Jim Goulart

Final: @AZL Brewers 17, AZL Indians 5 AZL Brewers Box Score This team's going to be fun to follow, no? Have a game, Eric Williams! The 23rd round Texas high school pick was 4-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, double. Five other Brewers had two hits, including the first pro hit (RBI double) for another high schooler, 30th round Miami-area product Luis Aviles. Leadoff 2B Francisco Castillo maintains his 1.000+ OPS, on base four times (double, single, two walks). OF Elvis Rubio, DH'ing here, had hit three HR's in 304 DSL AB's over the last two seasons. He has two HR's in his first 15 AZL at-bats. Love the patience! Ten walks along with the 16 hits, and although cleanup first baseman David Denson was 0-for-3, he drew three free passes. Sure, let the Prince Fielder comparisons begin -- no pressure, young man. RHP Austin Ross made his 2nd rehab start post-Tommy John, extending to a second inning. Three RHP's, including just-turned 20-year-old Venezuelan Jorge Ortega, did not allow an earned run over the final seven frames, combining to walk only one and fan six. AZL Brewers Game Log Enjoy!

As usual, plenty of details on home game action from the Helena site and the Record, so we're good here, Game Log link for you as well. Like Sessile, I was tuned in for that last stand, Clint Coulter almost let a pitch get away for a passed ball on the pitch just prior to the final called strike. That would have been a bummer, but it wasn't. Go H-Crew! For Helena the victory was the second straight, a feat that only happened once in 2012. Wow, a real reminder of just how ridiculously awful last year's Helena campaign was...

All photos by Dylan Brown, Helena Independent Record Helena Brewers catcher Clint Coulter completes a double play to first base, after forcing an out at home Tuesday. The Brewers were playing the Great Falls Voyagers at Kindrick Legion Field. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/60/160c1c08-de10-11e2-b0ba-0019bb2963f4/51ca5f39abf15.preview-620.jpg Taylor Brennan watches a pop-fly land in the crowd Tuesday. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/bf/1bf7a3a8-de10-11e2-907e-0019bb2963f4/51ca5f43911d1.preview-620.jpg Second baseman Renaldo Jenkins taps the bag Tuesday, forcing an out on Great Falls' Jacob Morris. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/15/2157fac8-de10-11e2-b4dc-0019bb2963f4/51ca5f4cc011d.preview-620.jpg Shortstop Angel Ortega gathers the ball Tuesday night. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/d7/2d73d282-de10-11e2-8983-0019bb2963f4/51ca5f608f960.preview-620.jpg Jose Pena makes contact with the ball. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/1a/31aaa3e4-de10-11e2-b833-0019bb2963f4/51ca5f6807333.preview-620.jpg Pitcher Zach Quintana delivers the ball. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/59/35949082-de10-11e2-909a-0019bb2963f4/51ca5f6e43ed4.preview-620.jpg

