THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 18, 1994 TAG: 9407180172
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
The privilege of going at each other for 12 innings Sunday night at Harbor Park might have cost the Norfolk Tides and Richmond Braves $300 per man.
A mild scuffle at the plate cropped up in the eighth inning of the Braves' 3-2 victory, one that halted the Tides' two-game winning streak and came at the expense of their best relief pitcher, Mike Cook.
The bench-clearing skirmish took place at the end of the eighth after Richmond's Troy Hughes tried to bowl over catcher Joe Kmak. After Hughes was unsuccessful, he and Kmak sparred verbally as both dugouts and bullpens emptied to mill about the plate and exchange a few shoves.
Only Hughes was ejected for allegedly throwing a punch. But under a new get-tough rule on fighting in the minor leagues, every player on both clubs could be fined $300 and suspended two games for leaving their positions and the bench during an altercation, though Kmak actually never left his position.
``The president will decide,'' Tides manager Bobby Valentine said of the International League's Randy Mobley. ``We broke the rules. Hopefully (he'll) be lenient.''
Overall, it was a minor moment on a well-contested evening in which Richmond (53-41) snapped a two-game losing streak and the Tides (46-49), who had just five hits, were denied their eighth victory in 10 games.
The game turned when Bobby Moore started Richmond's 12th with a single off Cook, who entered with 11 saves and a 1.63 earned run average. Cook then got two outs, during which Moore moved to second on a chopper back to the mound.
Facing Brian Kowitz next, Cook jammed him with a 2-2 pitch, but Kowitz blooped it into centerfield to bring in Moore.
``There's not much you can do when you execute your pitch and they just beat you,'' Tides pitching coach Bob Apodaca said.
It completed Richmond's rally from a 2-1 deficit that was created in the fourth when Tides third baseman Butch Huskey hit a two-run home run off Richmond ace Brad Woodall.
Richmond didn't tie it until Mike Mordecai homered off Dave Telgheder with two outs in the eighth. Shortstop Aaron Ledesma then booted Luis Lopez's ground ball to bring up Eddie Perez.
With Hughes, a pinch-runner, going on the pitch, Perez sent a grounder through Huskey's legs for an error. Leftfielder Rick Parker ran down the ball and threw home as Hughes was waved around third. Out by 15 feet, Hughes dived at Kmak in an effort to knock the ball free.
Kmak shrugged it off and held on to the ball, but then turned and taunted Hughes, which sparked the scuffle.
``It was tempers flaring, that's all it was,'' Kmak said. ``The adrenaline was flowing.''
Kmak said he didn't swear at Hughes, but Hughes, who denied throwing a punch, said he did.
``I rolled over and the next thing I know he's in my face with his glove and cussing me out,'' Hughes said. ``It's not like I did anything foul. It's all legal what I did.'' ILLUSTRATION: IAN MARTIN/Staff
11-year-old Robby Lance uses his head to get an autograph from the
Tides' Eric Hillman on Sunday.
GAMEWATCH
BOX SCORE
ATTENDANCE
TEAM STATISTICS
[For a copy of the charts, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB