THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 5, 1994 TAG: 9406050234
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERRY BRLAS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: 940605 LENGTH: TOLEDO
The Tides registered their second consecutive positive pitching performance only to come up short in a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Mud Hens at Ned Skeldon Stadium.
{REST} Norfolk outhit Toledo, 5-3. But home runs by Riccardo Ingram and Bobby Higginson provided the difference.
Norfolk pitcher Kevin Morton had Toledo batters off-balance. The southpaw struck out eight in six innings of work, all swinging.
Morton allowed only two hits, one of them Ingram's seventh home run of the season with two outs in the bottom of the first. Morton had to leave after the sixth because his tricep tightened. Ironically, he struck out the side in the sixth.
Jonathan Hurst (0-2) entered the game and pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. Higginson led off the eighth, however, with his team-leading 10th home run.
``He (Morton) had a nice game going and it didn't look like they were going to score on him,'' Norfolk manager Bobby Valentine said. ``It was a well-played game and both guys pitched extremely well. Toledo did a nice job of getting us out when we got men on base.''
Norfolk (23-32) knotted the score at 1-1 in the fifth when Aaron Ledesma lined a shot off the leftfield wall for a double to score Quilvio Veras, who was hit by a pitch.
The Tides stranded eight runners. They put men at first and third in the second, and first and second in the third, but couldn't push a man home.
Tito Navarro kept Norfolk in the game with a nice running catch of a line drive off the bat of Jim Givens with two outs in the bottom of the fifth and runners at first and second.
``I've been encouraged with this team the entire year even though the record is not real good,'' Valentine said.
``Toledo got three hits and two of them went over the fence. We got five hits and all of them stayed in the park.''
Ben Blomdahl (4-3) was the winning pitcher. Brian Maxcy got the save.
The two teams meet in game three of the four-game series at 2 p.m. today. Norfolk's Mike Remlinger (2-3, 3.08) faces Toledo's Greg Gohr (6-3, 2.74).
Notable: New York Mets infielder Tim Bogar has been sent to the Tides on a rehabilitation assignment. He has been disabled since May 6 by a strained left wrist. by CNB