Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 16, 1993 TAG: 9308160133
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Joe Ronca sparked the Salem offense, going 3-for-4 with a solo home run.
But Encarnacion stole the show by keeping Durham runners from stealing bases. Encarnacion pegged a trio of Bulls runners on attempted steals and picked off a runner at second.
Not bad for a guy who was suffering from tendinitis in his throwing arm a few weeks ago.
"Right now, my arm is feeling pretty good," said Encarnacion, who also went 2-for-4 and drove in a run. "I don't know if I have the best arm in the league. If you're talking about yourself, you're usually full of it. But tonight I just had one of those nights where everything went perfect."
Durham's Manny Jimenez, like Encarnacion a native of the Dominican Republic, was impressed.
"I've played with [Boston Red Sox catcher] Tony Pena and against Encarnacion in winter ball, and their arms are about the same," Jimenez said.
Bulls manager Leon Roberts was disappointed with his team's performance on the base paths.
"He made some good throws and he has a great arm," Roberts said of Encarnacion. "We missed some signs and didn't see some other stuff tonight. We gave him a chance to be a star and he took advantage of it.
"If we're not out there daydreaming, he doesn't have a chance to show what a great arm he has."
The Bulls (22-30) led 3-1 after three innings, but the Bucs (21-31) ralled to tie it in the fourth on Ronca's homer and Encarnacion's RBI single. They added a run in the seventh to give the victory to starter Eric Parkinson (2-5).
Encarnacion figured in the scoring again with a double down the first-base line. He scored on Kevin Polcovich's two-out single to center field off Durham starter Jerry Koller (8-8).
Salem is off today, then returns to action Tuesday with a 7:35 p.m. game at Winston-Salem. \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB