Monday, April 8, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Jason Thompson belted two home runs and Pete Smith and Weston Weber combined on a four-hitter as the Las Vegas Stars beat Vancouver 8-3 Sunday and gained a split of a doubleheader.
In the first game, Jovino Carvajal broke a 4-4 tie with an RBI single in the top of the seventh to lead Vancouver to a 5-4 win.
The Stars, who return to Las Vegas for their home opener Tuesday night at Cashman Field against the Tacoma Rainiers, went 1-2 in the series and had one game rained out.
In the nightcap, Thompson drilled a three-run home run in the Stars' six-run first inning and added a two-run shot in the second to help Las Vegas to its first victory of the season. Thompson also had a double in the game and was 3-for-4 with five RBIs.
Paul Russo and Julio Bruno added RBI singles in the Stars' six-run first inning to help erase a 2-0 Vancouver lead. The Canadians were the "visiting" team in the series and batted first because the games originally were to be played at Cashman Field, but were moved to Canada to accommodate the Oakland Athletics.
Smith (1-0) limited Vancouver to three runs (one earned) on three hits, walked one and struck out two in five innings. Weber allowed one hit and struck out one in two innings of relief to preserve the victory.
In the first game, Las Vegas took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run double by Mike Sharperson and an RBI single by Ira Smith.
Vancouver tied the score in the third and took a 4-3 lead in the fifth, but the Stars tied the score at 4-4 in the sixth on a solo home run by catcher Craig Colbert.
The Canadians greeted Stars reliever Dustin Hermanson (0-1) with three singles in the top of the seventh, including Carvajal's RBI single that snapped the tie.
Glenn Dishman started the first game for the Stars and gave up four runs on eight hits and struck out four in 4 1/3 innings.
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