THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994 TAG: 9406160653
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940616 LENGTH: NORFOLK
As at least three fans dropped from the stifling, 96-degree heat and required medical attention on the Harbor Park concourse, the teams baked for 10 innings and more than three hours - until Tides' second baseman Quilvio Veras made sure there would be no more casualties.
{REST} Stepping up with the bases loaded and one out in the 10th, Veras stroked his fourth hit of the day, a single to right, to give the Tides an 8-7 decision that ended their homestand with two consecutive victories.
``A day game after a night game with that kind of heat, you need an extra effort. And we got it,'' said Tides manager Bobby Valentine, whose team heads to Ottawa today to pick up on its 14-14 road record.
Veras contributed his second four-hit game, scored twice and drove in three runs to help make a winner of Eric Gunderson, whose 2 1/3 innings of perfect relief stymied the Red Wings after they had scored twice in the eighth off Pete Walker to tie it at 7-7.
Veras got to finish it off because first baseman Tracy Woodson booted Doug Dascenzo's one-out chopper and allowed Butch Huskey, who had walked, to reach third. After an intentional walk to Jim Vatcher, Veras lined the only hit allowed by hard-luck loser Jim Dedrick in 3 1/3 innings.
In the sixth, Veras drilled a two-run triple. And in the fifth, Veras dropped what was supposed to be a sacrifice bunt so perfectly along the third-base line that Rochester had no play and the Tides had the bases loaded. Loaded, that is, until Tito Navarro's two-run double.
Luck, Veras called his performance.
``Day for day I'm just trying to get better and better,'' said Veras, who lifted his batting average from .261 to .272. ``I'm the No. 1 hitter. I have to get on base three or four times a game. That's my job.''
Three or four times a game might be beyond the call of duty, but Valentine isn't about to put it past Veras, a Triple-A rookie who's been an all-star at every previous minor league level.
``Once he gets settled into this league, I think he's going to be able to be a real big player in this league,'' Valentine said. ``He's still a little unsettled, but he's holding his own. As soon as he realizes he can do more than hold his own, he can be a very good player.''
by CNB