Flurry of slip-ups sinks Salem Red Sox rally
1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County
2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
7. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area
Saturday, August 10, 2013
RUN AND GUN: Cody Koback might have been just a little too fast for his own good Saturday night.
Salem's promising ninth inning rally hit the skids on a controversial play, as Koback was thrown out at the plate for a critical out and Winston-Salem held on for a 3-2 victory in front of 3,571 at Salem Memorial Ballpark.
LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING: The Sox trailed 3-0 heading into the ninth, but a Keury De La Cruz double and walks by Stefan Welch and David Chester loaded the bases with one out.
Koback, pinch-running for Chester at first base, was off and running when Mookie Betts laced a ball toward the gap in right-center.
"I initially thought when I was starting from first base that the ball had gotten past him," Koback said of Dash right fielder Josh Richmond. "So I was rounding second expecting to score."
Richmond cut the ball off, though, and fired it to the cutoff man. Koback had sped toward third so fast that he was right on the heels of Welch, who was being waved home by manager Billy McMillon.
THE OL' COLLEGE TRY: Koback misinterpreted the sign as being for him, and by the time he realized it wasn't, he was hung out between third and home.
"You just make a decision and go with it," Koback said. "I was too far off the base to get back. When I looked back, he already had the ball and was looking to throw to third base. I just tried to give a fake like I was going to go back."
Then he dashed for home and was thrown out in a close play that prompted an argument from McMillon.
"I thought I just snuck in barely, because he tagged me in the back of the shoulder," Koback said. "I thought that my leg had gotten in there."
As the crowd showered the umpires with boos, Matt Gedman flied out to left to end it.
LOOSE ENDS: UVa alum Cody Winiarski tossed a scoreless eighth inning for the Dash to lower his ERA to 2.91...Salem starter Mickey Pena logged his sixth straight quality start (6 IP, 1 ER) but was tagged with the loss...Jake Cose fired seven three-hit innings for Winston-Salem...Betts had Salem's only multihit game.
ON DECK: The Sox head to Wilmington for a 5:05 p.m. game today, with Salem RHP William Cuevas (6-7, 5.59) facing Blue Rocks RHP Leonel Santiago (3-1, 3.86).
1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County
2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
7. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area
THE ROANOKE TIMES