Brewers hold on By Amber Kuehn, Helena Independent Record Right-handed reliever Andy Hillis said he relishes pressure-filled situations. He certainly found himself in one Tuesday night. The Brewers pitcher entered in the ninth with Helena clinging to a two-run lead over Great Falls and a runner on first. Following a fielder’s choice groundout by Tyler Shyrock, Hillis struck out Nick Basto using his mid-90s fastball to put the Brewers one out away from a sweep of the Voyagers. Then the wheels began to come off. Alex Williams struck a bullet that ricocheted off the glove of a leaping Angel Ortega to give Great Falls new life, and an ensuing walk to Zach Fisher loaded the bases. Helena pitching coach Elvin Nina came to the mound for a conference, but Hillis walked in a run on the next at-bat, putting the potential tying run just 90 feet from home. Brewers catcher Clint Coulter went out to calm down Hillis, and the pitcher responded by getting Jacob Morris out on a called third strike to end the game. “I got him on a slider,” Hillis said after Helena’s 6-5 victory over the Voyagers in front of a season-best 1,439 fans at Kindrick Legion Field. “I think Clint called that, but I’m not sure. “I feel like I pitch better in those situations. I don’t like being in them, but I do feel like I pitch better.” The win gave Helena back-to-back victories for the first time since July 7 and 8 of last year. It also brought the Brewers (3-3) back to .500 on the young season and extended the Voyagers’ three-game losing streak. Hillis, the intimidating 6-foot-7, 235-pounder out of Lee University, was credited with his first professional save. He had nine saves this season for the NAIA school in Tennessee. “He comes from a program where he came out of the bullpen, and he threw well for us in his first outing,” Brewers manager Tony Diggs said of Hillis. “He’s a guy who you kinda want the ball in his hands for that final out. It was a good job on his part.” The Brewers trailed 3-0 early before tying the game in the third on a double, single and triple from the bottom third of their lineup. Great Falls regained the lead in the fourth on Shyrock’s RBI double, only to see Helena rally to knot things up again in the sixth. The home team took its first lead in the seventh frame when Sean Hagan walked Omar Garcia and gave up a single to Renaldo Jenkins. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runners and paved the way for right fielder Michael Ratterree’s sac fly on an 0-1 fastball, low and away. It was the second night in a row where Ratterree was responsible for the go-ahead run. “I feel good,” said Ratterree, who has only been in Helena since Saturday. “The coaches have been working with me ... helping me be more aggressive at the plate.” Taylor Brennan’s RBI single in the next at-bat gave the Brewers a two-run cushion that would prove to be critical later in the dramatic final frame. It was the fourth hit of the season for Brennan, and the first that was something other than a home run. Ratterree, Garcia and Jenkins all finished 2 for 3 for Helena. Jenkins smashed a run-scoring triple as part of the three-run third inning. “I feel blessed, the Brewers is a great organization,” said Ratterree, who has only been in town since Saturday. “... I feel lucky playing out here on a professional baseball team.” Diggs is happy to have the 10th-round draft pick in a Helena uniform and has already seen tremendous progress in the short time Ratterree has been here. He’s batting .500 over the last two games. “He’s starting to find himself at the plate,” the skipper said. “... He’s starting to get his feet underneath him, and we’re looking for good things out of him.” The Brewers finished with ten hits in the contest, one away from matching their season high. Still, Diggs said the team needs to work on running the bases a little better and being more patient at the plate. “We also need to be able to drive the ball the other way, we get in the habit of wanting to pull a little bit,” he said. Chris Razo picked up his second win of the season for Helena after giving up just one run on no hits in two innings of relief. Zach Quintana made his second start for Helena and went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking four. “This is a lot better start than his last one; he came into this start with more fire,” Diggs said, referring to Quintana’s opening-night appearance. “He went right after hitters, used his fastball a lot more. They got a few runs off of him, but he kept his composure and kept doing exactly what he was supposed to do.” Voyagers starter Jose Bautista rebounded from his rough outing on opening night — he went just 2/3 of an inning in that one and gave up three earned runs. Bautista was practically untouchable Tuesday, giving up just two earned runs on five hits, walking none and fanning six through five frames. He finished with a no-decision, while Joey Wagman got the blown save and Hagan suffered the loss. Fisher led Great Falls at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a solo shot that started the scoring for the Voyagers (2-4). Helena heads to Billings (4-1) for a three-game set, hoping to continue the current streak and looking for its first win against the Pioneer League North Division-leading Mustangs. Southpaw Anthony Banda is scheduled to start tonight for the Brewers at Dehler Park. “It is nice to get off to a good start,” Diggs said. “Back-to-back wins are pretty good and you look forward to winning more than just one game, more than just two, but look forward to trying to win five, six, seven in a row. Hopefully we have the team to do that.”

Manatees racking up wins with pitching, defense Brevard completes sweep of Dunedin by Michael Parsons, FLORIDA TODAY The Brevard County Manatees have been practicing what the coaches have been preaching, and it is paying off on the field. “Its one of the things we preach, the importance of defense,” Manatees manager Joe Ayrault said. “Pitching and defense, that is how you win ball games.” And that is how they won again on Tuesday, defeating Dunedin 3-1. Cody Scarpetta and Chad Pierce combined to allow just two hits and the team came up with big plays on defense to hold Dunedin to just the one run. And the Manatees took advantage of their own chances, scoring two runs in the third inning. Two walks and a base hit with Brandon Macias loaded the bases. Greg Hopkins hit an infield single that scored the first run and then Cody Hawn drew a bases loaded walk to give the Manatees the lead. “Business as usual for these guys,” Ayrault said of the win. Yadiel Rivera had an RBI double in the seventh to tack on the third run. He has now hit safely in the past seven games and has scored five runs and drove in five during the streak. “Early in the year he was chasing some pitches and now he is just locked in,” Ayrault said of his shortstop. “He is doing a real good job of laying off the pitchers pitch and getting good pitches to hit and driving them.” It was all that the pitching staff needed as Scarpetta logged one of his best outings of the season. Despite four walks, he allowed just one run on one hit in four innings of work. Pierce came in and tossed four shutout innings to pick up his third win of the season. Pierce gave up one hit and struck out three, also walking three. It all added up to a sweep of Dunedin. The Manatees, riding a three-game winning streak, will hit the road for six games beginning tonight in Clearwater. The team is 7-2 since the All-Star break. “It was disappointing to get beat out by a half-game in the first half. We lost a couple of close games in Tampa and this was a good way to bounce back,” Ayrault said. Jacob Barnes will get the start for the Manatees tonight.

Rattler Radio Blog -- Post-Game Entry

Stars Routed By Barons For Second Straight Game By Alex Cohen / Huntsville Stars After losing the opener of a five-game set at Regions Field by a score of 14-2 one evening earlier, the Huntsville Stars fell to the Birmingham Barons by a score of 12-2 on Tuesday night. With Stars starting pitcher David Goforth making his Double-A Debut, the Birmingham bats started their offensive explosion early in the first inning. After walking both outfielder Keenyn Walker and first baseman Dan Black, Goforth gave up a two-out, two-run double to outfielder Michael Earley to put the Barons on the board. In the third inning, it was Earley who would strike again. Following an error that allowed Walker to reach and another walk to Black, the Indiana University product duplicated his first inning output with another two-run double to make the score 4-0. A bases-loaded walk from shortstop Marcus Semien and an RBI single from second baseman Tyler Saladino ultimately put Birmingham up by six and led to Goforth's exit by the end of the third inning. In his first start with the Stars, the Philadelphia, MS native fell to 0-1 on the year after giving up six runs (four earned) on six hits while walking four batters in 2.2 innings of work. The outing marked the third game in a row that a Stars starting pitcher was pulled before the fourth inning. For Earley, he continued his hot hitting in the fourth inning with an RBI single off of Stars reliever Frankie De La Cruz, giving him three hits and five runs batted in on the game. De La Cruz gave up an RBI groundout to Saladino later in the frame to make the score 8-0. One inning later, the hits just kept on coming for Birmingham as Semien led off the fifth against lefty Dan Meadows with a solo homer. As the inning went on, four walks issued by Meadows, the last to outfielder Jared Mitchell with the bases-loaded, allowed a run to score to put the Barons up by ten. Birmingham tacked on one run in both the seventh and eighth innings off of Eric Marzec and Joey Paciorek respectively for good measure. Paciorek was the second position player for the Stars to end up on the mound this season. He walked four batters, including a runner home in his outing. On offense, the Stars scored their first run in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly from catcher Shawn Zarraga. Huntsville got their only other run in the eighth inning with a solo homer from outfielder Rene Tosoni. Third baseman Mike Walker paced the Huntsville offensive attack with two of the Stars five total hits. From a pitching perspective, the 14 team walks was the most the Stars have given up this year. In the last three games (all losses), the Stars have been outscored by a margin of 37-6. The loss also marks the 14th contest in a row that Huntsville has failed to score more than four runs in a game. On Wednesday, the Stars and Barons will play game three of a five-game series at Regions Field. Huntsville will send RHP Taylor Jungmann (7-6, 3.76 ERA) to the bump to try to snap their four-game losing streak. Birmingham will counter with RHP Stephen McCray (7-5, 3.59 ERA). First pitch is at 11:00 AM.

Helena Holds On to Complete Sweep Things get interesting in 9th but Hillis shuts the door By Zac Vierra / Helena Brewers For the second straight night the Helena Brewers battled back from an early deficit for a comeback win against Great Falls. Helena held on, but just barely, for the 6-5 win over the Voyagers on Tuesday night. In the top of the ninth inning with Helena leading 6-4 things got interesting. Chris Razo walked the leadoff man and was immediately replaced by Andy Hillis. Hillis quickly got two outs on a fielder's choice and a strikeout but a single and a pair of walks later and Great Falls was trailing by one and looking to take the lead. With the bases juiced, Hillis didn't let the pressure get to him as he struck out Jacob Morris looking on a breaking ball to end the game and give Helena the series sweep. "I got him on a slider. I think [catcher] Clint [Coulter] called that," said Hillis. "I feel like I pitch better under those situations." The Voyagers jumped on Helena starter Zach Quintana in the second inning. Zach Fisher led off the inning by crushing a solo homer to straight away center field. After a strikeout, Quintana hit Jacob Morris with a pitch then Justin Jirschele pulled a single between first and second. With two on and one out, Jairo Kelly slapped a double down the left field line which plated Morris. Jirschele would eventually come home on a groundout as Great Falls took an early 3-0 lead. Quintana would settle down allowing one more run the rest of the night. He picked up the no decision after allowing seven hits in six innings. "[Zach] came into this start with more fire. He went after hitters a lot more, used his fastball a lot more. They got a few runs off him but he kept his composure and kept doing exactly what he was supposed to do," said Helena manager Tony Diggs. As the Brewers did on Monday night, they didn't let an early deficit faze them. Trailing 3-0 Helena battled back in the bottom of the third off of Jose Bautista. On the first pitch of the inning, Jalen Harris hit a double to center and Omar Garcia followed with a single to right. With Renaldo Jenkins batting, Garcia was picked off of but the throw by first baseman Alex Williams got away from the shortstop which allowed Harris to score on the error. With Garcia on second, Jenkins ripped an RBI triple into the right center gap to bring Helena within one. Jenkins would come home to tie the game on a groundball off the bat of Angel Ortega. "That's the resolve you want on any team. You want a team that fights all the way to the end of the game and so far they have been doing that," said Diggs. "These guys have done a really good job of [battling back] so hopefully it becomes a habit." Great Falls would reclaim the lead in the top of the fourth when Jacob May came home on a one-out double by Tyler Shyrock. The Brewers would tie the game at four in the bottom of the sixth when Michael Ratterree hit a leadoff single and after a fly out, Jose Pena hit a double down the third base line, and Coulter followed with an RBI single up the box. Helena took its first lead of the game in the seventh inning. Once again Ratterree put the Brewers ahead against Great Falls. This time with Garcia on third and Jenkins on second and one out, Ratterree hit a ball deep enough to left to score Garcia on the sac fly. "I feel good [at the plate]. The coaches have been working with me…They have been helping me be more aggressive to just get some rhythm at the plate," said Ratterree. On the next pitch, Taylor Brennan hit a single up the middle and Jenkins beat the throw home to give the Brewers a 6-4 lead. Razo would pick up the win in relief, his second of the year after allowing no hits in two innings. For Helena the victory was the second straight, a feat that only happened once in 2012. "It is nice to get off to a good start," said Diggs. "Back to back wins are pretty good. You look forward to winning more than just one game, more than just two games, you look to put something together, you win five, six, seven in row and hopefully we have the team to do that." With a record of 3-3 Helena will hit the road for a six game road trip beginning Wednesday night in Billings. The team will return to Kindrick Legion Field on July 2nd for another two game set with Great Falls. Zach Quintana fires a pitch on Tuesday night. Photo By Dylan Brown for the Independent Record http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/3/8/51787538/cuts/Quintana_June_25_qcdr6sd0_gacw886o.jpg

