WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- It ended almost like all the other nights over the past two weeks, with Avalanche players lining up on the mound to shake hands. There may have been a few extra hugs and pats on backs, but nothing too wild until ...

One broke away, then another and another and suddenly the whole Salem Avalanche baseball team was sprinting toward the visitors' clubhouse at Ernie Shore Field. That's where a bubbly chaos reigned.

The Salem Avalanche showered each other in champagne and danced and giggled and sang on Monday night, celebrating an emphatic 8-2 victory over the homestanding Winston-Salem Warthogs that clinched the Carolina League's Southern Division second-half championship.

"There's no feeling in the world like this, being a member of a winning team that's accomplished so much," said Salem manager Jim Pankovits in a quiet moment after his own run-by champagne attack on his team. "I can't imagine what it will be like when we win the Carolina League championship. ...

"It's been a fun ride, but the ride's not over."

Salem will host the first game of the best-of-three Southern Division championship series on Wednesday, Sept. 6, at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. First-half winner Kinston will host game 2, and 3 if necessary, on Thursday and Friday. The division champion will play the Northern Division winner in a best-of-five series for the Mills Cup -- awarded to the Carolina League champion.

The half-season pennant is the first for a Salem franchise since the first half of 1988, and the Avalanche clinched it with seven games left in the regular season thanks to a franchise-record 13-game winning streak.

"We left no doubt," said Avalanche catcher Jeff Mackor, soaked in champagne and wearing swim goggles to protect his eyes from excessive celebration. "It's not like we've been just getting by; we've been bombing people pretty good. This team has come together, the chemistry.

"I've never been on a team like this."

Mackor went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Drew Sutton went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs and Beau Torbert also homered for the Avalanche, which outhit Winston-Salem 11-7.

Felipe Paulino continued the Avalanche's string of outstanding starts, giving up a two-run home run in the first inning and no more. In seven innings, he gave up six hits and one walk.

Salem, which had scored a run in the first, wasted no time regaining the lead on the Warthogs, scoring two runs in the second and three more in the fourth.

Even when things went wrong for Salem, they ended up going right.

The Avalanche was up 6-2 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but Winston-Salem's Sean Smith led off with a ball to the wall in right center. Center fielder Ervin Alcantara made a running stab at the ball but couldn't get to it. He ran into the wall and then couldn't find the ball as Smith motored all the way to third before Alcantara gunned the ball into the infield to discourage Smith from trying for home.

Paulino got the next batter, Victor Mercedes, to line out to second, but then walked David Cook on four pitches. Cleanup hitter Chris Kelly, though, hit a grounder up the middle that shortstop Edwin Maysonet scooped up, flipped to Drew Sutton at second. Sutton threw Kelly out at first to get out of the inning without giving up even one run.

And that's been the way things have gone for Salem, which matched the third longest winning streak in Carolina League history with its 13th victory. No team has done it since the Danville Leafs in 1958. The league's longest winning streak came in 1950 when Winston-Salem won 16 straight from June 2 through 16.

"The pitching has dominated, the hitting's been unbelievable ... we've played great defense," Pankovits said. "And we're finishing strong. We're not going weakly to the finish line.

"They way we clinched, winning 13 games in a row, the way we've played, it's been a sight to see."

SALEM WINSTON-SALEM

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Sutton 2b 5 1 3 1 Smith cf 4 0 2 0

Sellers 3b 3 1 0 0 Mercedes ss 4 0 0 0

Torbert lf 5 1 1 2 Cook lf 3 1 2 0

Sheldon 1b 5 0 1 1 Kelly 1b 4 1 2 2

Caraballo rf 5 0 0 0 Hansen dh 4 0 0 0

Garza dh 3 1 0 0 Roberts rf 3 0 0 0

Alcantara cf 4 2 2 0 Armstrong c 3 0 1 0

Mackor c 4 1 3 2 De Los Santos 2b 3 0 0 0

Maysonet 3 1 1 2 Guest 3b 3 0 0 0

Totals 7 8 11 8 Totals 31 2 7 2

Salem 120 300 002 -- 8

Winston-Salem 200 000 000 -- 2

E -- De Los Santos (23). DP -- Salem 1. LOB -- Salem 6, Winston-Salem 3. 2b -- Sheldon (6), Alcantara (21), Mackor (8), Cook (4). 3b -- Smith (2). HR -- Sutton (15), Torbert (5), Kelly (18). SF -- Maysonet. CS -- Cook (4).

IP H R ER BB SO

Salem

Paulino W, 9-7 7 6 2 2 1 0 Englebrook 1 1 0 0 0 0

Thompson 1 0 0 0 0 1

Winston-Salem

Torres L, 3-8 3 7 6 6 3 2

Moat 6 4 2 2 0 1

Umpires -- Basner, home Young, 1b.

T -- 2:14. Att -- 1,272.

HOW THEY SCORED

Salem first: One out. Sellers walked. Torbert grounded out; Sellers to second. Sheldon doubled; Sellers scored. Avalanche 1, Warthogs 0.

Winston-Salem first: Two outs. Cook doubled. Kelly homered; Cook scored. Warthogs 2, Avalanche 1.

Salem second: Garza walked. Alcantara doubled; Garza to third. Mackor singled; Garza scored; Alcantara to third. Maysonet flied out; Alcantara scored. Avalanche 3, Warthogs 2.

Salem fourth: Alcantara singled and went to second on an error by Roberts. Mackor doubled; Alcantara scored. Maysonet singled; Mackor to second. Sutton singled; Mackor scored; Maysonet to third. Sellers walked; Sutton to second. Moat relieved Torres. Torbert grounded into a fielder's choice; Maysonet scored. Avalanche 6, Warthogs 2.

Salem ninth: Sutton homered. Sellers popped out. Torbert homered. Avalanche 8, Warthogs 2.