ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 15, 1996 TAG: 9608150068
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
Chad Gambill had a great game Wednesday night for the Salem Avalanche. And that was just the first inning.
The fact that Gambill could make a game-saving catch and smack the game's biggest hit, then go on to upstage himself in Salem's 6-3 victory over the Lynchburg Hillcats at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium shows just what kind of night it was for the Avalanche right fielder. (Box score in Baseball Scoreboard. B2)
Gambill fashioned his dream night with wood and leather. His three-hit, five-RBI performance was accented by two fine defensive plays that made a winner of left-hander Mike Vavrek, who said:
``Gambill was huge.''
So huge that if Gambill were a song, he'd be ``Macarena.'' If he were a dance, he'd be ... well, the Macarena. This, after swinging a bat seemingly made of macaroni for the past two weeks.
After leading the Avalanche in batting for much of the past month, the 20-year-old Floridian had slipped to .280 after an 8-for-39 stretch (.205).
``It was funny,'' he said. ``I've felt the best I've felt all season for the last two weeks. I just wasn't hitting quite as well. It's about time I got some to fall in.''
It started in the first when, with two runs already on the board against Vavrek and a runner standing on second, Gambill saved Salem from further damage by making a leaping catch against the wall on a Shon Walker fly ball for the third out.
``He hit it really well,'' Gambill said. ``I was just about to pull up. Then I went after it and got it. I hesitated just a second. I thought it was going to be higher on the wall.''
Gambill followed that catch with some heroics in the bottom of the inning. After Blake Barthol had drawn a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-1, he laced a bases-clearing double to the right-center field gap off Jason Phillips (4-6) to give Salem (18-30) a 4-1 lead.
The only person happier was Vavrek (9-6), Salem's victories leader, who had seen his ERA soar to more than 5.0 runs per game.
``Things haven't been going well for me lately,'' said Vavrek, who gave up two runs and six hits in five innings. ``Those [plays] are the kind of things you need to get out of jams.''
Vavrek wasn't really in a jam when Gambill made his most sensational play of the night in the fifth: a diving catch of a sinking Steve Thobe liner and perfect throw to first to double off Sergio Nunez.
Vavrek made sure he was the first person to shake Gambill's hand after that play.
``A great play like that is such a relief,'' the Avalanche pitcher said.
And how many times does it happen that a player who makes a great defensive play is the first guy to hit ... well, an inning later. That's when Gambill led off the sixth with a homer to left off Todd Blyleven, the son of former major-leaguer Bert. Coincidentally, it was off a curveball, the elder Blyleven's bread-and-butter pitch.
Tal Light, Mike Higgins and Pookie Jones had two hits for Salem, but none big enough to steal the spotlight from Gambill.
``Chad's got the potential to play this way,'' said Bill McGuire, the Avalanche's manager. ``I had Chad last year [with Asheville of the South Atlantic League] and I've been waiting, waiting, waiting to see what's there. He says he's laid-back. I look at him and I can see what he can do.''
SNOWBALL: Colorado Rockies pitcher Bill Swift will become the third rehabbing major-leaguer to suit up for the Avalanche this season when he starts Friday against Prince William at Memorial Stadium. Swift, who has been limited to 31/3 innings of action this year because of various shoulder problems, joins Eric Young and Larry Walker as Rockies who have worked their way back into shape in Salem.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 linesby CNB