THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506180174
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Big-game drama dripped from The Diamond on Saturday night, where the Norfolk Tides and Richmond Braves played for a share of first place in the International League's West Division.
And after all the superb pitching and defense had left the Tides with the game's only run heading into the ninth, an unchained finish nailed Norfolk in its collective solar plexus.
Two-out hits by Eddie Perez and Tony Graffanino off Dave Telgheder turned the Tides' 1-0 lead into a gnawing 2-1 loss that put both clubs on top of the division with 42-28 records a day before the season's midpoint.
``I don't mind losing ballgames like that,'' Tides manager Toby Harrah said, putting his best spin on the result. ``You take your hat off to those kids. Clutch hitting is what it takes to win ballgames. The games that we give away, they're the ones that bother me. When we get beat, it doesn't bother me.''
The crowd of 11,554 was the second-largest either team had seen this season.
Perez's pinch-double to the wall in left-center, on a full-count fastball, scored Tyler Houston from first. Graffanino, a banjo hitter at .176, followed by lacing an 0-1 split-finger pitch to left to leave the Braves dancing, the Tides trudging, off the field.
``Two pitches that I didn't get exactly where I wanted them and they cost us the game,'' said Telgheder, the Tides' fourth pitcher on a night when starter Reid Cornelius, Don Florence and Bryan Rogers were outstanding.
The utility man on the Tides' pitching staff, Telgheder was after his second save when he started the ninth. Cornelius, matched against one of the league's hottest prospects in Matt Murray, carried a 1-0 shutout into the eighth.
He arrived there by escaping a fourth inning in which Mike Sharperson tripled to lead off but died at third when Cornelius coaxed two soft ground balls and a fly out.
Cornelius, in his second start for the Tides after a trade with the Montreal Expos, left with men on first and second and one out in the eighth. Florence entered to get .341-hitter Ed Giovanola on a grounder to second. Then Rogers was beckoned to face Sharperson with first base open.
Rogers, however, was instructed to go after the former big-league all-star, and Sharperson went down on a ground ball to shortstop Rey Ordonez.
Against Murray, the Tides were barely more productive. They managed four hits off him, but two - Carl Everett's double and Omar Garcia's single - were back-to-back in the sixth. Aaron Ledesma's slow roller scored Everett for the 1-0 lead.
Ledesma's chance at a second RBI was foiled in the ninth when Garcia, who had three of the Tides' five hits, was thrown out at the plate by rightfielder Kevin O'Connor.
Still, it seemed the lone run would be enough when Telgheder got Kevin Grijak on a bouncer to the mound to open the ninth. Houston, though, dumped a blooper in front of leftfielder Butch Huskey. Telgheder recovered to strike out Jose Olmeda, but Perez and Graffanino took it from there.
``We've used Telgheder as a closer the last couple times he's been out there,'' said Harrah, who said he gave no thought to sending Rogers, who has four saves, out for the ninth. ``I have a lot of confidence in him and feel comfortable using him anywhere. He throws strikes, I hate walks, and he makes them put the ball in play.''
At that, the Braves were a little too successful in the end for the Tides' tastes.
Notable: Pitcher Chris Roberts was placed on the disabled list Saturday, retroactive to June 14, because of stiffness in his left shoulder. . . . Garcia is hitting .565 (13 for 23) over the last six games. . . . Jason Isringhausen goes for his seventh victory against no losses today at 2 p.m. at The Diamond. Brad Woodall, the league's pitcher of the year last season, is scheduled for the Braves. by CNB