Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504180085
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK BULLOCK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
No lead is safe at Municipal Field.
The game is not over until the final out is recorded.
The Avalanche saw a five-game winning streak come to an end despite cracking 13 hits and building a 7-4 lead through two innings. Trailing 12-8 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, Salem rallied for two runs and had the bases loaded before center fielder Edgard Velasquez struck out to end the game.
``All we ask them is to give themselves a chance to win, and they did that,'' said Salem manager Bill Hayes. ``One swing of the bat and it's over for us in the ninth.''
Salem rallied against Prince William reliever Archie Vazquez by sending eight men to the plate and scoring twice on three walks, a double by Brian Culp and a wild pitch.
Until that uprising, the Cannons appeared to be in control. They forged their lead by scoring in every inning from the third through the seventh against Salem relievers Mike Saipe and Jeff Sobkoviak.
Saipe, the most consistent reliever for the Avalanche thus far, had his worst outing of the season. He gave up five earned runs, uncorked three wild pitches and walked two in three innings.
But Saipe was not alone in his misery. Salem starter Keith Barnes was touched for five runs in three innings, surviving a four-run first.
Prince William starter Chris Clemons gave up seven runs in the first two innings, six coming on tape-measure home runs in the second by Mark Wells and Nate Holdren.
Wells, batting .130 entering the game, launched a ball over the wall in dead-center field where it measures 408 feet from home plate. His homer drove in Vincente Garcia, who singled his first two times up and went 3-for-5.
Holdren belted a grand slam later in the inning and finished with two hits and five runs batted in. It was the first homer of the season for Holdren, who led the Colorado Rockies' organization last season with 28 homers for Asheville, N.C. His blast cleared the wall in the power alley in right-center field.
It was an assault on pitching from both sides. The Cannons had 12 hits, including three from right fielder Andre Newhouse and two from left fielder Jeff Abbott, one of the league's top hitters (.433 average), who lined a homer over the left-field wall in the first inning to stake the Cannons to a 4-0 lead and pad his .433 batting average.
``Our pitchers got banged around a little bit,'' Hayes said, ``but you can't just lay over and die, and we didn't. Sure, I'd like to see our relievers put zeroes up on the board, but it wasn't one of those nights for either team.''
It was one of those nights, all right, just not one of those nights.
Salem retaliated with a big second inning, but Prince William relievers Todd Rizzo and Rob Callistro muzzled the Avalanche through the next six innings, surrendering one more run while striking out seven.
EXTRA BASES: The teams conclude the series today with a 3 p.m. start. ... Salem shortstop Chris Sexton, acquired Friday in a trade with Cincinnati, made an impressive debut. He had two hits, walked twice, scored twice and tripled to the wall in right-center. He also showed good range and arm strength on defense. ... Salem's victory celebration after Friday's home opener was chilled quickly. There was no hot water in the showers.
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB