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A real gut-buster, that one.

The score was Orlando 18, Huntsville 6. It was the 9th inning and two were out. Yeah, put this one away.

I wish I had been here, and I surely would have if it were not for the fact that I was working for someone that day. I'm not sure when I think about it, whether I would have stayed.

Starting pitcher Bob Sharpnack, in his first and only season with the Stars, was making his 2nd start. He wasn't impressive vs. Jacksonville in his first, giving the Suns all seven runs they would need to win, 7-3, in just 5 1/3 innings at Wolfson Park five days earlier.

That was nothing compared to this. The O-Twins took him to the slaugherhouse. After giving up a 2-run home run to Chris Forgione, Sharpnack was through. He was responsible for leaving an 11-3 hole for the Stars to climb out of. Bruce Walton stopped the bleeding until Chip Hale's RBI single scored Forgione in the 5th, making it 12-3.

Consecutive homers by Camilo Veras and Steve Howard closed the scoring for the Stars until the improbable 9th inning, but the Stars still trailed 12-5. Bo Kent, who was on his way to throwing nine consecutive scoreless innings in relief to start the season,  held Orlando scoreless , but Francisco Oliveras was handcuffing Stars hitters at the same time, so the 12-5 margin still held going to the top of the 9th.

The Stars bullpen had been used extensively through the first 10 games of the season. They were so arm-weary that 1st baseman Tony Arias was enlisted to finish what looked like a foregone conclusion, but as if it mattered at all, Arias proceeded to make a shambles of this game. Orlando walked twice on bases-loaded walks. A fielder's choice by one of the Twins major flops of the decade, Derek Parks, and Bernie Brito's sacrifice fly gave Orlando an 18-5 lead.

We were getting ready for an 5 pm news show, so I turned my radio headset off. I was sure this would be over by the time John Pearson was ready to do the sports. All I had to do was make sure the score hadn't changed in the time being. Besides, I really had enough of this.

Stars manager Tommie Reynolds, a former outfielder with the A's in the '60s, was resigned to this loss. "Our pitchers are tired," he said. "We were trying to save an arm for the next day. at least he (Arias) saved an arm. We need it because we got a long season ahead."

No season, I think, will ever see another 9th inning like this.

The bottom of the 9th started with consecutive singles by John Minch and Mike Bordick. Jerome Nelson forced Bordick at second, then Jerry Peguero hit into a fielder's choice, allowing Minch to score from third. Two outs now with the Stars trailing Orlando, 18-6. Remember that quote from Yogi, though. "It's never over till it's over."

Camilo Veras walked, the Howard singled to score Nelson. 18-7. Arndt walked to load the bases. After Greg Sparks doubled to clear the bases, the jokes stopped. I turned the radio back on, afraid that I had missed the post-game show and the final score. To my surprise instead, it was 18-11 and this game was still not over. I was super busy, turning my radio off when it became a distraction, and on again, knowing I was missing something, but I just had to tell J.P., who was the only one at the whole TV station who I knew was just as interested in the Stars. Professionally if nothing else.

An liner off the glove of left-fielder Ed Yanes pulled the Stars to within 18-12. Jerry Peguero's infield hit scored another run and it was 18-13. Camilo Veras came up and doubled.

"J.P.! It's 18-15!"
"How many runs this inning?"
"That's 10 now! But there's still two out."

Remember Arndt's joke about that grand slam? It was going to come back to haunt him.

Howard, back up again, singled in two more runs and now it was 18-17. Pat Dietrick was on third, representing the tying run and Howard on first, the winning run. And here comes Arndt, the 17th batter of the inning.

"It was a 2-0 slider," right-handed hitter Arndt later reflected. " I shouldn't have swung at it. I knew it didn't have a chance when I hit it. I should have tried to go to right field." Instead, it came straight back to Orlando's closer, German Gonzales, who turned and threw out Arndt. A quiet ending to an anything but quiet inning.

"I've seen teams score 9 runs after two outs before. I saw it happen in Sacramento. That was a very small park, though. You could take a ball and throw it out. But I've never seen anything like this," said manager Reynolds.

The Stars sent 13 batters to the plate after Orlando recorded their 2nd out. They scored 11 runs with two out in the bottom of the 9th, 12 in the inning, a club record that still stands and probably always will. In addition, the 35 runs scored by both teams went into the record books as the highest scoring game in Southern League history. (The previous record was set when Asheville defeated Knoxville in the second game of a double-header, 18-15, on August 20, 1972.) The record still stands.

Despite the fact that both clubs finished with the worst ERAs in the league, German Gonzalez led the Southern League in saves at the end of the season. Both he and Arndt had a taste of the major leagues. Arndt, who was promoted to Tacoma a month later, played in two games for the Oakland A's in 1989, leaving a 1-for-6 major league log. Gonzales saw some relief appearances with the Minnesota Twins in 1988 and 1989, pitching 50 innings and winning 3 games. His professional career ended with Class AAA-Portland (PCL) in 1989. Ardnt's ended a year later, also in Triple-A.

What could beat this game? See tomorrow when I present my pick as the greatest game in the Stars' 20-year history.

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