THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 18, 1996 TAG: 9605180453
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE BATISTA, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: PAWTUCKET, R.I. LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Two sparkling pitching performances and some late-inning thunder added up to a doubleheader sweep Friday night by the Norfolk Tides against the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium.
Mike Gardiner permitted only three baserunners, all by way of singles, in a 4-0 win over Pawtucket in the first game. Gardiner struck out six and walked none.
In the second game, Robert Person weathered a three-run second inning, allowing two home runs, before retiring the last 14 batters he faced in a 4-3 win. Person gave way in the seventh inning to Derek Wallace, who notched his third save of the season.
Roberto Petagine lifted the Tides when he singled home Matt Franco to break a 3-3 tie in the top of the seventh. Franco reached on a two-out double.
Pawtucket offered a mild threat when Pork Chop Pough belted a two-out double in the home half of the seventh. But Jim Tatum flied out to end the game. The sweep improved Norfolk's record to 20-18.
Gardiner, with the help of two double plays, faced only one batter over the minimum in his outing. He has not allowed a run in his last 20 innings and hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 27. The victory improved his record to 6-0. His league-leading earned run average dipped to 1.08.
``I'm on a roll. I'm just riding the wave and seeing where it takes me,'' said Gardiner, whwSox homer came off the bat of Alan Zinter to lead off the second inning and cut the Tides' lead to 2-1. A Jose Malave walk was followed by a Pough strikeout. Then Tatum smacked a 3-2 delivery over the leftfield fence to give the PawSox a 3-2 lead. But those two homers were the only hits Person allowed. He walked two and fanned four.
Alex Ochoa ripped his second home run of the season, on a 3-0 pitch, off Eshelman to tie the game in the top of the fifth.
``I guess I just wasn't loose,'' said Person, referring to his troubles in the second inning. ``In my last couple of starts this has happened. I just don't have my mechanics in the early part of the game. It takes a home run or two to get me back on track.''
But Gardiner had no such leeway in the first game. His counterpart, Tim VanEgmond, mirrored his performance through the first four innings.
Both teams managed only two singles before the fifth inning. Two double plays on each side promptly wiped out those baserunners.
But the PawSox defense yielded a bit in the top of the fifth. Petagine tapped VanEgmond for a one-out single, the Tides' third hit of the game.
Petagine made it to third when Pawtucket third baseman Jeff Manto fielded a Kevin Flora bunt and was off the mark on the throw to first.
Norfolk got on the board when Petagine scored on a fielder's choice.
Pawtucket's fielding woes led to three more Tides' runs in the sixth. Rivera led off with a walk and raced to third when VanEgmond's pickoff attempt went wild.
Two outs later, Ochoa chopped a single to left that scored Rivera. Petagine then walked to fill the bases. Flora belted a single to left that brought home Franco and Ochoa that increased Norfolk's lead to 4-0. by CNB