Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 21, 1994 TAG: 9404210084
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The latter - Daryl Ratliff's thigh cramps, to be exact - coerced the Salem Buccaneers to sign off on a 10-6 loss Wednesday to the Wilmington Blue Rocks in a Carolina League game before a crowd of 4,887 at Salem Municipal Field.
Salem starter Gary Wilson, the league's pitcher of the week and unscored upon entering the game, fell behind early, and Wilmington took an 8-3 lead into the eighth inning. The Bucs loaded the bases and Wilmington's Travis Dunlap walked in a run.
Then came Ratliff, who squared to bunt but took ball one. The Salem leadoff hitter then unfurled a roundhouse swing, missed and limped out of the batter's box and into the dugout holding the back of his right leg. Bucs manager Trent Jewett ordered Juan Segura to pinch hit, but Ratliff, trying to complete his at-bat, soon reappeared in the on-deck circle taking practice swings.
Jewett walked halfway to home plate from third base and emphatically signaled Segura back into the game.
Three pitches later, Segura struck out weakly. And so it goes for the Bucs (5-8), losers of five of their past six games. Wilmington, which tries for a four-game sweep of Salem tonight, is 7-5.
Even though Ratliff has not homered this year, he was the potential tying run with the bases loaded in an 8-4 game.
"A guy gets cramps. There's nothing you can do about it," Jewett said. "You don't know what he's going to do in that at-bat. It's kind of a tide-turner at that point. A guy's got to come off the bench cold and has to hit. I've never seen that [the cramps] before."
Another first Wednesday: Johnny Damon's chart-topping 5-for-6 performance at the plate. The 20-year-old Orlando, Fla., native struck out his first time up but followed with four singles and a ninth-inning triple.
Damon said he can't remember another five-hit game in his career. The memory of his last hit might be vague; he was 0-for his previous 10 at-bats entering the game and was hitting .196. He's now batting .269.
"I just wish I could have a few more of them," Damon said. "I know I had some breaks tonight."
He scored four times, but he wasn't the first to cross the plate against Wilson, who hadn't given up a run in 15 innings until right fielder Raul Gonzalez shipped a 3-1 pitch over the left-field wall to lead off the second winning.
A Jay Cranford error at third, Ramon Martinez's single and Damon's single gave Wilmington a 2-0 lead. Salem tied it on Raul Paez's RBI groundout in the second and Chance Sanford's RBI single in the third, but Lance Jennings' leadoff homer in the fourth prompted a four-run inning.
Wilmington starter Jim Pittsley, a 1992 first-round draft choice by parent club Kansas City, gave Salem a little but not too much on the way to his second victory this year. Pittsley kept the Bucs' offense locked in the closet; Wednesday was only the second time in the past seven games they had scored four runs or more.
Jewett hopes a Salem resurgence begins tonight.
"We've bounced back in a few games early," he said. "Hopefully, we can bounce back seasonally."
by CNB