
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 26, 1994                   TAG: 9406260144
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BUCS FINALLY PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

Jason Kendall had been in a ballgame, and then some. His uniform was colored from head to toe (and on the rear of one shoulder and the rear end) with dark brown dirt. His cap was pulled low. And he, along with three other Salem Buccaneers, was smiling, sweating and signing autographs after the lights-out last call was broadcast.

A couple of minutes later, the Buccaneers' catcher even signed a ball in the Saturday night blackness at Municipal Field.

Well, he and his teammates were entitled to wallow. They had just beaten Winston-Salem 6-3 with an arsenal that included clutch hits, hustle on the bases, solid defense and capable pitching. To boot, it shoved the Bucs back overthe .500 mark, at 3-2 in the Carolina League's second half.

"That's what it's going to take," said Trent Jewett, Salem's manager. "If your starters are good, you've got a chance."

Matt Ruebel's six-inning, three-run, seven-hit outing backed Salem's four-run second inning. Sean Evans, the Bucs' closer now that Mark Pisciotta (17 saves) has moved on to Class AA Carolina, stirred more ninth-inning heartburn than any Bucs fan wanted by loading the bases with two out on Kendall's interference, an Amador Arias single and a walk to Ricky Magdaleno.

Adam Hyzdu's tall fly ball to center field ended it.

"I was around the plate," said Evans, a native of Buffalo, N.Y. "That 3-2 walk, that was a pretty good pitch. These guys [the Spirits] are tough."

Evans spent the season's first half mostly as Pisciotta's setup man. Now, he'll be sent in to preserve victories.

"I like it," he said. "No one wants to pitch in a blowout game. This is what it's all about."

A little less drama, however, would please some folks. Asked how Evans is coming along as the closer, Jewett said: "Since we told him he was the closer, he's got two saves in two tries. That's all I can tell you."

Ruebel got help early in getting the game into Evans' hands. Winston-Salem starter Chad Fox hit three batters in the second inning - designated hitter Jay Cranford, center fielder Jeff Conger and Kendall. Cranford led off and got to third on a wild pitch and a groundout, then scored on Jon Farrell's chopped single over a drawn infield.

With two out, shortstop Eddie Brooks singled. Conger was hit, loading the bases, and second baseman Chance Sanford's right-field gapper became a three-run triple and produced a 4-0 Bucs lead. In the seventh, Kendall finished Salem's scoring when, after a bunt single, he took two bases on a wild pitch, then scored on another errant toss by the Spirits' Rene Quinones.

The Spirits loaded the bases with none out in the fourth on three consecutive singles - one a swinging bunt and one a bloop - but Ruebel gave up only two runs, one on a sacrifice fly and one when Farrell bobbled a throw from third for an error.

"He showed a lot of poise," Kendall said of Ruebel. "He threw his pitches where he wanted them to go. He knows what he's doing out there." 940626 BUCS STORY #26534 TOPIC BUCS KEYWORD DESK AUTHOR:BLANCHARD06/26/94 SP,BUCS headline

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