Gallery from tonight's Huntsville loss - at least David Goforth has photos, if not great memories, from his first AA start

Weather.com: Birmingham, AL Clearwater, FL Clinton, IA Billings, MT Goodyear, AZ Boca Chica, DR

VIDEO from Monday: Huntsville's Adam Weisenburger doubles off Birmingham's Scott Snodgress in the Barons' 14-2 win

STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League North Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division Rookie Advanced - Pioneer League North Division Rookie - Arizona Summer League DSL - Dominican Summer League San Pedro de Macoris Division *** NOTE: To view first half or overall standings for Huntsville, Brevard County, and Wisconsin, you'll notice options at the respective links for that. Otherwise it's second-half standings as the default view for those three leagues.

Look for Wisconsin media notes at the link just prior to game time. New this season: Brevard County has media notes; it's a unique link each day, but look for it just prior to game time each day within the "Stats and Scores" banner here. Also new this season: Helena has media notes; it's a unique link each day, but look for it just prior to game time each day within the "Stats and Scores" banner here.

To see tweets as to when the Link Report has been technically "completed" with available links, as well as to know when the new day's Report has been posted, please follow @Mass_Haas on Twitter.

Helena Brewers pitcher Barrett Astin (3rd round) sat down with Steve Wendt to talk about his first professional appearance

Follow Wednesday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Huntsville Brevard County Wisconsin Helena Maryvale DSL Brewers New MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

Programming Note: Birmingham has MiLB.TV coverage, so if you're a subscriber, you can watch this Stars' series (live and/or archived). *** This Brevard County series is available with the Clearwater broadcast crew; Dave and Andy return to the airwaves on Wednesday July 3rd.

Johnny Hellweg to Milwaukee Wednesday - will be his MLB debut when he starts Friday at Pittsburgh Thanks again, Angels!

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: Idle ********** Huntsville: RHP Taylor Jungmann at Birmingham (White Sox), 10:45 AM pre-game, 11:00 gametime Free Live Audio Link Alex Cohen is the play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. It appears four Southern League teams air their home games on MiLB.TV, and we'll let you know when those dates pop up on the schedule ********** Brevard County: RHP Jacob Barnes at Clearwater (Phillies), 6:00 PM gametime Free Live Audio Link - Clearwater broadcast ********** Wisconsin: RHP Eric Semmelhack at Clinton (Mariners), 6:40 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM WNAM Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from four Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games. NOTE: 32 of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel has seventeen games scheduled and WACY-TV My NEW32 plans to show fifteen games. We'll let you know when, but won't be providing day-before DVR reminders, so regularly check for proper channel and time planning (scroll to the bottom of this link). ********** Helena: LHP Anthony Banda at Billings (Reds), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Voice of the Helena Brewers Steve Wendt is back on board, and this year he's added Twitter to the mix @steve_wendt. We've been treated to Steve's work for many years now (ten!); he is among the very best at the art of the pre-game interview, especially considering how at ease he makes all these first-time professional ballplayers. MiLB.TV -- When the H-Crew makes their way to Idaho Falls (July) and Grand Junction (August), those games will be available for viewing online. ********** Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): at the Indians' complex in Goodyear; 9:00 PM gametime; never audio for games in this league ********** DSL Brewers: at the DSL Nationals, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until later in the day

Through four innings tonight (down 8-0), Huntsville has been outscored 39-6 in the last 3.5 games.

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Martin gets his shot at pro ball Farmington High grad was NCAA D-II Pitcher of Year at Minnesota State by Dan O’Meara, OBserver & Eccentric Staff Writer (Newspaper Group in Suburban Detroit) As an athlete and pitcher, Harvey Martin is accustomed to challenges and having to prove his ability and worthiness. His experience at that has prepared him for the next rung on the ladder of his baseball career. Martin, who starred at Farmington High School and Minnesota State University, is starting that process all over again with the Milwaukee Brewers farm team in Helena, Mont. He had hoped to be drafted after being named an NCAA Division II All-America and national Pitcher of the Year. He was terribly disappointed when that didn’t happen, but the Brewers called shortly after the draft ended to offer him a free-agent contract. That was late in the day Saturday, June 8. He packed his belongings on Sunday and was on a plane Monday for Montana and the Advanced Rookie League. “It’s kind of a blessing in disguise,” Martin said, adding he begins the next phase of his career with an inner chip on his shoulder. “I knew I would play professional baseball at some point from all the feedback I was getting, but free agency wasn’t the first priority on my list. “It’s a motivating factor for me. I’ve always had to prove myself, at Central (Michigan) and Minnesota State. It won’t be easy here and I don’t expect it to be. Going through the things I did in college – the surgery, the transfer, the ups and downs during my career – put me in a good mindset to handle the free agency deal.” Regardless of how he got there, Martin has his foot in the door. He plans to make the most of his opportunity and, hopefully, move up the chain of minor league teams. “I can’t change the fact of free agency,” he said. “I told the Brewers, “I promise I will not take a day off all the time I’m here. I’ll keep working and getting my nose dirty.’ “I don’t have the luxury of being an 18-year-old who signed for a lot of money. It’s great playing here, but my goal is to be in the big leagues.” The season just started last week for the Helena Brewers, who were 1-3 in the Pioneer League standings at the ARL level. Martin’s first appearance went well, however. He pitched two scoreless innings of late-game relief Friday against the Missoula (Mont.) Osprey in the team’s lone win. “I struck out the side in the first inning, which was kinda awesome to start my pro career,” Martin said. “The next inning was a real quick inning with a couple pop-ups and a ground ball. “There were a lot of nerves in that first inning, but I got it out of the way. When you have a successful first inning, you feel like you belong a little bit. Obviously, it’s something to build on.” Big sky country In the short time he’s been there, Martin is enjoying the experience in Helena and reveling in the knowledge he’s actually playing professional baseball. “It’s pretty awesome,” he said. “Every now and then, I sit back during practice and realize where I’m at and kinda living my dream. We wear Brewers across our chests and it’s a cool feeling every day to realize I’m employed by a Major League baseball team. It’s been a great time so far.” The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Martin transferred two years ago from Central Michigan to MSU. He played two of four seasons at CMU where his mound time was limited to spot appearances in relief. He was redshirted in 2008 and had Tommy John surgery on his pitching arm in 2010. He took a chance and left for Mankato, Minn., with something to prove as a potential starting pitcher. He was 10-0 and was named the Newcomer of the Year in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference last year. “I definitely did what I set out to do by leaving and getting the opportunity to pitch,” Martin said. “I was given the opportunity to do something that wasn’t going to be given at Central Michigan. I had the opportunity to do that at Minnesota State and it worked out. I’m very thankful for that.” Repeat performance The challenge facing Martin at the start of the 2013 season was to prove the previous one was not a fluke, that he could back it up by having another great year. He did that and more. The right-handed Martin posted a 9-1 record with a 2.06 earned run average and was nationally ranked in several categories. He was second in strikeout-to-walk ratio with 91 and seven, respectively, in 78.2 innings. He helped lead the 42-9 Mavericks to a second straight NSIC championship and consecutive runner-up finishes in the NCAA Division II College World Series. Martin’s only loss in his two years at MSU occurred in the final game of this year’s CWS. Top-ranked Tampa won, 8-6. “I don’t regret going to Central at all,” he said. “I earned a degree there and made a ton of great friends. In going to Minnesota, I thought it was kinda crazy, going to a Division II school where it was colder than Michigan. My decision to leave was probably the toughest I had to make, but it was the best decision I’ve made in my baseball career.” And the 2013 accolades piled up for Martin, who was named to the All-America first team and was selected the national Pitcher of the Year by Rawlings/ABCA, Daktronics and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He also was the NSIC’s Pitcher of the Year and one of eight finalists for the Tino Martinez Award as the top player in Division II. “If I had been told all of this was going to happen to me when I left (CMU), I probably would have laughed about it,” Martin said. “Awards come with team success. If a team is going to the national championship, you’re going to have some All-Americas on it. I was just fortunate to be one of those guys. “Award-wise, that was never the goal of leaving. The goal was to pitch and try to get into professional baseball. Anything else was an added bonus. I’m where I wanted to be.” Place in history Martin ends his college career as the most decorated player in MSU baseball history and the first to win the Pitcher of the Year honor. “His accolades on the field won’t overshadow the impact he left off the field,” MSU coach Matt Magers said, regarding Martin’s ability to motivate his teammates. “His mental approach and passion for the game enabled him to compete at a level most players never attain. Despite only playing here for two seasons, Harvey will go down as one of the best to ever wear the Maverick uniform.” Martin’s most memorable game was this year’s regional final in which MSU defeated Missouri Western, one of the best hitting teams in the country, according to Martin. He pitched a complete, 10-inning game and the Mavericks won, 4-1. “Obviously, that catapulted me into a lot of the awards I got at the end of the season,” Martin said. “To help lead the team into the College World Series was a lot of fun. I loved playing those guys at Minnesota State. We were fortunate to host the regional two years in a row and play in the (CWS) twice.” Moving forward Not only has the 24-year-old Martin moved on from a good memory like that, he has put the disappointment of not being drafted behind him, too. The bottom line is he’s playing pro ball now. “I thought I was going to get drafted last year and it didn’t work out, which made me a stronger person – to keep chasing it, developing patience and working toward what you want,” Martin said. “A lot of people wanted to see more strikeouts out of me. I think that’s why I was national Pitcher of the Year, because my strikeout-to-walk ratio was up there. “One thing that hurt me in the draft was that I was older and had arm surgery. Teams aren’t interested in older guys who’ve had arm surgery. I thought, with the season I put up there, I couldn’t be denied the chance. I thought 250 innings was enough to show what I could do. “If I never played in the Major Leagues, I wanted to leave with people saying, ‘Harvey Martin was the best pitcher I’ve seen all season.’ If I did that and made sure Year 2 wasn’t a fluke, I thought I’d get a shot to be where I am. It’s still sinking in. I haven’t taken a day for granted and don’t plan to do that.”

Brewers sign 14th round LHP Hobbs Johnson, will report to Helena; coming off huge effort in College World Series with UNC. VIDEO INTERVIEW: In a 132-pitch effort to oust NC State, Johnson threw 132 fastballs (first time he had ever done that). UNC Bio

Weather.com: New Orleans, LA Birmingham, AL Viera, FL (Melbourne) Clinton, IA Helena, MT Maryvale, AZ San Pedro de Macoris, DR

STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League North Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division Rookie Advanced - Pioneer League North Division Rookie - Arizona Summer League DSL - Dominican Summer League San Pedro de Macoris Division *** NOTE: To view first half or overall standings for Huntsville, Brevard County, and Wisconsin, you'll notice options at the respective links for that. Otherwise it's second-half standings as the default view for those three leagues.