
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 27, 1994                    TAG: 9406270246 
SECTION: SPORTS                     PAGE: C3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940627                                 LENGTH: NORFOLK

TIDES FALL IN THE 12TH INNING, 3-2

{LEAD} The Pawtucket Red Sox finally overcame the resurgent Norfolk Tides Sunday, but they needed 12 innings, a bang-bang play at the plate and a few tense moments at the end before doing so.

The PawSox struck for two runs in the 12th inning, then hung on to nip Norfolk, 3-2, at Harbor Park before 11,825 fans, the Tides' largest crowd since opening day.

{REST} The victory, Pawtucket's first in its last seven games against Norfolk, snapped the Tides' season-high five-game winning streak and allowed the Red Sox to salvage the finale of the four-game series.

``I just hope we don't get down after this loss,'' Tides interim manager Marlin McPhail said. ``We're playing well now. Hopefully, we'll use this series as a building block instead of using this game as a stumbling block.''

Pitching dominated most of the way Sunday. Three Tides pitchers held the Red Sox to just six singles through 11 innings, twice as many as Norfolk hitters scratched out.

But the outcome turned on the wildness of Tides reliever Eric Gunderson (3-1), who walked four batters (one intentionally) in the 12th and threw a wild pitch which allowed Luis Ortiz to score what proved to be the winning run.

Gunderson opened the 12th by walking Mike Twardowski on four pitches. Twardowski reached second on a sacrfice, then scored in the game's most dramatic play on Tony Rodriguez' line single to center.

Tides centerfielder Tito Navarro didn't field Rodriquez's hit cleanly, but recovered and uncorked a near-perfect throw to a plate-blocking Joe Kmak. Runner and ball arrived simultaneously and Twardowski barrelled into Kmak, jarring the ball free. Twardowski missed the plate in the collision, but reached back to touch safely before Kmak collected the ball.

Navarro shaved the deficit in half in the Tides' portion of the 12th with a two-out RBI single. Omar Garcia greeted reliever Todd Frohwirth with another single, sending Navarro to third. Garcia then took second uncontested. But Frohwirth got out of the jam by striking out Jim Vatcher swinging.

by CNB