'Nadoes get first win of half.

• Position: SPORTS

Byline: Dave Borges

WEST HAVEN, Conn. - It was Latino Night last night at Yale Field and the Worcester Tornadoes' Latin contingent came up big.

Rico Santana went 4 for 4, Dominic Ramos and Yohanny Valera added two hits apiece and Alex Pena got the win as the Tornadoes won for the first time in more than a week, 6-3 over the New Haven County Cutters.

Valera drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out double in the fourth that easily scored Ramos, who had led off with a two-bagger. In truth, just about everyone in the Worcester lineup contributed, regardless of nationality, as the Tornadoes rapped out 13 hits. Perhaps most impressively, Worcester got its leadoff man on base in eight of the nine innings; five of them wound up scoring.

In snapping a six-game losing skid, Worcester also won for the first time since the second half of the Can-Am League schedule began on Monday. The Tornadoes are 1-5, 25-28 overall.

New Haven (4-2, 25-28) had the tying runs on second and third in both the seventh and eighth innings against reliever Chris Shank, but the righthander skipped out of both jams. Ervin Alcantara got caught in a rundown between third and home, then Shank struck out Chas Terni to end the seventh, and Shank caught Alcantara looking at a third strike to end the eighth.

John Birtwell struck out a pair in the ninth and notched his sixth save.

The Tornadoes tacked on an insurance run in the eighth when Josh Beauregard (who had drawn a leadoff walk) scored on Patrick Perry's sacrifice fly.

Pena scattered three hits...