ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 4, 1996 TAG: 9608050148
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
For the Salem Avalanche, losing has a snowball effect.
Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Kinston Indians at Memorial Stadium was not only the Avalanche's ninth straight loss to the Indians, but it also continued a miserable stretch for a team that has been going downhill.
``When things go bad, they go bad,'' said Salem manager Bill McGuire. ``When we hit well, we don't pitch well. When we pitch well, we don't hit well. When things go bad, it's tough to turn it around.''
Salem sank to a season-worst 12 games under .500 with a 48-60 overall record. The Avalanche is 14-25 since the second half of the Carolina League season began June 21, has won just four of its past 17 games and is 7-8 in its past 15 home games.
With Avalanche starter Steve Shoemaker (1-5) taking the loss after giving up three runs and walking five batters in 32/3 innings, Salem now has not gotten a win from a starter since July 15, a span of 18 games. Today's starter, Luther Hackman, has not won since May 19, although he missed four weeks after his nose was broken by a line drive.
``I've talked it over with Champ [pitching coach Bill Champion],'' said McGuire, ``and if we could get into a groove with one of our starters, maybe it could produce something from everybody else.''
Produce, the Avalanche did not do Saturday. Despite collecting 13 hits, Salem continued to leave more people stranded than the media buses at the Olympics. After leaving 14 men on base in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Indians, Salem stranded 13 more Saturday.
``I know we're leaving men on base,'' said McGuire, who used his patented double-steal in the fourth inning to tie the score at 2, a play that nevertheless resulted in Kyle Houser being thrown out at second while Garrett Neubart scored.
``Basically, I could have been more patient with [No.3 hitter] Tal Light up there,'' McGuire said. ``But we've been having trouble getting runners in.''
Down 5-2, Salem scored twice in the eighth off relievers Daniel Brabant and Tony Dougherty. Houser had an RBI single to make it 5-3 and Nate Holdren's hit off shortstop Guillermo Mercedes' glove scored another run, but Mercedes recovered in time to throw out Houser at the plate to end the inning.
Blake Barthol led off Salem's ninth with a single, but Dougherty retired the next three to earn his third save and make a winner of David Caldwell (13-9), who scattered 10 hits in five innings and kept wriggling out of jams.
Although Salem rallied late, it may have watched the game slip away in the second and third innings, when it squeezed only one run out of two bases-loaded situations. Shoemaker walked in two runs in the fourth to give Kinston a 3-1 lead.
SNOWBALLS: Franklin County senior Gray Hodges was named winner of the Ray Bellamy Memorial Award given to the area's outstanding high school player by the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame. Other finalists introduced before Saturday's game were Shawsville's Mark Akers, Franklin County's Larry Bowles, Jefferson Forest's Scottie Scott, William Byrd's Chris Manning and Cave Spring's Doug Kenney.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB