Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 30, 1994 TAG: 9404300055
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
After limping back to Salem Municipal Field after a 1-3 road trip north, the Bucs fell dead before the newly invigorated Lynchburg Red Sox by the score of 13-4 Friday night. Many of a glum audience of 767 were no longer in attendance when the business was done 2 hours, 44 minutes after it started.
"We're mixing it up," Salem manager Trent Jewett said. "We're getting beat every way possible."
The Bucs foundering ship sprung a new leak as the team opened a 10-game homestand - its longest of the year. At times, the bats or the gloves have been responsible for Salem's miseries. This time, it was starting pitching.
Matt Chamberlain made it 2 1/3 innings before Jewett came to his rescue. That was eight runs and eight hits too late, as it turned out. Chamberlain rumbled through a 1-2-3 first before the Red Sox, batting a collective .217 coming in, went to work on him like termites on a door frame.
Ryan McGuire started the charge with a solo homer to lead off the second and that was followed by five more singles, three of them in succession. After nine men had taken their turn at the plate, Lynchburg (11-10) had scored five runs.
Chance Sanford's run-scoring single with one out in the Bucs' half of the frame trimmed one from the lead, but the L-Sox then produced a walk, a single, and a three-run John Eierman home run to go up 9-1. That was it for Chamberlain.
Jason Abramavicius held the fort for a spell, but in time, he too caved in, coughing up five more runs on eight hits in 3 innings.
Manuel Santana worked the rest of the way and did a splendid job, yielding only one hit and two walks.
Lynchburg had many contributors, but three stood out. For starters, there was the starter, left-hander Shawn Senior, who scattered five hits over seven innings. He gave up one run.
"I had some luck early," he said. "I had some balls up, but I got away with them. I settled down after that. These walls here are intimidating, though."
They're close, all right, one of the charms of the joint. The Bucs haven't been able to do much with the advantage though. Nor did they do much with their best scoring opportunity early, when Jason Kendall fell on soggy turf while rounding third on an apparent run-scoring single by Jake Austin. Kendall was then thrown out as he scrambled in no-man's land.
"The field cost us a run, but they had to play on the same field," Jewett said. '`It could have happened to them, too."
Eierman homered, scored three and drove in three and J.J. Johnson, shuffling along with a .203 average coming in, homered and went 4-for-5 with four runs scored.
"I haven't really been hitting the ball hard," he said. "Most of the hits I've had have been broken bats and stuff like that."
Salem's Danny Clyburn hit a two-run homer to key a three-run eighth, but that didn't come close to preventing the Bucs (7-15) from losing their third straight and 10th out of their past 12.
"We just have to fight through this," Jewett said.
\ BUCSHOTS: Jeff Conger is hurt again, this time it's his back. He is not expected to go on the disabled list. . . . Alan Purdy has sore ribs and would go on the DL if only Augusta had somebody to send in his stead. Purdy's absence put Ramon Zapata at shortstop. He's the third Buc to play the position this year. . . . Austin played his first game after returning from the DL and went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. . . . A terrific thunderstorm that started flooding all over the Roanoke Valley didn't hinder the game, which began on time.
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB