and starter Mark Carper, unraveled. He walked leadoff hitter Quilvio Veras. Pat Howell followed with a perfect bunt on the artificial turf. Not only did he beat the throw but Carper threw the ball away, allowing the runners to reach second and third.
Ledesma knocked in two for a 3-2 lead with a single to right. Rich Hines replaced Carper with a 2-1 count on Hare. He walked him then watched as Huskey unloaded a drive down the rightfield line.
That was all the offensive support Seminara (4-3) needed to end the Clippers three-game winning streak. He allowed seven hits in eight innings. He also defeated Columbus, 7-5, on July 19. He has won three straight.
``He pitched very well. We know him, he used to be ours,'' Merrill said.
Seminara was drafted by the Yankees in 1988 and spent his first three seasons in the organization. ILLUSTRATION: BOX SCORE
STANDINGS
[For a copy of the charts, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB