ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 3, 1996 TAG: 9605030050
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
THE AVALANCHE, which has won nine of its past 12 games, opens a seven-game homestand today with a three-game series against slumping Lynchburg.
The Salem Avalanche's mission is straightforward enough: Keep up the good work.
The Avalanche opens its third seven-game homestand of the Carolina League season at 7 p.m. today with the first of three meetings with the Lynchburg Hillcats.
In recent days, these are teams that have been going in opposite directions. Salem had won nine of its past 11 going into the final game of a four-game series in Kinston on Thursday night. Lynchburg, on the other hand, went into its Thursday meeting with Winston-Salem facing the threat of matching a club-record seven-game losing streak.
Salem was 17-10, the best record in the league, and in first place in the circuit's Southern Division, a half-game ahead of the Durham Bulls. The Hillcats' skid had left them at 10-15 and third in the Northern Division. In a division that did not have a team above .500, Lynchburg was only three games back of front-running Frederick.
Part of Salem's two-plus week run of success has been at the expense of Kinston, who the Avalanche swept in four games in Salem last week before taking two of the first three in a quartet of games in Kinston.
The Indians had figured to be one of the league's top contenders and still may be, but against Salem, they have been feeble.
``We've matched up well against them,'' said Bill McGuire, the Avalanche's manager.
Salem had come within a pitch or two perhaps of winning the first three games in Kinston. Wednesday, Salem led Kinston 3-1 going into the bottom of the seventh inning of the first game of a doubleheader before Tim Jorgensen's three-run homer off Avalanche closer Luis Colmenares settled the issue.
Colmenares came back in the second game to earn his ninth save by closing a 3-1 Salem victory. Colmenares, the 19-year-old Venezuelan right-hander, is 2-3 with a 3.86 earned run average, but has blown four of his 13 save opportunities.
``Colmenares is struggling, if you can say a guy with nine saves is struggling,'' McGuire said. ``He's learning that he has to make quality pitches every time and not just throw it up there and say, `Hit it if you can.'''
Not that McGuire is complaining about his pitching, which just might be the deepest in the league. So far, it's been all but routine that starters Mike Vavrek, Doug Million, Matt Pool, Brent Crowther and Luther Hackman have pitched into the seventh inning.
``The main thing has been to find somebody to get us to Colmenares,'' McGuire said.
Left-hander Jeff Sobkoviak joined the team recently after starting the season with Class AA New Haven and he's given the bullpen some veteran stability. He and right-hander Scott LaRock both pitched at Salem last year. Left-hander Pat McClinton and right-hander Stephen Shoemaker also have been effective.
As for the offense, Salem was hitting a solid .252 as a team through Wednesday.
``We're going to continue to be aggressive on the bases, hit and run, steal and bunt,'' McGuire said.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 linesby CNB