Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 8, 1994 TAG: 9406080051
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Wilmington Blue Rocks opened with a deluge of runs in the first three innings to douse the Bucs' four-game winning streak with an 11-5 victory in a game shortened to seven innings because of showers.
Salem (28-31) began the evening a half-game behind first-place Winston-Salem in the Carolina League's Southern Division, but ended it in third place after Winston-Salem beat Frederick 11-5 and Kinston beat Prince William 10-3. The Bucs are 1 1/2 games in back of the Spirits, a game behind the second-place Indians.
"Nobody wins every night," said Salem manager Trent Jewett. "We're playing good. We'll be back tomorrow. The bad thing is we got our [butt] kicked tonight."
The Bucs stayed alive and kicking even after falling behind 7-0 in the third. Salem trimmed its deficit to 7-5 by the end of the fifth, but the Blue Rocks put the game away with four runs in the seventh off reliever Manuel Santana.
That outburst coincided with the cloudburst that eventually washed out the game and the Bucs' winning streak. After Salem went down in the seventh, the game was delayed for half an hour before finally being called.
"We felt like if we kept it at 7-5, our offense could've produced," said Jewett. "Those four runs [in the seventh] buried it."
After being handcuffed by Salem's John Ericks in a 6-3 loss to the Bucs on Monday, Wilmington (40-17) took little time to demonstrate why it's the best team in the league's Northern Division. The Blue Rocks reduced their magic number to six to clinch the first-half division championship.
Wilmington smacked Ted Klamm (2-6) around for 2 innings, taking a 7-0 lead after scoring four runs with two outs in the third. The Rocks had 17 hits, with eight players registering at least two hits.
"[Klamm has] shown some signs of life, but he hasn't been able to get over the hump," Jewett said. "He's a competitor. He'll do it."
Salem began to make waves in the third inning, just as a steady drizzle began. Second baseman Chance Sanford, who had doubled in the first inning to stretch his hitting streak to 15 games, ripped a two-run home run off Wilmington starter Jim Pittsley that cleared Florida Avenue beyond the right-center field wall. Jake Austin, who had three hits doubled with one out and was delivered home by a two-out single by Danny Clyburn, who increased his own hitting streak to 10 games.
The Bucs scored twice more in the fifth to make it 7-5. Jason Kendall singled, Austin doubled again and Jay Cranford and Clyburn produced run-scoring groundouts.
"Seven runs early is nothing in this ballpark," said Wilmington manager Mike Jirschele. "A seven-run lead early in the game is like a four-run lead here. I'd hate to play in this place every night.
"These guys give us fits. They swing the bats well. They're the toughest club we've gone up against all year long in terms of them giving our pitchers fits."
The Blue Rocks gave Klamm fits. Wilmington's first four hits of the game were doubles, three of them in a two-run first.
The Blue Rocks took the seven-run lead in the third after Klamm had retired Andy Stewart and Larry Sutton. Roderick Myers singled, Raul Gonzalez beat out an infield hit and Ryan Long rapped an RBI double. Lance Jennings knocked in two more with a single that chased Klamm brought on Danny Young, who surrendered a single to Felix Martinez that Clyburn muffed in left field to let a run in.
After that, Young pitched scoreless ball for 3 innings for his best outing of the year. He was aided by a pair of double plays.
Pittsley (6-1) gave up 10 hits and struck out seven in five innings of work. John Downs pitched two innings of effective relief to slam the door on the Bucs.
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB