Jim Goulart

Audio Alley: Huntsville Pre-Game Audio Interview with "Slugger" Michael Brantley: Go to the WUMP audio archive of May 30th, then go to the 05:30 minute mark... Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Frank Kremblas

Final: Vero Beach (Rays) 6, Brevard County 2 Brevard County Box Score John Axford strikes out nine in 4.2 innings, but has a rather uneven line otherwise -- Bobby Bramhall came on in relief of Axford with two men on and two outs, but promptly walked a man to load the bases and then surrendered a back-breaking grand slam; Manatee batters K eight times, which isn't a killer in and of itself, but don't draw a walk, either; Charlie Fermaint with the only multi-hit game, including a double; given the scarcity of Florida State League media coverage, the relative anonymity of this squad is significant -- every farm team pales in terms of interest to Huntsville right now, but the Manatees are particularly void of truly compelling stories at the moment, fair or not. Of course, we'll continue to monitor their every move as best we can and with a significant rooting interest... Brevard County Game Log

Final: West Virginia 5, Greensboro (Marlins) 4 West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER SINGLE THEIR WAY TO VICTORY The West Virginia Power had 12 hits at NewBridge Bank Park on Friday night, 11 of those were singles and they escaped with their second consecutive one-run victory, defeating the Greensboro Grasshoppers 5-4. Bryan Petersen gave Greensboro their only lead with a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning. West Virginia took advantage of two throwing errors with two outs to score three times in the third. With two on and two out, Steffan Wilson hit a groundball to shortstop Ozzie Martinez and Martinez made a wild throw to first base which allowed Eric Farris to score the tying run. Zelous Wheeler followed with an RBI single to right, scoring Jonathan Lucroy and on the play Martinez cut-off the throw from right field and tried to throw behind Wheeler at first base but he made another errant throw which plated Wilson. West Virginia scored twice on five hits in the fourth. Curt Rindal doubled to begin the inning, recording West Virginia's only extra-base hit of the game. Rindal scored on Lee Haydel's base-hit and Matt Cline's sacrifice fly plated Eric Fryer later in the inning. Amaury Rivas issued back-to-back one out walks in the sixth inning to load the bases before he was replaced by Corey Frerichs who fanned the next two batters to end the inning. Mike Stanton hit a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth to pull the Grasshoppers within one before Frerichs retired the next four batters to end the ballgame. Rivas (4-1) allowed just one run on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts over five and a third in a winning effort. Frerichs (2) earned the save after surrendering three runs on four hits over three and two-thirds while striking out seven batters. Stu Alexander (4-5) suffered the loss, giving up five runs on ten hits over three and two-thirds. The Power improved to 21-32 with the win and the Grasshoppers fell to 28-26 with the loss. The victory improved West Virginia's record to 5-9 in one-run games. West Virginia is now 18-7 all time at NewBridge Bank Park. Every Power player reached safely. Farris, Fryer and Lucroy all hit safely more than once. Farris paced the Power with a 3-for-5 performance. Lucroy extended his hitting streak to five games and has recorded four straight multi-hit games. The Power will continue the four game series against Greensboro Saturday night. Left hander Dan Merklinger (0-4, 5.50) will get the start for the Power and the Grasshoppers will counter with right hander Kyle Kaminska (2-1, 4.50). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM (6:00 Central). West Virginia Box Score Eric Farris with three singles -- he's been due to really heat up; Corey Frerichs has pitched three innings or more in each of his last four appearances, striking out 18 over 13.1 innings with just two walks in that stretch... West Virginia Game Log

