Batting woes continue to hurt Tornadoes.

Byline: Chad Garner

WORCESTER - No doubt about it, the Tornadoes are in a funk.

Especially on offense.

The Tornadoes mustered only three hits in a disappointing 4-1 loss to last-place Sussex at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field.

"The nice part is we've actually been in the games considering we're not scoring a whole lot of runs," Worcester manager Rich Gedman said. "The pitchers are keeping us in it, and hopefully we can break out of it tomorrow. We've got to stay positive and grind our way through this."

Worcester, which has scored only one run in the last 17 innings, has lost four straight and is 4-7 in its last 11 games.

Baron Short, signed on Thursday, was the tough-luck loser in his first start in the Worcester uniform. He threw 89 pitches in seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits with two walks and nine strikeouts.

Making only his second start of the year, Skyhawks starter Tim Stringer was in complete control until he ran out of gas in the eighth inning.

Stringer walked the first two hitters - Yohanny Valera and Omar Pena - of the eighth and was replaced by reliever Greg Lane. Vinny Pennell's sacrifice bunt put both runners into scoring position, but Lane struck out Lucas Taylor and Mike MacMillan to end the threat.

Stringer, a rookie, carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but it was broken up by Worcester first baseman Nick Salotti, who flicked a 2-2 breaking ball over the second baseman's head for a soft line-drive single.

"I was just trying to put it in play," Salotti said.

Through six innings, Stringer allowed only two base runners - MacMillan (hit by pitch) in the fourth and Salotti (leadoff walk in the fifth).

Stringer gave up only one hit in his seven innings of work. He walked three and fanned nine.

Worcester rallied in the ninth off Sussex closer Sandy Nin. Pena's infield single kept the rally alive, but Nin got a strikeout with the bases juiced to preserve the victory.

"We just need one big hit," Salotti said. "We've got to do the small things. We need something to get us going, and then it'll come back."

Short retired the first five hitters he faced before surrendering an opposite-field solo homer to Sussex first baseman John Urick to give the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead in the second inning.

The Skyhawks added another run in the fourth. Short issued walks to Mark Pappas and Jorge Moreno to open the inning, and slugger Maikel Jova made him pay with a sharp RBI single up the middle.

NAME: WORCESTER TORNADOES

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: 'Worcester's Mike MacMillian steals second base as Sussex's Chris Brown fields the late throw.

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/MARK C. IDE