Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 10, 1993 TAG: 9307100227
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
So what if shortstop Tony Womack and designated hitter Marty Neff were two of the most recent promotions to Class AA Carolina? Who needs them?
The Bucs may not be so cavalier as to claim they don't, but they put up a good front before 3,208 baked witnesses and the Famous Chicken in a 9-6 spiking of the Prince William Cannons on Friday at Salem Municipal Field.
Two guys who say they're not having the most enjoyable campaigns contributed five of the Bucs' 13 hits, second baseman Chance Sanford with a double and triple and utilityman Don Garvey with three hits and two runs scored.
"I'm slumping," said Sanford, who added an RBI. "It seems like I can't get past .260. I'll get to .260 then go 0-for. I'll take anything at this point."
All that Garvey asks is a place in the lineup.
"I'm just glad to be seeing live pitching again," he said. "I haven't played in a long time. I'm just biding my time. When I get a chance to play, I try to make the most of it."
It wasn't as though the big shots weren't getting it done as well. Ken Bonifay, as dependable a Buc as there's been in this up-and-down year, went 3-for-3 with his 16th homer of the year - a solo shot - to raise his average seven points to .313. And Mike Brown did hit into a double-play, but he also clubbed a first-inning line drive homer - his 14th clout - and finished with four RBI.
Even the new guy, center fielder Ramon Espinosa, made an immediate impact with his first homer, a two-run shot, in his first labors before the home folks and only his eighth game as a Buc.
"We're swinging the bats well now," Salem manager Scott Little said. "We're executing. The guys have never given up."
In so doing, they've won eight of 12 and remain a game back of first-place Kinston in the Southern Division.
For the most part on a muggy night when the ball carried well, the Bucs' pitching was effective, too. Starter Michel LaPlante (1-1) had one ragged inning - Prince William's five-hit, three-run third - but he shook it off to go 5 1/3 innings.
"I didn't feel different from one inning to the next, but they seemed to have a lot of hits one inning and not so many the next," LaPlante said. "I don't know what the problem was."
Reliever Kevin Rychel worked 1 2/3 shutout innings, then passed the bullpen baton to Jason Christiansen, who earned his fourth save.
\ BUCSHOTS: Along with Catfish Hunter, the headliner for tonight's 5:30 p.m. Old Timers' game at Municipal Field, the New York Yankees also will be represented by general manager Gene Michael, in town to evaluate the farmhands at Prince William. . . . Jeff McCurry's 21st save, authored in the Bucs' 5-2 victory over the Lynchburg Red Sox on Thursday night, is a club record, snapping Joe Ausanio's mark set in 1989. . . . Other recent player moves included the activation of right-hander Eric Parkinson after his return from a European tournament and the demotion of outfielder Marcus Ponder to Augusta.
\ see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB