THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 18, 1995 TAG: 9504180437
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Dampness marred the action, more than once sending a cleated foot one way and a body the other and casting suspense over every batted ball. Nevertheless, the Norfolk Tides and Columbus Clippers slipped and slopped through intermittent rain drops Monday at Harbor Park, where even the unstoppable Chris Jones could not prevent a Tides' defeat.
The torrid rightfielder walked, doubled twice and scored twice, and finally was retired on a line drive to third. But not all was successful, as Jones fell about a foot short of catching pinch-hitter Tom Wilson's blooper along the line with a diving attempt in the eighth inning.
The result was a tainted triple off Don Florence that scored two runs and produced a 6-5 victory for the Clippers.
``I thought I was going to be able to make the catch,'' said Jones, who, after lifting his batting average to .421, nursed a pulled left groin with a huge ice pack following the game. ``But when it came out it started to die real quick.''
Still, the Tides (7-4) scored a run in the ninth and had Jay Davis on second and Jarvis Brown on first - both had singled - when Ed Alicea grounded to second for the final out of Jose Segura's shaky, but fourth, save of the season.
It was a long night for the players and a paid crowd of 4,016, maybe half of which actually attended. The game started 32 minutes late because of the rain, and then was filled with pratfalls.
Columbus had particular difficulty with the slick turf, and it especially hurt in the seventh, when the Tides completed their comeback from a 4-1 defict.
Two runs in the third, including Derek Lee's home run, had made it 4-3, and Rey Ordonez started the seventh with a weak pop-up near the mound that dropped when first baseman Joe DeBerry slipped down while trying to make the catch. Ordonez eventually scored when Brown ripped a two-out triple past a sprawling Rich Barnwell in centerfield.
The loser, though, was Mike Birkbeck, who hadn't allowed an earned run in his previous two starts, both victories. Of the first six hits he allowed, five were doubles, including two by shortstop Derek Jeter. But Birkbeck was cagey enough to survive until Don Sparks started the fateful eighth with a single.
``It was a tough night to play,'' said Birkbeck, who gave up nine hits and four earned runs. ``When they say play, you play. They give you the ball and you pitch. There weren't too many guys hurt, that was the highlight. But it was interesting game. It went to the wire.''
Actually, Jones' injury was sustained in the fourth inning, and he groused afterward that ``we shouldn't have played tonight. Win or lose. The field was wet when we got here.''
Tides manager Toby Harrah, though, said the show had to go on. ILLUSTRATION: COLUMBUS 6
TIDES 5
[Color Photo]
PAUL AIKEN/Staff
Columbus Clippers pitcher Kirt Ojala twists to clean the mud from
his spikes during Monday night's Tides-Clippers game at Harbor Park.
Rain delayed the start of the game and kept the grounds crew busy on
the pitchers mound.
by CNB