THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994 TAG: 9406190195
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE NEWMAN, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: 940619 LENGTH: OTTAWA
Orreste Marrero's home run off the rightfield scoreboard in the fifth inning gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead.
{REST} The Tides pulled even in the eighth inning as Butch Huskey, pinch-hitting for Pablo Martinez, singled, took third on Jim Vatcher's double and scored on an error by Marrero at first base.
Then the Tides rallied for their second victory in two days against the Lynx.
In the 10th inning, Quilvio Veras singled to rightfield with one out. With a glance over his shoulder to see rightfielder Derek Lee bobbling the ball, he headed all the way to third.
Lee's throw missed the cutoff man, but the relay to third baseman Shane Andrews arrived in plenty of time. However, umpire Jerry Meals called Veras safe.
Joe Kmak, pinch-hitting, drove home Veras with his fielder's choice groundout.
Ottawa manager Jim Tracy heatedly disputed the third base call before Kmak's RBI, but refused to blame the loss on the umpire.
``(Meals) was very convinced that he didn't miss the call and I'm not going to sit here - I never will - and say that an umpire's call beat us,'' said Tracy.
The Lynx put themselves in a hole by bobbling the single and the throw to the cutoff man, said Tracy, who watched his team fail to gain ground on second-place Syracuse in the East Division.
``I didn't see the cutoff man, I didn't see nothing,'' said Veras. ``I'm just going straight for third. I figure there's only one out.''
Veras also figured: ``It's a really close play, but I didn't feel he touched me.''
``(The umpire) missed the call,'' said Andrews.
Tides righthander Joe Roa pitched a four-hitter over seven innings. Eric Gunderson (3-0) added two hitless innings and Mike Cook got his 7th save.
Ottawa had a chance to tie the game in the 10th. With one out Marrero singled and was sacrificed to second. But pinch-runner F.P. Santangelo was doubled off second base after rightfielder Jeromy Burnitz snared a sinking line drive.
``It was a very well pitched game,'' said Tides manager Bobby Valentine.
``Both sides pitched well and in a close game like that usually it's decided by a break. As it turns out, we got two breaks.''
Today's matchups has Tides righthander Dave Telgheder (4-4, 4.40) going against Ottawa's Carlos Perez (1-1, 2.57).
by CNB