2 Stars learn relatives unharmed by tornadoes

Wednesday, May 5, 1999 | 2:24 a.m.

EDMONTON -- The Las Vegas Stars had plenty of reason to celebrate even before rallying for six runs in the ninth inning to pull out an 11-6 victory over the Edmonton Trappers at Telus Field on Tuesday night.

Stars reliever Matt Whiteside and first baseman/outfielder Dusty Allen both spent much of Monday night and early Tuesday morning worrying about their relatives in Oklahoma after a series of killer tornadoes swept through that state on Monday night.

Whiteside's wife, Stephanie, was in Moore, Okla., one of the hardest hit areas, visiting friends and relatives. Meanwhile, Allen, a native of Oklahoma City, spent many of the wee hours of Tuesday morning trying to find out how his many relatives in the state fared.

"I didn't even know anything about it until after our game (Monday night) when Dewey (hitting coach Craig Colbert) came up and told me about it," Allen said. "I have family all over the state. My grandparents live in Midwest City were one of the F-5's touched down. One tornado touched down about a block from their home."

Allen didn't learn until after midnight that his grandparents were OK.

"Obviously, that was a big relief for me," he said.

Whiteside's wife also escaped unharmed.

"It's something I guess you can say you learn to live with ... but they're so unpredictable it's scary," Allen said. "I really feel for all the families that got hit. Something like this really puts things in perspective. You can't explain the emotions that run through your mind in a situation like this."

It looked like Whiteside might be the goat of Tuesday night's game after surrendering back-to-back home runs to Reggie Williams and Steve Decker in the seventh inning to give the Trappers a 6-5 lead.

But for only the second time in 12 chances this season, the Stars mounted a ninth-inning comeback, putting together seven hits for six runs off three Edmonton relievers.

Chris Prieto and infielder Carlos Garcia both had two-run doubles during the comeback. The six runs were the most scored in an inning this year by the Stars.

Las Vegas (11-15) has a bye today before continuing its 12-game, 13-day Canadian road trip on Thursday afternoon at Calgary.