ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604290108
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
LUTHER HACKMAN hurls seven strong innings as the Avalanche wins 5-0 on Friday night.
The Salem Avalanche has had a tendency to bring out the worst in an opponent.
After the Kinston Indians trudged to their bus after a four-game sweep by Salem that ended Thursday, the Winston-Salem Warthogs were forced to withdraw, shut out 5-0.
For the Salemites, it was a chance to sneak an admiring glance at their own six-game winning streak, the longest of the season. It also was an additional opportunity to enjoy another day in first place in the Carolina League's Southern Division.
``We are playing very well now,'' Salem manager Bill McGuire said.
Good pitching seems to make everybody but the victim of it feel better. There were a lot of smiles around the Salem clubhouse after Avalanche right-hander Luther Hackman worked seven spotless innings.
Hackman, who has experienced control problems in the past, was well established in the strike zone with his fastball and walked only three.
``I was starting to get [pitches] up,'' he said. ``Then I started to hold myself back a little.''
Hackman took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, when Troven Valdez singled sharply to right. Hackman allowed only one other hit before giving way to Scott LaRock to start the eighth.
``I was throwing a lot of fastballs tonight,'' Hackman said. ``I tried to get over and finish every single pitch, and that helped.''
More help was coming from the bottom of the order, where Chad Gambill, Pookie Jones, John Fantauzzi and Steve Bernhardt combined for five runs, four hits and two RBI.
``You know what the difference between us scoring two runs and us scoring five is?'' McGuire said. ``Big hits. That's all it is.''
Winston-Salem has been seeing precious few of those, unless the hits coming off the other team's bat.
``The bottom line is, you have to play the game,'' Winston-Salem manager Phillip Wellman said. ``It doesn't matter what you do in batting practice, it doesn't matter what you do in spring training, it doesn't matter what you did last week. What matters is what you're doing now, and we aren't doing anything.
``You know what we look like? We look like a last-place team playing out the last seven games of the year. That stuff is going to stop.''
SNOWBALLS: Salem right-hander Brent Crowther earned a temporary promotion to Class AAA Colorado Springs, where Monday he will pitch in an exhibition between the Sky Sox and the parent Colorado Rockies.
Crowther, who is 2-0 with a 1.80 earned run average, has not been told for which team he will pitch.
``It doesn't really matter,'' the Canadian-born hurler said. ``Either I'll face a team full of major-leaguers or I'll get a chance to sit on their bench and talk to them.''
Crowther expects to return to Salem on Tuesday.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PAUL L. NEWBY II STAFF Salem first baseman Johnby CNBFantauzzi holds Winston-Salem runner Nick Morrow on first base
Friday night. color KEYWORDS: BASEBALL