THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 5, 1996 TAG: 9609050554
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 78 lines
A bit of history was made Wednesday at Harbor Park - the kind the Norfolk Tides would like to forget.
With Hurricane Fran pushing rain clouds over the area, a record-low crowd of 1,529 fans showed up. The previous low at 4-year-old Harbor Park was a turnout of 3,725 for a playoff game last year against Richmond.
Maybe that's good. It meant there were fewer witnesses to an 11-5 loss to the Columbus Clippers that included Harbor Park's first inside-the-park home run in the opening game of the International League West Division finals.
``It's one ballgame,'' Tides manager Bruce Benedict said. ``And that's exactly what I told the team when we came into the clubhouse. You still gotta win three in this league to advance.''
The Clippers rapped out 15 hits, four by third baseman Tracy Woodson, who also provided the most pivotal, a leadoff home run in the sixth after the Tides had taken their only short-lived lead of the night.
The Clippers jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first when their first three batters reached on hits. Matt Howard doubled down the leftfield line and Robbie Katzaroff and Matt Luke followed with singles to left. Luke's scored Howard; Katzaroff scored on Ivan Cruz's fielder's choice groundout to second.
The Tides rallied to grab a 3-2 lead in the fifth. After Kevin Roberson walked with one out, Luis Rivera's check swing slow grounder to shortstop left runners at first and second. Alberto Castillo walked to load the bases and Gary Thurman followed with a sacrifice fly to center.
Shawn Gilbert then delivered a two-run double to the fence in left-center off Columbus starter and eventual winner Dave Eiland.
Woodson then hit Tides starter Rick Reed's first pitch of the sixth inning into the picnic area beyond leftfield.
``After we jumped out to that quick lead we had a little letdown for the next four innings,'' Woodson said. ``Once they got the lead, I felt we had to score right away and get it back quickly.
``It was just a curveball. I've faced Rick maybe 50 times in the last three years and the advantage is probably more to me because of that.''
``He's just worn me out,'' said Reed, who gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings. ``I can't get the guy out. I've thrown everything at him but the kitchen sink. I played against him in last year's playoffs (Reed was with Indianapolis, Woodson with Louisville) and it was the same there too.''
Ricky Ledee then reached on an infield single. An out later he moved up on a walk to Tim McIntosh. Another out later, Matt Howard singled to right, making it 4-3 and chasing Reed.
In the bottom of the sixth, Tides designated hitter Jay Payton tied it at 4-4 with a home run of his own into the picnic area.
But the floodgates opened in the seventh as the Clippers' ship sailed to an 8-4 lead.
Cruz delivered a booming home run to right with one out off reliever Bob MacDonald, who picked up the loss. Woodson followed with a double to left. After striking out Ledee, MacDonald was lifted in favor of Bryan Rogers, who intentionally walked Bubba Carpenter.
McIntosh, the Clippers' catcher, then hit 4-year-old Harbor Park's first inside-the-park home run.
McIntosh drove the ball to the warning track in right-center and Thurman, after lunging for it, ran into the wall and flipped backward. After regaining his feet, he chased down the ball but not in time.
``I've never seen (McIntosh) with power that way,'' Thurman said. ``I was playing him to pull and I just couldn't run it down.''
The Clippers, West Division regular-season champions, added three more runs in the ninth, with Carpenter's run-scoring double driving home Woodson who had singled, McIntosh's groundout scoring Ledee who had walked and Tim Barker's sacrifice fly scoring Carpenter.
The Tides scratched across a run in the ninth on singles by Rivera and Thurman.
``Those 4-3 losses you look back at,'' Thurman said. ``I'd rather get beat this way. They've still got to beat us two more times and we're not a team that lays down.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Tides pitching coach Rick Waits consoles Rick Reed in the sixth. The
Norfolk starter was touched for nine hits and four runs in five-plus
innings, but kept his team in the game. by CNB