DATE: Saturday, June 21, 1997               TAG: 9706210588

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   55 lines

CRAWFORD'S 8 INNINGS LEAD TIDES TO VICTORY NORFOLK'S HURLER WORKS OUT OF JAM IN 5TH TO GAIN 7TH WIN.

NORFOLK - Sometimes one pitch can turn a guy's night around.

Norfolk Tides starting pitcher Joe Crawford looked as if he might not make it out of the fifth inning Friday night. He'd gone into it with a 6-0 lead, but the Ottawa Lynx had strung together four hits, scored twice and had runners at first and second when Tides pitching coach Ray Rippelmeyer got the bullpen up and throwing.

Crawford then got Brad Seitzer on a called third strike, one Seitzer strongly disputed, then coaxed Scott Samuels into grounding into a force play to escape the inning.

That's when the lefthander realized just how close he'd come to not earning his seventh win of the season. Even with the lead, he had to go at least five innings for the decision.

``When I was going back to the dugout I saw Rip signal to the pen to stop warming up,'' said Crawford. ``That was a kick in the butt. I didn't know they'd been warming up.''

Crawford then sat down the

Lynx in order in the sixth, seven and eighth innings to equal his longest outing of the season. Bill Pulsipher pitched a scoreless ninth, as the Tides won 7-2 in front of 12,119.

Crawford (7-2) struck out Seitzer with a pitch he calls his ``slurve,'' a cross between a slider and a curve ball.

Tides manager Rick Dempsey said as long as Crawford releases it from the same point as his other pitches, it can be lethal. He struck out 10, a personal season-high and one shy of Juan Acevedo's individual team season-high of 11.

``His arm angle on all his pitches is up, and he's looking fantastic right now,'' Dempsey said. ``When a guy sees his fastball and his changeup from the same spot, it makes it darn tough to hit.''

The victory allowed the Tides (45-28) to maintain their three-game lead over Columbus in the International League West Division and marked the third time this week they've reached their season high of 17 games over .500.

The Tides got to Ottawa starter Everett Stull in the third inning. They batted around and at one point strung together five consecutive hits, six in the inning, and scored five runs, all with two out. The most damaging hit was a two-run double to left by Wes Chamberlain.

Chamberlain went 3-for-4 and Benny Agbayani, Roberto Petagine and Chris Saunders all turned in two-hit nights.

Norfolk added another run in the fourth when Todd Pratt doubled to the gap in right with two out, and Petagine drilled a single off Stull, the ball ricocheting into leftfield.

The Tides' other run came in the seventh when Saunders doubled to left to score Scott McClain from first.

Notes: The New York Mets will hold an open tryout for players ages 15 to 21 this morning beginning at 9 at Harbor Park. American Legion players must bring permission slips from coaches.

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