ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 9, 1996 TAG: 9604090081
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Jack Bogaczyk
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
The temperature on the first Opening Night of a baseball season at Salem Memorial Stadium was 104 degrees.
Of course, that was in the new hot tub.
When Canadian Brent Crowther fired the first pitch of Salem's home Carolina League season Monday night, the umbrellas were up, and more than the fielders were wearing gloves.
The Avalanche was back, but, despite the dire forecast, none of the pitches were snowballs.
It's doubtful Salem manager Bill McGuire set his pitching rotation after watching The Weather Channel, but he couldn't have found a better choice for the lousy assignment than Crowther.
At the start, it was 43 degrees, the wind chill was just above freezing. It only got wetter - whether you were in or out of the hot tub.
During batting practice, one of the Wilmington players tried to warm his hands by rubbing them against a security lamp in the Blue Rocks' dugout. ``It's not helping much either,'' he said.
If others were shivering, Crowther felt right at home. The right-hander who led Colorado farmhands in pitching victories last season isn't just from Vancouver. He's from North Vancouver.
``This is a normal Vancouver day,'' he said after allowing only three hits in seven innings in Salem's 2-1 victory over Wilmington. ``It's either raining, or cold, or both.''
Crowther fanned eight, and might have gone the distance despite the conditions that had about half of the 1,847 ticket-holders holders at the ballpark.
``I would have liked to have him get a complete game,'' said Salem pitching coach Billy Champion, ``but I love my job.''
Crowther was on a 90-pitch limit. He threw 85.
Crowther, a 10th-round draft pick who came to Salem last summer after a 12-3 beginning at Class A Asheville then finished the season with a Triple A start at Colorado Springs, said the conditions were no big deal. Then, he got to go into the dugout every other half inning.
``It wasn't too bad until it got too wet on the mound,'' Crowther said. ``The more it drizzled, it got a little sticky out there. They've changed the mound here this year, and there's more red clay.
``The cool weather was no problem. I like to go out there when it's cool. I don't like it real hot.''
Champion called it a ``typical Crowther game. When he's going good, that's what he does to win.''
Crowther was throwing all four of his pitches for strikes. He used his fastball and breaking pitch to set up his split-finger.
``He got ahead of the hitters, and he pitched inside,'' Champion said. ``It made it that much more impressive because he was doing what he did with a wet ball.''
The Avalanche came as advertised. The pitching was strong, there's much more speed than in recent Salem seasons and McGuire manages the game aggressively. Maybe there's a power shortage, but in a huge ballpark, it might not matter so much.
If Crowther's performance were typical, so was the awful weather that continued a cold first weekend.
It's definitely been a pitchers' start in the Carolina League. Through four dates, the league batting average is .230.
Then, maybe the hitters are using their bats for firewood - and for good reason.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB