ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9607010122
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: BASEBALL
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR.
The staggering 12-run rally used by the Salem Avalanche in its astonishing 12-10 victory over the Prince William Cannons on Tuesday was an unprecedented feat for the players and coaches involved.
At the professional level, anyway.
Most Salem players concurred they had seen nothing during their pro careers that would compare with their rebound from the 10-run deficit they faced in that game. To a man, though, they had seen similar rallies at the college level, where metal bats and thin pitching make for high-scoring games in which leads are as stable as a Johnny Carson marriage.
``When I was in college [at Metropolitan State in Denver] we had a 10-0 lead in the first inning against Air Force and lost 16-13,'' said Salem's Chan Mayber.
So, when the Avalanche trailed 10-0 in the fifth, Mayber was optimistic, right?
``Well ...,'' he said, ``I guess I thought it could happen.''
Tuesday's result brought back memories of a game in the Alaskan League that Avalanche manager Bill McGuire took part in several summers back.
``We led a team by eight runs with two out in the bottom of the ninth,'' he said, ``and lost.''
The closest comparison McGuire and some of the current Avalanche players have had in their pro careers came last season, when the McGuire-managed Asheville (N.C.) Tourists erased a 7-0 deficit against the Fayetteville (N.C.) Generals with eight runs in the top of the ninth to win.
Tuesday's game also brought back memories of some great Salem comebacks through the years. Avalanche vice president Sam Lazzaro remembered the Salem Buccaneers rallying from a 9-0 deficit several years back. On Aug.10, 1972, the Salem Pirates trailed Kinston 9-1 before scoring eight runs and winning to vault into first place. Two years later, the Pirates were down 9-2 in the seventh before winning 10-9 in 11 innings.
As great as those comebacks were, they still weren't from 10 runs down. One observer noted in the fifth inning that if this were softball, Salem would have been a potential slaughter-rule victim. Tuesday's victory was special and there were many who were taking credit the next day. The bullpen, for example.
``We said, `We're due for a big rally,' so we decided nobody [in the bullpen] could move while we were scoring,'' said reliever Jeff Sobkoviak.
That left some players sitting in uncomfortable positions as the Avalanche scored seven times in the fifth.
Pitcher Doug ``Million was losing blood in his legs because of the way he was sitting,'' Sobkoviak said. ``He was going numb.''
And just when Avalanche players might have thought about packing it in for the night, they merely had to look up in the stands and see Colorado Rockies general manager Bob Gebhard sitting behind the plate.
``When the GM is in town,'' said Salem outfielder Pookie Jones, ``you don't want to get embarrassed.''
SMALL WORLD: Salem catcher Blake Barthol helped Salem's monumental comeback with a pair of two-run homers. It was the first two-homer game in Barthol's professional career, although he did smack two in a memorable game during his junior year at Eastern Kentucky.
``It was against Kentucky,'' Barthol said. ``It was a big game. They always beat us and thought they were the best.''
Also on the field that day was Jones, who played right field for the Wildcats and hit a tremendous homer to right-center field that bounced off a timekeeper's booth planted on the finish line of the track beyond the outfield wall.
``I remembered somebody hitting two home runs against us that day, but didn't know who it was,'' Jones said.
Jones has less than a cherished memory of another game against Eastern Kentucky - a televised contest that ended badly.
``I struck out to end the game,'' Jones said. ``On TV.''
Sounds like a big rivalry.
``Let's put it this way,'' Barthol said, ``we could've gone 1-50, but if we beat Kentucky it was a big year.''
ARMS RACE: The Rockies maintained a growing tradition of quickly signing their top draft picks when pitchers Jake Westbrook of Danielsville, Ga., and John Nicholson of Houston - Colorado's top two picks in this month's draft - signed within 10 days of being drafted. Overall, the Rockies drafted 30 pitchers, 14 in the first 15 rounds.
``The hardest thing for any organization is to put together a quality 12-man [pitching] staff,'' Gebhard said. ``Our emphasis from day one has been our pitching. If you can accumulate enough good pitching, you can trade for anything else you need on your ballclub.''
LOCAL UPDATE: Former Salem High School player Nelson Metheney recently was promoted from the Clearwater Phillies of the Class A Florida State League to the Reading (Pa.) Phillies of the Class AA Eastern League. In seven relief appearances covering 121/3 innings, Metheney has no record and a 3.65 ERA. Metheney earned the promotion by not surrendering a run in eight appearances in May with Clearwater. He posted a 0.79 ERA in 34 innings there. ... Patrick Henry High School alumnus Barry Shelton is playing for the Bristol (Tenn.) White Sox of the Appalachian League after batting .211 with the South Atlantic League's Hickory (N.C.) Crawdads. Bristol had only three infielders on its roster when the season began two weeks ago and needed Shelton to play first base. ... A couple of local college stars made The Sporting News recently. Former Virginia Tech slugger and Milwaukee Brewers draftee Kevin Barker hit two tape-measure shots during a Brewers batting practice, which prompted Milwaukee manager Phil Garner to say, ``It looks like he's got some pretty good pop.'' TSN reported the Detroit Tigers are making progress in negotiations with former Virginia pitcher Seth Greisinger, who is playing for the U.S. national team.
AROUND THE CAROLINA LEAGUE: Former Salem Buccaneer Jon Farrell was sent down to Lynchburg from Carolina of the Southern League, never reported to the Hill City and promptly was traded to the New York Mets' organization for pitcher John Kelly. ... The Frederick Keys certainly had an exciting week. Baltimore Orioles infielder Jeff Huson was sent to Frederick on a rehabilitation assignment, right-hander Sidney Ponson (whose only loss this season is to Salem) won his fourth consecutive start and legendary Morganna the Kissing Bandit was in town performing her familiar pucker. ... Kinston put two pitchers on the disabled list: left-hander Noe Najera and right-hander Jaret Wright, who suffered a broken jaw when struck with a bat by Durham's Ron Wright during warmups for the Carolina League-California League All-Star Game. innings, two hits, five walks, seven runs.
LENGTH: Long : 117 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Avalanche statisticsby CNB