THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 12, 1995 TAG: 9508120190
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
Paul Wilson struck out 13 Richmond Braves on Friday, a display of dominance unmatched by any Norfolk Tides pitcher this season, Bill Pulsipher and Jason Isringhausen included.
The thing was, the kid on the mound for the other guys, Chris Seelbach, grabbed slightly more of the limelight, seeing as how he carried a no-hitter and a near-perfect game into the ninth inning at Harbor Park.
And that, to the Tides' spine-tingling delight, is where it stayed.
With two outs in the ninth of a scoreless game, Ricky Otero slapped a single to leftfield to ruin Seelbach's no-hit bid. Five pitches later, Jay Payton blooped a pop-up into shallow left, just beyond the reach of shortstop Ed Giovanola, sprinting out with his back to the plate.
Leftfielder Juan Williams retrieved it and threw to the plate, but with the swift Otero running on the pitch, there was no play. Otero's head-first dive brought him home and, like that, the Tides captured a 1-0 victory in perhaps the most intriguing game they have played this season.
``I've never seen a no-hitter, and I'm glad I didn't see one tonight,'' said Wilson (4-2), who finished with a five-hitter, all two-out hits, and walked one. A 6-foot-5, 235-pound righthander, the No. 1 pick in the 1994 draft, Wilson had 10 strikeouts through five innings and logged a Tides' season-high strikeout total, surpassing Isringhausen's 12 on June 3 vs. Columbus.
``I went out there and did my job,'' Wilson said. ``I went out and threw as good as I could throw and that's all they ever ask of me. I wasn't disappointed with the guys not hitting, that happens sometimes. I sat back and
watched, and luckily I got a good break.''
It came at the expense of Seelbach (2-5), whose day began in Jacksonville, Fla. with the Double-A Greenville Braves. Seelbach was demoted from Richmond in mid-June and, despite going 6-0 in Greenville, was only recalled because Richmond's Matt Murray was called up to Atlanta on Friday.
Yet Seelbach struck out 11, and only a two-out walk to Wilson, of all people, in the third inning kept him from nursing a perfect game as he faced Otero in the ninth.
That was little consolation for Seelbach afterward.
``He shut us down for nine,'' Seelbach said of Wilson. ``I didn't shut them down for nine.''
After Otero's single, and a huge ovation from the paid crowd of 11,029 apparently in honor of Seelbach's attempt and Otero's hit, Richmond manager Grady Little visited the mound to make sure Seelbach retained his composure.
``I said that was quite a show,'' Little said. ``Now take a deep breath and regroup because we've got some game on our hands.''
Seelbach worked the count to two balls and two strikes to Payton, then threw an inside curveball that was a little high in the strike zone, Payton said.
``When I first hit it I thought it would be caught,'' said Payton, who said the pitch jammed him. ``Then when I looked up and saw where the leftfielder was, he was playing almost at the warning track because they didn't want anything over their heads, so when I saw that I knew it might fall. Ricky was off running and fortunately he got in.''
Wilson said he had all but resigned himself to taking a spectacular no-decision, yet he remembered what Payton had mentioned to him earlier in the dugout.
``He said if I come up again in the ninth inning, I'll win it for you,'' Wilson said. ``He was talking more about hitting it out, not a single. But one way or the other, he got the job done.'' ILLUSTRATION: NORFOLK 1
RICHMOND 0
[Color Photo]
TAMARA VONINSKI/Staff
Paul Wilson of the Tides struck out 13 Braves enroute to a 1-0 win
Friday.
BOXSCORES
STANDINGS
STATISTICS
[For a copy of the charts, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB