Jim Goulart

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 2 1 .667 - 0-0 2-1 W2 Memphis 2 1 .667 - 2-1 0-0 W1 Omaha 2 1 .667 - 0-0 2-1 W2 Nashville 1 2 .333 1.0 1-2 0-0 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 2 1 .667 - 0-0 2-1 W2 Tennessee 2 1 .667 - 0-0 2-1 W2 West Tenn 2 1 .667 - 0-0 2-1 L1 Chattanooga 1 2 .333 1.0 0-0 1-2 W1 Huntsville 1 2 .333 1.0 1-2 0-0 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clearwater 2 1 .667 - 1-1 1-0 L1 Daytona 2 1 .667 - 2-0 0-1 W2 Lakeland 2 1 .667 - 2-0 0-1 W1 Brevard County 1 2 .333 1.0 1-0 0-2 L2 Dunedin 1 2 .333 1.0 0-1 1-1 W1 Tampa 1 2 .333 1.0 1-0 0-2 L1

Follow Sunday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Tab or New Window". Choose "Recap". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often. UPDATE: MiLB.com now has Gameday available for AA as well as AAA this season. Nashville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_04_12_nozaaa_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_04_12_mobaax_hunaax_1

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated a few hours prior to gametime. Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

Sunday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Link here for the live audio choices - audio will no longer archive. Nashville: RHP Nick Green at home vs. New Orleans (Marlins), 1:45 PM pre-game; 2:00 gametime Huntsville: LHP Bobby Bramhall at home vs. Mobile (Diamondbacks), 12:45 PM pre-game; 1:00 gametime Brevard County: Idle Wisconsin: Idle

Link Report Bonus -- Kudos to Stars fans (text follows) Stars fans go beyond merely buying ticket Civic pride in evidence during stadium cleanup By CHRIS WELCH Huntsville Times Entertainment Writer, chris.welch@htimes.com Huntsville Stars general manager Buck Rogers is a colorful promoter along the lines of P.T. Barnum and Charley Finley, but that doesn't mean he's always going to gush when something isn't gush-worthy, right? Well, Rogers can't stop gushing about what he's seen so far in Huntsville. And it has nothing to do with whether Huntsvillians are filling his seats at Joe Davis Stadium to watch the Huntsville Stars, Double A affiliates of the Milwaukee Brewers. Rogers was blown away last year when 144 volunteers showed up to participate in Clean Up Joe Davis Stadium Day and also pleased when about 75 showed up in real iffy weather on Saturday, March 28. And, they didn't just show up. They showed up and worked. They washed windows. They hammered nails into picnic tables and benches. They steamed carpets. They trimmed shrubs. There were even groups painting murals on walls promoting nonprofit organizations (something new this year). Some got credits toward Stars tickets, but many were already season ticket holders or members of the Stars booster club and they did it because they truly loved helping the organization and city. "I'll tell you this, in 13 years in minor league baseball and 14 years in the military, I've never seen this much civic pride in a long, long time, from the mayor to the community to the business leaders," Rogers said. "This place, Madison County, has a huge dose of community pride and we're fortunate fans come out and support this. "And, I'm not just talking about attending the games. We'd be dying on the vine without the pride of the people in Huntsville." The problem? Stars officials are dealing with a 25-year-old stadium that needs lots of repairs and has a small staff to get it all done. They also have a limited window to get it done in the spring. So, Rogers decided to initiate the work day last spring before his first season with the Stars. "It's not only the old Huckleberry Finn, 'Let's whitewash the fence,' it's fans having pride to help the city," Stars marketing manager Brian Massey said. "To keep us here another 25 years, we need to upgrade the stadium, and to be honest, in the last five years we've let it slide. "Buck Rogers kicked the change into motion. We've all bought into the philosophy and there's a complete night and day difference in the way we approach it. We're a small staff and it's a large undertaking, but we still want it as clean and pristine as possible for a 25-year-old stadium." Larry Veeder and Allison Tofflemire were at the cleanup March 28. They were just two of the volunteers who truly love helping the Stars. In addition to the cleanup day, they've also shown up every Thursday night since last season ended in August to help with different projects. Veeder, named the Stars 2008 Fan of the Year, said there are many others like them who share pride for the baseball team and city. "There are 100 to 150 people I could send out an e-mail note or put something in the paper saying 'We need help,' and they'd show up," Veeder said.

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

April 10 - Nashville Coaches Chat with Pitching Coach Chris Bosio April 11 - Nashville Coaches Chat with Hitting Coach Sandy Guerrero

Final: New Orleans (Marlins) 6, Nashville 2 Nashville Site Game Summary for Chase Wright Photo, text follows -- NASHVILLE- The Nashville Sounds lost to the New Orleans Zephyrs by a score of 6-2 on Saturday night in front of 3,333 fans at Greer Stadium. Manny Mayorson led the way for the Zephyrs, going 4-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored. Gaby Sanchez added three hits and two RBIs to the cause. New Orleans took a 1-0 lead when Chris Coghlan scored in the third inning on a RBI single by Sanchez. Mat Gamel continued his great start to the season by going 2-for-4 with an RBI double, which tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth. AUDIO: Mat Gamel RBI Double The Sounds took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning after Tony Gwynn knocked home Carlos Corporan on a single. New Orleans grabbed a 4-2 lead in the seventh inning on two costly errors by the Sounds, which led to three unearned runs in the frame. Chris Narveson (0-1) commited one of the errors and took the loss for the Sounds. New Orleans starter Burke Badenhop pitched 5.0 innings, striking out six while giving up only one run. Willie Collazo (1-0) got the win after pitching 1/3 of an inning. Brian Sanches pitched a scoreless ninth to end the game. Sounds starter Chase Wright surrendered one run over four innings while striking out four batters in the process in his Brewers organization debut. The final game of the series will take place at 2:00 PM on Sunday at Greer Stadium. Making his organizational debut for the Brewers, right-hander Nick Green will take the hill to face right-hander Dallas Trahern of the Zephyrs. Nashville Box Score Alcides Escobar two errors, one throwing, one fielding; Mat Gamel with a 1.744 OPS after three games -- yeah, that's sick... Nashville Game Log

Final: Mobile (Diamondbacks) 8, Huntsville 6 Huntsville Site Game Summary: ENRIGHT IMPRESSIVE IN DOUBLE-A DEBUT Evan Frey's sacrifice squeeze bunt pushed across the game-winning run in the ninth inning in Mobile's 8-6 win over Huntsville Saturday night in the middle game of the season opening five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The BayBears have taken two of the three games, with all three decided by either a run or two. Pedro Ciriaco led off the decisive frame against Robert Hinton with a double and moved to third base on a wild pitch before Chris Rahl struck out. Frey then bunted the next pitch up the first base line, as Ciriaco broke for the plate, leaving Hinton to field it and only one play at first base to record the second out. James Skelton then drew a two-out walk, moved to second base on a balk and scored on a pinch-hit single by Bryan Byrne, who delivered his third two-out, run-scoring hit of the series. Daniel Stange set down the Stars in the bottom of the inning to record his first double-A save. Gerardo Parra's two-run home run in the third broke up a scoreless game and the BayBears tacked on three more in the fourth to build a five-run advantage. Starting pitcher Barry Enright, who had singled in his first professional at-bat, doubled in a run and scored, with Yunesky Sanchez, on Frye's two-out, two-run single that knocked Stars' starter Mark Holliman out of the game. He was charged with five runs on seven hits, while walking three and striking out three in his Huntsville debut. Enright went five frames in his first double-A turn, allowing a lone run on four hits, while fanning three. Vince Bongiovanni took over in the sixth inning and gave up a run-scoring ground out to Chris Errecart and a two-out, two-run single by Jonathan Lucroy that pulled the home team to within 6-5. Mobile tacked on run in the seventh on a fielder's choice grounder by Gerardo Parra, who wound up leaving the game after getting injured on a stolen base try. Donovan Hand followed Holliman and was charged with one run on two hits over 3 1/3 frames in his second relief outing of the year. Yohannis Perez reached on a fielding error to begin the seventh inning and scored on an Adam Stern groundout to cut the lead back to one before Shane Justis belted a home run off Kyler Newby to get the game tied. The Mobile right-hander retired the next four hitters he encountered to earn his first win at the double-A level. The series continues Sunday afternoon with southpaw Bobby Bramhall making his double-A debut for Huntsville against BayBears' right-hander Bryan Augenstein. Coverage of the game begins at 12:45 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com . *** Link while active, text follows: Schlereth making name as reliever By PAUL GATTIS Huntsville Times Sports Staff, paul.gattis@htimes.com Maybe two or three years down the road, you can look back at the history made at Joe Davis Stadium last Thursday. That's when Daniel Schlereth recorded his first professional save, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are expecting many more. Schlereth, the closer for the Mobile BayBears, survived a dramatic ninth-inning rally by the Stars to preserve the 5-4 win on Opening Night. But it's a lot easier to survive when you're a lefthander with a mid-90s fastball. "I don't think I have guys fooled up there," he said. "You know what I have." Schlereth could be on the fast track to the majors. Though Schlereth is just in his first full season as a pro, he'll turn 23 next month and developed in four years at the University of Arizona. The Diamondbacks made him their first-round draft pick last June and signed him for a reported $1.33 million. Baseball America rated him the Diamondbacks' third-best prospect. "Obviously, I expect a lot out of myself and people can say there's a lot of pressure on me to move up fast," he said. "But I don't feel that pressure. I'm coming out here with my buddies and playing a kids' game. "I don't look at it as pressure. I'm just doing my job, which is the back end of the game, working hard every day, trying to get better and help the team win." Aside from his potential as a baseball player, you've likely heard the Schlereth name. His father, Mark, played in the NFL for 12 years and was a part of three Super Bowl champions. He's now an NFL commentator on ESPN. "There hasn't been too many father-son combinations with dad playing football and son chooses the opposite," he said. I know it's a rare situation." What's also rare is a fastball that hit 99 mph a couple of times last year at Arizona. There's also an unmistakable aggressiveness from Schlereth. "There's no secrets," Schlereth said. "I'm going to come at you as hard as I can." BayBears 8, Stars 6 The Stars overcame a 5-1 deficit, but Mobile scored the go-ahead run on Evan Frey's squeeze bunt in the ninth. Player watch: With a two-run single, Stars catcher Jonathan Lucroy has knocked in a run in all three games. ... Huntsville's Shane Justis homered, tripled and scored three runs. ... Stars starter Mark Holliman struggled, allowing five runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. Huntsville Box Score Donovan Hand another of the Brewers' groundball out guys -- nothing wrong with that... Huntsville Game Log

Link while active, text follows -- D-Cubs score 3 runs on 2-out bunt in win By BUDDY SHACKLETTE Daytona News-Journal Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH -- Daytona and Brevard County split their first two meetings of the season, so it was only appropriate the tiebreaker came down to a pitching duel Saturday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Daytona right-hander Dan McDaniel threw six innings of one-hit ball and Brevard's Evan Anundsen allowed just one run and six hits in six innings, but it was Daytona which came away with a 4-0 victory. "I just went with my sinker a lot of the times," McDaniel said. "My catcher, (Mark) Reed, was telling me that my sinker was working real well and sometimes I would shake (it off) and he would keep putting it down and going with it all night, and it got a lot of groundball outs." McDaniel struck out three and walked just one before the bullpen took over while Anundsen struck out three and also walked only one before being relived by Roque Mercedes in the seventh. Three relievers followed McDaniel, but he would get all the help he would need in the bottom of the eighth inning thanks to the oddest play of the night. With two outs and runners on first and third with Daytona (2-1) clinging to a 1-0 lead, Nathan Samson laid down a successful bunt, but a pair of throwing errors by the Manatees (1-2) allowed everyone to round the bases and give the hosts a 4-0 cushion. "You saw one of the most bizarre plays you're ever going to see to bust the game open," Daytona Manager Buddy Bailey said. "People are going to remember that play for a long time. It's not too often that you're going to see three runs score on a bunt with two outs." McDaniel spent all of last season in the bullpen at Mesa and Boise, but made the most of his first minor league start. A week shy of his 21st birthday, the 14th-round selection had good command and kept the Manatees' bats off balance. "That's my first start ever in pro ball," McDaniel said. "My whole life I've always started so now I feel that I'm back to do what I always wanted to do." The win gave Daytona its first win streak of the season at two games. McDaniel carried a no-hitter through three innings until Brevard's Cole Gillespie broke it up in the fourth with his two-out triple to right field. McDaniel would then sit down the next seven Manatees in a row before giving way to reliever Steve Vento in the seventh inning. Vento retired the first two batters he faced before Caleb Gindl ricocheted a hit off Vento's foot and beat out the loose ball to first. News-Journal Photo by Sean McNeil Daytona's Russ Canzler (44) is tagged out by Brevard County's Brent Brewer on a double play as he slides into second Saturday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach. http://www.news-journalonline.com/downloads/Spt_cubs2041209.jpg

Final: Daytona (Cubs) 4, Brevard County 0 Darn -- not the Cubs... Daytona Site: DAYTONA BEACH - A night after explosive bats stole the show at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, it was the pitchers who dominated. Right hander Dan McDaniel (1-0) threw six scoreless innings of one-hit baseball to give the Daytona Cubs (2-1, 2-1) a 1-0 victory over the Brevard County Manatees (1-2, 1-2). The contest followed the path of a pitcher's duel for most of the evening, as Daytona took a one-run lead in the bottom of the second, an advantage that held steady for six more innings. Third baseman Jovan Rosa led off the inning with a bloop single to right off Brevard County starter Evan Anundsen (0-1), which was followed by another single off the bat of left fielder Marwin Gonzalez. With runners on first and second, Russ Canzler hit a line drive of his own to right and drove in Rosa. Rosa would leave the game after scoring with an apparent leg injury sustained while rounding third. The final runs occurred on a bizarre play in the bottom of the eighth. With runners at the corners and two out, second baseman Nathan Samson dropped a bunt down the first base line. Samson would beat the throw from Manatees pitcher Rafael Lluberes. The throw sailed into right field, which allowed both runners, Mark Reed and Starlin Castro, to score easily. As Samson continued on to second, the throw from right field was off the mark and wound up in foul territory beyond left field. A final throw to try and get Samson at home plate ricocheted off Samson's back and he scored safely on what began as a bunt for a single and an RBI. However, the star of the night remained McDaniel, who used combinations of fastballs and off-speed pitches to keep the Manatee hitters guessing. The 20-year old recorded three strikeouts while issuing a walk in the winning performance. Cubs relievers Steve Vento, Dustin Sasser, and Jake Muyco would put the finishing touches on the night with a combined three innings of two-hit baseball. The Cubs and Manatees will take Sunday off before wrapping up the three-game home series on Monday night. Right handers Rafael Dolis and Mike Jones are expected to toe the rubber for their respective teams. First pitch is at 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). Brevard County Box Score As many errors (three) as base hits; fantastic work by Evan Anundsen -- same old Evan, only one walk in six innings, ten ground ball outs, inducing three GIDP's -- he is wonderfully predictable; Roque Mercedes struck out the side in a perfect inning -- they should focus him on short stints; have to get Eric Farris (0-for-11) and Brent Brewer (1-for-12) going... Brevard County Game Log Cole Gillespie tripled in the 4th, but it was with two outs, Caleb Gindl then flew out; that truly was the 'Tees only threat...

Link while active, text follows -- Timber Rattlers' debut with Brewers an early success By Brett Christopherson Post-Crescent staff writer GRAND CHUTE - Cutter Dykstra had a message to all the folks who made the pilgrimage to Fox Cities Stadium over the past three days. For the record, that would be 9,659, highlighted by a sellout crowd of 5,487 on Thursday, a stadium record for Opening Day. "Having fans cheering you on and trying to entertain them a little bit is always fun," the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers center fielder said in the aftermath of Saturday's 3-2 Midwest League win over Quad Cities. "Getting a W for them is what we're trying to do. The fan support was great. It was awesome." Rattlers manager Jeff Isom wouldn't go quite that far in describing how his team played to open the Midwest League season, but rest assured he won't be spending today's hiatus thinking up ideas on ways to jumpstart his club. "This will be pretty much our first day off, completely, where they have nothing going on in about a month," he said. "It's a well-needed day off." Saturday's victory capped a season-opening three-game sweep of the River Bandits, marking the first time Wisconsin completed a series sweep of more than two games since August of 2007. It also meant a promising debut for a franchise yearning for an on-field jolt from their new low-Class A affiliation with the Milwaukee Brewers following a dismal stretch in which it dropped at least 80 games in five of the last seven seasons - all associated with the Seattle Mariners. Granted, it's far too early to start talking playoffs. Then again… "To me, part of development is learning how to win," Isom said. "So anytime we take the field, we're trying to go out there and beat the team. There's a fine line between making sure our players get their reps that they need to get, their at-bats that they need to get. "But like I said, when we're out there, we're going to try to win every ballgame we possibly can." So far, the blueprint in accomplishing just that has been two-fold: steady defense and strong pitching. The Rattlers turned six double plays - including three on Saturday, one of which was a 5-4-3 inning-ender in the eighth - and committed only one error over the series sweep. By comparison, they were charged with seven errors in each of their past two season openers. The pitching staff, meanwhile, has allowed just three earned runs and 12 hits and entered the day the league leader in team strikeouts with 27. Three of the four pitchers who threw on Saturday combined on nine strikeouts, with six coming from starter Dan Merklinger, who exited after 4 2/3 innings. "In spring training we worked on a lot of base running," said Rattlers first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard, whose two-run homer in the first erased a 2-0 deficit. "They really preached that. And defense for sure. And now the bats are starting to come around, so that's good." Speaking of the bats, Wisconsin swung them well in Friday's 10-1 win, pounding out 14 hits and going seven-of-17 (.412 average) with runners in scoring position. Through the first three games, the Rattlers are hitting .255 with 15 runs scored. "We worked really hard all spring training," said Dykstra, part of a minor league system rated by Baseball America as the 10th best among Major League Baseball's 30 teams. "We've come out here and played like we did in spring training. We're going to keep playing like that, and we're going to keep growing every game." And, Kjeldgaard said, they're going to keep putting those Ws on the scoreboard, too. "It was very important for us, to go 3-0 in the first series," he said. "It just proves that we can win. It means a lot to us because we know how good we can be now." More details from the Rattlers' site: Rattlers beat Bandits to sweep season opening series By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers TIME WARNER CABLE FIELD - Brock Kjeldgaard and Erik Miller had the big hits for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, but it was the defense that sealed a 3-2 win over the Quad Cities River Bandits on Saturday afternoon. After Miller's RBI double gave Wisconsin a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Rattlers turned three double plays over the final four innings. The win gave Wisconsin a three-game sweep of the Bandits in the opening series of 2009 for each team. Both teams traded a pair of runs in the very first inning. River Bandit first baseman Osvaldo Morales doubled in the first run of the game. Charlie Cutler singled in Morales to make the score 2-0. Kjeldgaard brought the Rattlers back to even in the bottom of the first. He drilled an 0-2 pitch from Bandit starting pitcher Chuckie Fick over the wall in left field. The homer for Kjeldgaard, who hit 14 homers in 2008 for Helena in the Pioneer League, was his first as a Timber Rattler. Wisconsin (3-0) broke the 2-2 tie with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Juan Sanchez hit a fly ball to right center and River Bandit right fielder Ryde Rodriguez lost the ball in the sun. Sanchez hustled into second base for a double. Miller was next and he lined a double just inside the right field line to knock in Sanchez with the go ahead run. The River Bandits (0-3) could not take advantage of three walks over the next three innings. Rattler reliever Garrett Sherrill walked the leadoff batter in the sixth, but escaped damage with a 6-4-3 double play and a strikeout. In the seventh, Sherrill walked Niko Vasquez with one out, but a strike-'em out, throw-'em out double play was turned when Sherrill got Brian Buck looking at strike three and catcher Shawn Zarraga threw out Vasquez on an attempted steal. Brandon Ritchie entered the game for the Rattlers in the eighth and walked Aaron Luna to start the inning. Ritchie bounced back with a strikeouts and a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. Rattler closer Jim Henderson did not need a double play as he worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save. The sweep was Wisconsin first in a series longer than two games since a four-game sweep of Beloit from August 7-10, 2007 on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Wisconsin begins a three game series with the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Monday evening. Wily Peralta is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Rob Musgrave is set to start for Fort Wayne. Game time is 6:35 PM.

Timber Rattlers broadcaster Chris Mehring is going the extra mile to get archived audio highlights available -- thanks! Choppy, but appreciated. Post-Crescent Photo Gallery -- need more game shots, but particularly nice shots of Brock Kjeldgaard, Juan Sanchez, and Dan Merklinger I thought reliever Garrett Sherrill was taller... http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=U0&Dato=20090411&Kategori=APC0206&Lopenr=904110810&Ref=PH&Item=14&Maxw=600&Maxh=500

From the Post Crescent blog (link here for more on the game) -- Get the message?: Wisconsin second baseman Brett Lawrie was pulled from the game after grounding out to the pitcher in the third and finished up as the team's first base coach. Rattlers manager Jeff Isom's reason for making the move didn't need any further explanation. "I was just concerned," Isom said. "He ran a 5.6 down to first base, 5.6 seconds. I was worried about his legs being hurt or something. So we made a change." The 19-year-old Lawrie was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round (16th overall) of last June's draft and is rated by Baseball America as the third best prospect in the Brewers' minor league system. You had better run them all out, Brett. Great managing, Jeff Isom.

Final: Wisconsin 3, Quad Cities (Cardinals) 2 3-0, baby! Wisconsin Box Score Rattler pitchers walked eight but survived; we're not sure what 26-year-old recent minor league free agent signee Jim Henderson is doing in low-A, but he earns his second save; big Brock Kjeldgaard with a two-run home run; three double plays turned, one a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out, nice to see Shawn Zarraga behind the plate instead of another older recent signee, Sean McCraw, nothing personal, Sean... Wisconsin Game Log Juan Sanchez and Erik Miller had back-to-back doubles in the 5th to produce what became the winning run; John Delaney thrown out at home with no one out in the 6th, which squelched a possible big rally...

Is anybody able to pull up the Wisconsin audio this afternon?

Rattler Radio Blog: Today's Rattler Starter: April 11 April 11, 2009 Starting Lineup April 11, 2009 Game Notes

Midwest League Standings

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 1 1 .500 - 0-0 1-1 W1 Memphis 1 1 .500 - 1-1 0-0 L1 Nashville 1 1 .500 - 1-1 0-0 W1 Omaha 1 1 .500 - 0-0 1-1 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Tenn 1 0 1.000 - 0-0 1-0 W1 Carolina 1 1 .500 0.5 0-0 1-1 W1 Huntsville 1 1 .500 0.5 1-1 0-0 W1 Tennessee 1 1 .500 0.5 0-0 1-1 W1 Chattanooga 0 2 .000 1.5 0-0 0-2 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clearwater 2 0 1.000 - 1-0 1-0 W2 Brevard County 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 L1 Daytona 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 W1 Lakeland 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 L1 Tampa 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 W1 Dunedin 0 2 .000 2.0 0-1 0-1 L2

Post-Crescent's Wisconsin Game Summary

Link while active, text follows: Stars' Rottino stays focussed Third baseman back in Huntsville after three stints in majors By PAUL GATTIS Huntsville Times Sports Staff, paul.gattis@htimes.com The ego must have been surgically removed, replaced by a pound or 10 of determination. After four years since he was last a member of the Huntsville Stars, after three brief trips to the major leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers, Vinny Rottino is back. You don't know whether to offer condolences for the setback or be envious of the resiliency. "(Brewers infielder) Craig Counsell told me once, if you're a big league player, you'll be in the big leagues," Rottino said. "If you continually show you're a big league player, you'll be there." So even in career rewind, that's Rottino's objective. When the Brewers cut him during spring training, he was offered a spot at Triple-A Nashville but without the promise of playing time. Or he could go to Huntsville and play every day. "I said absolutely," Rottino said. "It's a no-brainer for me." And here he is, back with the Stars for the first time since 2005. But he's also an example of the cruelty of baseball. Since leaving the Stars, Rottino was a Pacific League all-star each year with Nashville. There was a 24-game hitting streak last year with the Sounds. There was the honor of being named Brewers Minor League Player of the Month in August 2006. There were the brief tastes of the majors each of the last three Septembers. There was the game-winning hit for the Brewers in the bottom of the 11th inning on Sept. 29, 2007. And somehow, after all that, Rottino's address is again Joe Davis Stadium. "I'm going to come out here every day and prove myself every day," Rottino said. "That's what you have to do in this game. You have to go out and try to get better in some aspect of the game. "You have to work hard and believe you still have an opportunity to get to the big leagues." If it happens, it won't surprise Stars manager Bob Miscik. "He is the real deal when it comes to this type of stuff," Miscik said. "It's no fake. You talk about somebody that wants to play and do almost anything, he's the real deal. "He works so dang hard, it's hard not to like him. His teammates are watching this guy and they're like, 'That's how you do it.'" If Rottino has a secret weapon, it's his glove. Or, better said, gloves. He started at third base in Thursday's opener and started at first base Friday night. Rottino also estimated, between his time in Nashville and in winter ball, he played 140 games as catcher. And Rottino has spent time in the outfield, too. But he's big to the big leagues and was in uniform last year when the Brewers made the playoffs even though he wasn't on the active roster. "It was incredible. The team going to the playoffs for the first time in 26 years and me growing up in that area (Racine, Wisc.), to be part of it, it was awesome," Rottino said. "It was easily one of the top moments of my baseball career." With more, Rottino hopes, to come.

David Weiser's starsboxscore.com: The Great Escape Bases full in 8th and 9th, but Sandy saves the day When I think of what Juan Sandoval did tonight, I think of that song by The Marvelettes -- "My baby must be a magician, cause he sure has the magic touch"...... Juan Sandoval was the great escape artist Harry Houdini tonight, escaping a no-out, bases loaded situation in the 8th. Then in the 9th with the bags loaded and one out, Evan Frey hit into a 5-2 double play, giving Sandoval his 21st career save as a Huntsville Star (passing Matt Childers) and the Stars their first memorable win of the season on a chilly 53° night. Hopefully, this is a good omen. Last year, the Stars blew 25 saves after totals of 18, 15, and 14 from 2005-2007. This is as far back as records go. Not even the defunct Sporting News Baseball Guide have records. And my records from STATS, which supplied the official numbers for the minor leagues, has them. The Stars collected just five hits, all of them singles, yet as they did in Game One, the Stars scored in the 1st inning, taking a 2-0 lead thanks to Vinny Rottino's RBI single and Jonathan Lucroy's RBI grounder....... Adam Stern led off the Stars' inning with a single to left on a 2-1 pitch from Hector Ambriz, then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Orlando Mercado. After Shane Justis walked to put runners on the corners, Rottino, behind 0-and-2, singled to right to score Stern. Justis took third on the throw and Vinny took second....... Lucroy, after a called strike, grounded out to short to bring in Justis. Chris Cody got out of a bases-loaded situation in the top of the 1st by getting Mark Hallberg to ground out, then the lefty, who had a dandy spring with 11 scoreless innings, retired the side in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings before Chris Rahl's one-out single in the 5th....... But Cody never got a chance to get the last out of that inning which would have earned him his first victory for the Stars..... Cody walked Evan Frey on five pitches and with two out, he was done....... I don't know what the early season pitch count is as dictated by manager Bob Micsik, but that was 17 for Cody that inning and 78 for the game. The winner, Mike McClendon, after retiring the side in the 6th, allowed the only run....... That came after he exited the game, throwing 15 pitches to the first two hitters. Then after Chris Rahl singled to left, lefty Casey Baron made his debut, facing righty hitter Cyle Hankerd. Hankerd reached first on an error by Rottino, loading the bases. Frey grounded out for the 2nd out, but that forced in Mercado, making it a one-run game for the second straight night. But hopefully the tone was set for the season...... Sandoval was put on the spot the 8th after Baron gave up singles to Gerardo Parra and Ricardo Sosa, and hit Bryan Byrne with a pitch...... With no one out, Mark Hallberg popped out to Justis at second on the first pitch he saw, Orlando Mercado then sent a sinking line drive to center field that Chuckie Caufield could not make a diving catch on. However, he alertly picked up the loose ball and threw to Justis, who threw to the plate to retire Gerardo Parra for the second out amidst confusion and indecision as to whether or not the ball was caught. Sandoval then blew a fastball by Chris Rahl to strike him out to end the threat. After the Stars were retired in order in the 8th, Sandoval induced Ricardo Sosa to bounce into a game-ending double play with the sacks full in the ninth, marking the 4th inning-ending twin-killing the Stars have turned in the series and the 2nd with the bases loaded. Saturday, Mark Holliman, who was the author of a no-hitter against the Stars and the losing pitcher in the playoff no-hitter Corey Thurman, David Johnson, and Luis Pena turned in in 2007, gets his first start in a Huntsville uniform. Opposing Holliman will be Barry Enright, the Diamondbacks' #11 minor league prospect......... Pena, by the way, is a part of West Tennessee's pitching staff this season. Mark Rogers, the Brewers' #1 pick in the 2004 draft, pitched three scoreless innings for Brevard County, two years and eight months after picking up a baseball and throwing it in a professional game. The Manatees lost to Daytona, however, 7-6...... Mat Gamel went 4-for-5 and drove in four runs to lead the Sounds over New Orleans, 10-6. Gamel, in just two games, is 6-for-9 with five runs scored and six RBIs.

Link while active, text follows: Cubs hold on in wild home opener Daytona loses 4-0 lead, wins in 8th By RANDY RORRER Daytona News-Journal Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH -- Fans attending the Daytona Cubs home opener at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Friday night got to see a little of everything. In the end they saw the Cubs hang on to win a nail-biter 7-6 to even their season record at 1-1. An overflow crowd of 5,113 -- a Daytona Cubs' opening-day record -- was treated to a pitcher's duel for the first half of the game, as Daytona shut down the Brevard County bats through the first five innings and the Cubs were shut out through four. That all changed in the fifth, when Daytona exploded for four runs off reliever Lucas Luetge and seemingly took control of the game. Luetge walked the bases loaded and Daytona got a two-run single by shortstop Starlin Castro and a two-run double by second baseman Nate Samson. The Manatees answered with five runs in the top of the sixth inning off Daytona reliever Ryan Searle. Searle induced leadoff hitter Brent Brewer to ground out to second, but Brewer's broken bat hit Searle in the leg. Nothing good happened for Searle after that incident. He got the following hitter to ground to short, but Castro mishandled it and Brevard County followed with four consecutive hits to chase Searle from the game and tie the score at 4. Manatees center fielder Logan Schafer then doubled off Craig Muschko to give Brevard County a 5-4 lead. Suddenly the pitcher's duel had turned into a slugfest. The game featured poor fielding and great plays in the field. Daytona committed three errors that led to two unearned runs. The Manatees' only error led to the game-winning run for the Cubs. "We need to catch the ball better," Daytona manager Buddy Bailey said. "That's two games and six errors. "But the play in left field was basically the ballgame." The play Bailey was referring to was a catch by Marwin Gonzalez in the seventh inning with two outs and two men on. "If he doesn't make that play, it's two runs and probably a triple," Bailey said. "We have a lot of young players, so we're going to make some mistakes, but we have a lot of talented young guys that will be playing in the big leagues someday." Daytona regained the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Tyler Colvin and Jovan Rosa led off with back-to-back doubles to tie it at 5, then Rosa scored on a one-out double by Marquez Smith to make it 6-5. Brevard County tied the game again in the top of the eighth when Zelous Wheeler led off with a single off Daytona's fifth pitcher, David Cales, and scored on Schafer's fourth hit of the night. The Cubs scored the deciding run in the bottom of the eighth. Colvin reached base to lead off the inning on an error by Manatees shortstop Brent Brewer and scored on Castro's second double of the game to make it 7-6. Cales (1-0) earned the win. "That was a good win," Bailey said. "We needed to win one after giving away a game (Thursday). The thing I like about this team is we have some gamers." The Cubs and Manatees play the second-game of their three-game series at Jackie Robinson Ballpark tonight.

Huntsville Site Game Summary: SANDOVAL PLAYS HOUDINI AS HUNTSVILLE ESCAPES WITH WIN Juan Sandoval worked out of bases loaded jams in the eighth and ninth innings to preserve Huntsville's 2-1 win over Mobile Friday night in the second of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The teams have split the first two games of the series, as both contests have been decided by one run with the losing team missing out on scoring chances in the ninth inning. Sandoval entered with the bases full and nobody out in the eighth and got Mark Hallberg to pop up the first pitch he saw for the first out. Orlando Mercado then sent a sinking line drive to center field that Chuckie Caufield could not make a diving catch on. However, he alertly picked up the loose ball and threw to second baseman Shane Justis, who threw to the plate to retire Gerardo Parra for the second out amidst confusion and indecision as to whether or not the ball was caught. Sandoval then blew a fastball by Chris Rahl to strike him out to end the threat. The Stars' closer induced Ricardo Sosa to bounce into a game-ending double play with the sacks full in the ninth, marking the fourth inning-ending twin-killing the Stars have turned in the series and the second with the bases loaded. Mobile also left the bases full in the first inning and stranded a dozen runners. Vinny Rottino's run-scoring single and Jonathan Lucroy's run-producing groundout in the first inning against Hector Ambriz provided just enough offense for the home side. Ambriz suffered the loss after yielding all five Huntsville hits, walking one and striking out six. Ambriz, Jason Urquidez and Scott Maine conspired to retire the last 12 Stars' batters, the second time in the series a dozen straight Huntsville hitters have been set down in succession. Chris Cody tossed 4 2/3 scoreless frames in his double-A debut, allowing three hits, walking one and fanning four. He retired the last 11 batters he faced before giving way to Mike McClendon, who earned the win in his first appearance at the double-A level. The right-hander was charged with Mobile's lone run, albeit an unearned one, in the seventh inning, over 1 2/3 innings worth of work during which he allowed one hit, issued one walk and recorded one strikeout. The series continues Saturday night with right-hander Mark Holliman taking the hill against BayBears' right-hander Barry Enright. Coverage of the game begins at 5:45 pm central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Lawrie and Frederickson have a night of firsts in Rattler win -- Wisconsin Site Game Summary