ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 29, 1996 TAG: 9604290126
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
The extent to which the Salem Avalanche was troubled by the severing of its six-game winning streak Saturday came into focus Sunday afternoon.
If the snapped winning streak or anything else weighed heavily on the minds of the Salem players, it was not readily apparent as the Avalanche clobbered the Winston-Salem Warthogs 12-0 during a sunny and breezy matinee in front of a Memorial Stadium audience of 2,333.
``We can't get too discouraged by the loss because we've been playing too well,'' Salem manager Bill McGuire said. ``Today was a good day to give some guys some rest.''
There was no rest for the Warthogs' pitching staff, battered for 18 hits, 16 of those singles. The two extra-base knocks belonged to leadoff guy Elvis Pena, who doubled and tripled, scored a pair of runs, and drove in a third.
Twelve of the first 20 games of the season were decided by one run, but now Salem seems to have found the faucet from which the offense flows.
The Avalanche took two of three from the Warthogs, victories that came on the heels of a four-game sweep of the Kinston Indians.
``We're just playing awesome right now,'' Salem outfielder John Giudice said. ``We're getting great pitching, we're playing good defense, and we're starting to swing the bats.''
Giudice, one of the team's veteran players, has gone through a mini hitting purgatory recently.
``Looks like to me he's coming out of it, which is good to see,'' McGuire said.
Giudice went 1-for-3 with two sacrifices and one well-hit ball.
Others who wielded the lumber with some success included newcomer Will Scalzitti, who went 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Scalzitti, who had been with the Avalanche last year, joined Salem on Sunday after starting the season at Class AA New Haven. He's a catcher by trade.
Scalzitti had an RBI single as the Avalanche blew the game wide open in the third. By the time the dust settled, seven runs had scored on three hits, three walks, and a man hit by a pitch.
Hitting batter Chad Gambill with a pitch was Clay Caruthers' last official act before umpires dismissed him from the contest. Maybe not even Gambill could have blamed Caruthers for getting a little snug with his pitches. Everything he was throwing over the plate was getting turned around and sent in the opposite direction.
The inning lasted nearly 45 minutes, which prompted McGuire to wonder if he shouldn't change pitchers. Colorado Rockies organizational policy calls for a pitcher to be taken out if he has to sit through a half-hour rain delay.
``This was the same thing,'' McGuire reasoned.
McGuire stayed with starter Doug Million, who faced the minimum number of batters through the first 32/3 innings.
``Sitting out 45 minutes like that must have been just like a rain delay,'' McGuire said.
Nobody needed to have worried about Million, who walked four, struck out three, and recorded 12 of his 18 outs by inducing ground balls from the hitters.
``That's the same kind of thing he's thrown every single outing this year,'' Salem pitching coach Billy Champion said. ``Today, he did a really good job of keeping everything down in the strike zone.''
Stephen Shoemaker took over in the seventh inning and pitched three relatively carefree innings for his first save.
``Heck of a game for us,'' McGuire said. ``Heck of a game.''
SNOWBALLS: Jeff Sobkoviak, a right-handed pitcher, joined the Avalanche on Sunday after starting the season at Class AA New Haven. Last year, Sobkoviak went 5-3 with a 4.80 earned run average at Salem after signing as a non-drafted free agent out of Kankakee (Ill.) Junior College in June of last year. ... Catcher Mike Higgins isn't the only Salem player who has had a car damaged by a ball exiting Memorial Stadium. Fellow catcher Blake Barthol had a windshield broken by one earlier this season. ... Caruthers' woes included giving up four straight hits. ... Salem left-hander Mike Vavrek (3-0, 1.93 ERA) will pitch against Kinston's David Caldwell tonight as the Avalanche opens a four-game set in the Indians' ballpark. ... Gambill went 3-for-4 against Winston-Salem on Sunday.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PAUL L. NEWBY II/Staff. 1. Kyle Houser of Salem (5)by CNBslides safely into third base ahead of a throw to Steve Eddie of
Winston-Salem during Sunday's game at Memorial Stadium. color. 2.
Winston-Salem first baseman Marlon Arias (44) stretches for a throw
that is too late to get Salem runner Chan Mayber. KEYWORDS: BASEBALL