THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605050216
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CLYDE HUGHES, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: MAUMEE, OHIO LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
The Norfolk Tides blew a three-run lead as the Toledo Mud Hens handed the Tides their third loss in four games with a 7-3 win at Ned Skeldon Stadium Saturday night.
Mike Fyhrie, with the fifth-best earned run average in the International League, shut down Toledo for the first four innings.
Toledo scored single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to tie the game. But the roof fell in during the eighth inning with four runs off Pedro Martinez and Joe Ausanio.
After getting the last two outs in the seventh, Martinez walked Phil Hiatt and Tony Clark to open the eighth. Ausanio came in and walked Micah Franklin to load the bases and Jeff Tackett slapped a triple down the rightfield line for three runs.
Tackett scored on Duane Singleton's flyout to right to complete the comeback.
``Mike has better stuff than he had tonight,'' said Norfolk manager Bobby Valentine. ``He almost got us where we needed to be. Martinez just lost his control in the eighth.
``You don't want to walk the leadoff hitter and absolutely not the next batter as well. Ausanio got caught throwing as fast ball down the middle to Tackett for a triple.''
Norfolk scored two runs in the first inning off Toledo starter Randy Marshall. Shawn Gilbert walked and Kevin Morgan reached on a fielder's choice to second.
Alex Ochoa then slapped a one-out double over Singleton's head in centerfield, scoring Morgan. After Trey McCoy was hit by a pitch, Matt Franco drove a double to left, scoring Ochoa.
Andy Tomberlain's single scored Shawn Gilbert in the third to give Norfolk a 3-0 lead.
In Friday night's game, in Columbus, Ohio, Andy Tomberlin's fifth hit, a two-out infield single with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning, capped Norfolk's rally from a 7-0 deficit as the Tides defeated the Columbus Clippers 9-7. by CNB