THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 19, 1996 TAG: 9604190681
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM LEO, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: SYRACUSE, N.Y. LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
It appeared to be a routine single to center field, but right out of the batter's box, Norfolk Tides catcher Alberto Castillo was thinking double.
The game was tied, 1-1, with one out in the eighth inning, and footing was poor in an outfield made muddy by recent rain at MacArthur Stadium.
``I came around first base and as soon as I saw their center fielder (Shannon Stewart) looking for the ball in the mud, I decided to go to second,'' Castillo said.
It was the key play of the game. After Syracuse relief pitcher Jim Czajkowski walked Gary Thurman, he threw a wild pitch that advanced the runners to second and third. Kevin Flora was walked intentionally to load the bases. Shawn Gilbert then hit a line drive, sacrifice fly to right field that scored pinch runner Kevin Morgan with the winning run in Norfolk's 2-1 International League victory.
The win improved the Tides' record to 8-4. Syracuse fell to 5-3. The teams meet again at 7 p.m. today, when Norfolk's Pat Ahearne (0-0, 3.65) is scheduled to oppose Syracuse's Jimmy Rogers (1-0, 4.00).
It's not that Castillo is a great base runner. Remember, Tides manager Bobby Valentine pinch ran for him once he got into scoring position.
``He has good instincts,'' Valentine said of Castillo. ``He was thinking about it ahead of time and did what he had to do. He went hard right out of the box, knowing the outfielder had bad conditions to deal with.''
It was poetic justice in a way. On the previous pitch, Castillo ripped a shot down the right-field line that appeared to land at least six inches fair. Just about everybody in the park believed it was fair, except for first-base umpire Sam Holbrook.
The poor field conditions played in role in Gilbert's sacrifice fly, as well. The ball wasn't hit that deep, but Tides third-base coach Bruce Benedict had Morgan running. Syracuse rightfielder Rueben Amaro junior threw about a five hopper to home plate.
``Their guy didn't have real good footing,'' Valentine said. ``Bruce knew that and that's why he let him go.''
Norfolk's first run came in the fourth inning when Roberto Petagine singled and eventually scored on a Syracuse throwing error. by CNB