ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 19, 1996 TAG: 9604190051
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
THE TERRIERS CONTINUE to get surprisingly strong pitching from a young staff in their 5-1 baseball victory over the Salem Spartans in the Blue Ridge District.
With a junior-dominated pitching staff, coach Rodney Spradlin expected his William Byrd baseball team to thrive on offense and struggle on the mound.
However, the Terriers really hadn't been hitting until the past couple of games and it couldn't have come at a better time. Byrd flexed its offensive muscles to pound out nine hits for a crucial 5-1 Blue Ridge District victory over Salem on Thursday.
The game was the first high school contest played at the new Salem Memorial Stadium as the Spartans shifted this game from old Municipal Field, their usual home this spring. It was a fitting game for a pro field; there was but one error and it didn't affect the outcome.
Byrd ace Chris Manning held Salem in check, scattering eight hits and throwing six shutout innings after giving up a first-inning run. It was way off his form of earlier this spring, when he fired a no-hitter and struck out 17 against Northside.
``My curveball wasn't working. What I had going for me is I threw strikes,'' said Manning, whose only walk came with two outs on a 3-2 pitch to Sam Lazzaro in the seventh inning.
Maybe the professional digs the two teams were using had something to do with Manning's missing curve.
``The mound is higher in the bullpen and I couldn't adjust to it'' on the field, Manning said. ``My curve felt good in the warm-ups. If we hadn't gotten some runs and it stayed close, there could have been a lot of pressure.''
Byrd (6-2 overall, 3-0 in the district) pounded Rockbridge County 6-2 on Wednesday.
``I thought early in the year we'd have good hitting and the pitching would be suspect,'' Spradlin said. ``To this point, it's been the other way around. If the pitching stays this way, it'll be a good year.''
The Terriers jumped on Salem starter R.J. Beckwith immediately as Tim Sink led off with a single. The Spartans (3-3, 1-2) appeared ready to escape the jam with two ground balls, but Matt Whitehead's double scored Brian Jones from first base.
Salem tied the score in the bottom of the first. Lazzaro reached on an infield grounder. Ricky Eubanks followed with a single, and Seth Moore made it three consecutive singles and drove Lazzaro home.
Byrd broke the tie in the third when Justin Arrington, who led off with a double and appeared stuck at third with two out, scored on a wild pitch.
Salem squandered two chances to tie the score. Matt Paxton was thrown out at the plate by Byrd right fielder Ben Smith on a two-out single by Scott Carter in the fourth. Beckwith led off the next inning with a double, but never got past third.
``We didn't get the hits when we needed them and we had a couple of letdowns on defense like the wild pitching that got them back on top,'' said Scott Atkins, Salem's coach.
Meanwhile, the Terriers made it 3-1 when Ryan Cooper's two-out single drove home Sink after he had doubled with two out. Matt McGuire and Arrington singled in runs the next inning to make it easier for Manning.
``I don't think we have to win all our [remaining] games,'' said Atkins, whose team also is behind unbeaten Alleghany in the Blue Ridge. ``Last year we lost four, still came out OK and got to the region.''
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB