`once Upon A Mattress' Opening In Swoyersville Sept. 6 
Spoof Of `the Princess And The Pea' Will Play At The Music Box Through Sept.

Albert Yitchinski 
August 21, 1996 
Albert J. Yitchinski, 69, Of Wilkes-barre, Died Tuesday At The Lower Bucks 
County Hospital, Bristol.

By BILL SAVAGE; Times Leader Sports Writer
 Monday, August 26, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





MOOSIC -- With the chance to make up some ground in their playoff race with
Rochester on Sunday, the Red Barons needed somebody to step up and take
charge. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 What they got were key hits from two players coming from very different
circumstances, as Mario Diaz and David Tokheim each cracked key two-run
singles as the Red Barons scored five runs in the seventh for a 9-4 victory
over the Norfolk Tides. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Diaz, one of the Red Barons' hottest hitters in recent games, broke a 4-4
tie with a two-out, two-run single. Then Tokheim, playing for the first time
in nearly two weeks, got another two-run single to break the game open. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "That was big, we get five runs with two out and nobody on," said manager
Ramon Aviles, whose team closed to within 1 1/2 games of Rochester for second
place in the International League East. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Red Wings lost, 7-6, at Toledo earlier in the day. Rochester tonight
has a doubleheader at Syracuse, while the Red Barons begin their final home
series of the year, a two-game series with last-place Ottawa. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We could be tied (tonight)," said Aviles, whose team is three games back
in the loss column with eight to play. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Sunday, the Red Barons made their own breaks with two out in the
seventh. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pedro Martinez got two out to start the inning, but then Gene Schall ripped
a single and Jon Zuber doubled. Diaz, who already had two hits to extend his
hitting streak to six games, then ripped a shot to right field to score two
runs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I've started getting some confidence," said the former Tides infielder,
who is 12-for-25 over the past six games. "I was struggling early and I'm
going to keep working until the season's over." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After the next two batters walked, Aviles called on Tokheim, who had not
played since Aug. 15 due to a hamstring injury, to bat for pitcher Tommy
Greene. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I wanted to just ease him back into the lineup," said Aviles of Tokheim,
whose single up the middle scored two more runs and basically put the game
away. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Greene, 2-0, was not necessarily at his best, either physically or in terms
of his pitching, in a key start in front of Philadelphia Phillies executives,
including general manager Lee Thomas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He wasn't feeling well before the game, he was sort of light-headed," said
Aviles. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Tides, who are 76-57 and 2 1/2 games behind Columbus for first place in
the IL West, got four runs in the first three innings against Greene. One of
the hits Greene surrendered was a triple to Norfolk starter Joe Crawford. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Red Barons, 66-68, kept up with them early on, as J.R. Phillips hit a
two-run home run in the first, and another run scored in the third. The game
was tied on a single by Diaz in the fifth, but the Red Barons stranded the
bases loaded in that inning. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Norfolk manager Bobby Valentine said the Tides failed to truly put Greene
away when they had the chance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It looked like he got a little sharper and we got a little flatter," he
said. "In their big inning, Zuber gets that ball down the line a bit and that
sort of breaks it open." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Red Barons play two games against Ottawa before closing out with six
games at Toledo and Columbus. They need to go 6-2 to finish with a winning
record. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rochester's magic number to eliminate them from playoff contention is still
eight. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

2 Big 2-run Singles Give Barons Victory