Las Vegas Stars scorecard -- May 21, 1998

By Steve Guiremand

One night after the Yankees and Orioles took part in a wild brawl in New York, it looked like the Stars and Vancouver might stage a battle royal of their own after Las Vegas reliever Brian Tollberg hit Canadians' outfielder Reggie Williams in the fifth inning. Vancouver was cruising along with a 7-0 lead at the time and Williams was a big reason why, scoring three runs and doubling twice. An angry Williams had to be restrained by Vancouver coaches from charging the mound at Tollberg. "If it was me, I would have gone out and punched him, too," Stars manager Jerry Royster said. Instead, Williams eventually went to first base and, despite his team already leading 7-0, took off on the next pitch for second base. However, Stars catcher Mandy Romero made an excellent throw to nail Williams, who then slammed his helmet to the ground. ... Vancouver amassed 18 hits in the 10-2 victory, the most hits allowed in a game this season by the Stars pitching staff. ... Meanwhile, Canadians left-hander Trevor Wilson, who entered the game with an 0-5 record and 5.80 ERA, came within one strike of a shutout. But after Vancouver third baseman Tom Nevers threw wildly to first on a Juan Melo grounder that should have been the final out of the game, Stars first baseman Creighton Gubanich lined a 1-2 pitch over the fence in left-center for his second homer of the year. ... Nevers' miscue also allowed Stars DH/coach Craig Colbert to get another at-bat and Colbert lined a single to left against his old San Francisco Giants battery-mate to extend his hitting streak to three games. Colbert caught Wilson in a handful of games when they played together with the Giants. "He was pretty nice to me," Colbert, who went 1 for 4, said. "Except for the first time (when Colbert struck out) when he was throwing me breaking balls. After that he was just throwing fastballs." ... Stars' reliever Bubba Dixon convinced his old Mississippi Gulf Coast JC teammate and roommate, Alex Moore, to don the catchers' gear and warm up pitchers in the bullpen. Moore now is a legion baseball coach at Chaparral High School.

Upcoming games

The Stars begin a four-game road trip tonight against the Omaha Royals at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, site of next week's College World Series. Right-hander Scott Sanders (0-0, 0.93), who has been brilliant in his three outings since being obtained in a May 6 trade with the Detroit Tigers, will face right-hander Matt Saier (1-3, 8.47) in tonight's series opener. The Stars return to Cashman Field on Tuesday night when they open a 12-game homestand against Colorado Springs.

Attendance

Wednesday's crowd: 3,475.

Season total: 94,881 (23 dates).

Average per date: 4,081.

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