Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 15, 1993 TAG: 9306150272
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Harrah, moved into a spot start because of the disruption of the Salem Buccaneers pitching rotation by a recent tripleheader and two doubleheaders, allowed four Durham hits and one run in six brisk innings to give Salem all the cushion it needed in a 6-2 Carolina League baseball victory over the Durham Bulls.
Jon Farrell homered to drive in two runs and Ken Bonifay added an RBI double in the first to stake the Bucs to a 4-0 lead. Harrah and successors Kevin Rychel, Mark Mesewicz and Jason Christiansen subdued the Bulls the rest of the way as the Bucs won their third straight in 2 hours, 14 minutes.
Harrah made haste to depart the clubhouse after the game, but his manager and teammates had nice things to say on his behalf.
"He takes the ball and does the job," Salem manager Scott Little said. "We could have left him out there longer, but we had some other guys who needed the work. He makes my job easy."
Harrah, who came to the Bucs May 12 after being demoted from the Class AA Carolina Mudcats, has gone 4-0 in five starts since coming back. Furthermore, he's been versatile, moving in and out of the bullpen while appearing in eight games.
"The hitters couldn't get a read on him," Salem catcher Marcus Hanel said. "He had a cutter [cut fastball] that looked like a slider."
Harrah was in there to begin with because regular starter Dennis Konuszewski was ill.
"Konuszewski has a touch of strep throat, and we wanted to give him some rest, so we gave Doug the start," Little said. "Konuszewski will get five days and then come back for his next start and Doug goes back to the bullpen."
Farrell, who came in batting .213, homered with two out in the first off loser Chris Seelbach. It was Farrell's 12th homer of the year.
"I was looking for a fastball away, something I could drive," said Farrell, who sent a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall. "But he hung a curveball."
Farrell hit it hard to center his next time. His following at-bat, Seelbach started him off with a pitch two feet behind him. Farrell made a deliberate move to the mound, but no disorder ensued. Farrell appeared to say something. That, he did not share.
"No comment."
Durham got one run back in the second on Joe Ayrault's double, but two Salem runs in the fourth - Joe Ronca scored on a Seelbach wild pitch and Marcus Ponder drove in the other with a two-out single - were more than needed.
Durham had two on with no out in the seventh but got only a run off Rychel.
\ BUCSHOTS: Bulls reliever Brad Clontz, the former Virginia Tech right-hander who worked a perfect ninth, will be appearing on the small screen starting this week as a part of a nationwide Hardee's commercial involving the Bulls shot at Durham Athletic Park. Clontz was one of four Bulls - outfielder Don Robinson, infielder Tony Graffagnino and catcher Ayrault are the others - who were paid extra for individual shots. "I think they've got me in there striking somebody out, but I'm not sure," Clontz said. For three days work, the four were paid $450 each per day with a chance for bonuses of between $1,100 and $5,000 if the spots are well-received, Clontz said. . . . Tony Womack and Ponder, the first two in the Bucs' order, went a combined 4-for-8 with two runs scored and an RBI. Womack, who has an 11-game hitting streak, had missed the previous five games with a hamstring problem. \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB