Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 7, 1995 TAG: 9504070090
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK BULLOCK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WOODBRIDGE LENGTH: Medium
This was not exactly what Salem's minor-league baseball team had in mind when it adopted the name Avalanche.
Prince William third baseman Paul Gonzales hit a grand slam in the fifth inning as the Cannons buried the Avalanche 10-0 on Thursday night in the Carolina League baseball opener for both teams.
Gonzales deposited a fastball from Salem reliever Jeff Sobkoviak over the wall in right-center field about 380 feet from the plate to ignite a six-run inning and break open a close game.
Avalanche starter Matt Pool was locked in a good matchup with Prince William left-hander Tom Fordham before unraveling in the fifth inning.
Pool had given up two hits and one run to that point, and Fordham stiffened after getting out of a first-inning jam.
Four straight Cannons hits, an error by Salem third baseman Forry Wells and a wild pitch produced two runs and chased Pool. Sobkoviak inherited runners on first and third, and induced Prince William's cleanup hitter, Harold Williams, to pop out to second baseman Vincente Garcia.
Jeff Abbott walked to load the bases - one of five times he reached base - and Gonzalez jumped on a 1-0 pitch and drilled it over the wall.
The Cannons tacked on two runs in the sixth inning and one in the seventh to add insult to injury.
``We're going to be all right,'' said Bill Hayes, Salem's manager. ``Our starter kept us in the game, and we made some decent plays, but we've got to be a little better offensively.''
The Avalanche was limited to five hits, never got more than one hit in any inning and failed to advance a man to second base after threatening to score in the first inning.
``If we get something in the first inning, it may have been a different ballgame,'' Hayes said.
After Salem shortstop Keith Grunewald struck out to open the game, center fielder Edgard Velasquez walked and went to third on John Giudice's double over the bag at third. Fordham weathered the storm by striking out first baseman Nate Holdren and getting designated hitter Brian Culp on a groundout to end the inning.
For all intents and purposes, that was it for the Avalanche offense. Fordham recorded four of the first six outs on whiffs and finished with seven strikeouts in six innings. He struck out two in the first, two in the second and two in the sixth.
The other stars for Prince William were left fielder Abbott and right fielder Magglio Ordonez.
Abbott, who had three hits and made two fine running catches, batted .393 last season for Hickory, N.C., of the Class A South Atlantic League. Ordonez had three hits and scored twice.
Pool was the beneficiary of some fine fielding by Grunewald and Garcia that kept the Cannons from scoring early, but four errors, two wild pitches and a passed ball contributed to Salem's demise.
``We've still got a chance to take this series,'' Hayes said optimistically. ``We've got to come out tomorrow and play again.''
EXTRA BASES: The Avalanche will start right-hander Doug Walls (6-10, 4.99 ERA last season) tonight in Game 2 of the series against right-hander Chris Clemons (4-3, 4.36). ... Prince William's stadium, previously known as County Stadium, was renamed in the off-season to Pfitzner Stadium in honor of former councilman G. Richard Pfitzner, who died last year.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
by CNB