Final: Huntsville 6, Mobile (Diamondbacks) 3 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Huntsville Heads to Chattanooga in Tie For Top Spot Gamel Goes Deep to Lift Stars to Big Win By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Mat Gamel blasted the game-winning home run in the seventh inning to push Huntsville past Mobile 6-3 Friday night in the last of a five-game set at Hank Aaron Stadium. The Stars took three of five to improve to 34-21 on the season and remain in a tie for first place in the North Division with victorious West Tenn, while the BayBears dropped to 22-33. Huntsville took seven of the 10 games in the series between the two teams and improved to 15-10 away from home. Cody Evans came on to get the final two outs in the sixth and opened the seventh on the hill for Mobile. Michael Brantley led off with a single and Gamel, with one out, crushed a 3-2 offering over the wall in right field to give the Stars a 5-3 lead. He has hit a long ball in each of the last three games to move into a tie for the league lead with 13, took over the league lead in runs batted in with 48 and remains the league's leading hitter with a .386 average. Evans, who won in relief on Wednesday, was saddled with the loss and fell to 1-3. Huntsville tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth on an Angel Salome sacrifice fly. Salome had his fourth three-hit game of the season and his fourth game with three runs batted in against the BayBears. Omar Aguilar retired the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth before Guillermo Reyes singled for his third hit of the game. Greg Thompson dropped a bunt in front of the mound that Aguilar fielded and threw wildly past first base, allowing Reyes to reach third and Thompson to move to second. However, the young right-hander retired pinch-hitter Cesar Nicolas on a ground ball to end the game and record his first double-A save. The Stars scored first for a fifth straight night when Gamel doubled with two outs in the first and came around on a double by Salome. The BayBears tied the game in the home second on a two-out single by Reyes off starter Donovan Hand that plated Frank Curreri. Salome's two-out, run-scoring hit in the third gave the Stars the lead back before Mobile rallied for a pair of unearned runs in the fourth. Alcides Escobar, the Stars' slick fielding shortstop, could not field an Orlando Mercado grounder with two outs and the home team took advantage, as Reyes and Thompson followed with RBI hits to make it 3-2 Mobile. All 12 runs the BayBears scored in the series came with two outs. The Stars tied the game in the top half of the sixth on a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Mike Bell. Mobile starter Matt Torra was lifted from the game after walking Cole Gillespie to load the bases with one out and was charged with three runs on six hits over 5 1/3 frames. He issued a season-high four free passes and fanned four. Hand was taken out after five innings, giving up three runs, one earned, on four hits, while striking out two. Robert Hinton threw three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, to earn his third win. The Stars begin a five-game series Saturday night with left-hander Steve Hammond taking the hill against Lookouts' right-hander Jordan Smith. Coverage of the game begins at 6:00 pm central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and www.730ump.com. Huntsville Box Score Donovan Hand with a better-than-solid start and Robert Hinton with three near-perfect innings; thanks for the comments above -- I can't really add to what you folks have deftly pointed out about this squad once again -- the reason I've led off with them here this morning... Huntsville Game Log

Audio -- Brewers Director of Player Development & Scouting of Tom Flanagan with Jim Powell -- This will be posted on the minor league forum as well -- draft talk (non-player specific, naturally) and a Mark Rogers update

DHonks, this article we had linked to earlier will help you out.

That will be it from me until very late Friday night into Saturday morning. Others may post in with news items and updates as they come across. Have a great day.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Omaha 26 25 .510 - 15-13 11-12 W3 Iowa 27 26 .509 - 18-11 9-15 W1 Memphis 28 27 .509 - 11-13 17-14 L1 Nashville 23 30 .434 4.0 11-12 12-18 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 33 21 .611 - 19-11 14-10 W1 West Tenn 33 21 .611 - 19-6 14-15 L2 Carolina 30 24 .556 3.0 14-11 16-13 L1 Chattanooga 27 27 .500 6.0 16-13 11-14 W2 Tennessee 21 33 .389 12.0 11-18 10-15 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 33 20 .623 - 19-8 14-12 W3 Brevard County 27 26 .509 6.0 17-11 10-15 L1 Vero Beach 27 26 .509 6.0 16-9 11-17 W4 Daytona 26 27 .491 7.0 11-14 15-13 W1 Jupiter 24 29 .453 9.0 15-11 9-18 L3 St. Lucie 11 42 .208 22.0 5-23 6-19 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake County 34 20 .630 - 15-13 19-7 L1 Delmarva 29 24 .547 4.5 18-11 11-13 W2 Lakewood 29 25 .537 5.0 15-13 14-12 W1 Greensboro 28 25 .528 5.5 13-14 15-11 L1 Hagerstown 27 26 .509 6.5 12-14 15-12 L3 Hickory 27 27 .500 7.0 11-16 16-11 L2 West Virginia 20 32 .385 13.0 7-17 13-15 W1 Lexington 15 37 .288 18.0 6-20 9-17 L4

Link while active, text follows: Ford, Green picked for FSL All-Star Game BY JIM CAWLEY FLORIDA TODAY Host Brevard County will be well represented in the 2008 Florida State League All-Star Game, sending outfielder Darren Ford, infielder Taylor Green and the entire coaching staff to the June 14th event at Space Coast Stadium. Pitchers Donovan Hand and Omar Aguilar also were picked to represent the Manatees, but will miss the game for a good reason -- both were recently promoted to the Double-A Huntsville Stars. First-year Brevard County Manager Mike Guerrero will lead the Eastern Division team. He will be joined by Manatees staff members Fred Dabney (pitching coach) Corey Hart (hitting coach) and Tommy Craig (trainer). A center fielder, Ford leads the FSL in stolen bases with 27. He is batting .236 with two homers and 16 RBIs. "There are a lot of people playing this game out there," Ford said. "It's just a blessing to be able to play in this all-star game." A third baseman, Green leads the team in batting (.302), RBIs (38) and slugging (.444). "It's a tremendous honor and I'm really excited for it to come," Green said. "It's nice to have your whole coaching staff there and be able to play at your home field." The Manatees were Eastern Division champs in 2007, losing to the Clearwater Threshers three games to one in the best-of-five championship series.

From the Mobile Press-Register: A LOT OF MOVEMENT: While Mobile has had only four transactions this season, Huntsville has had 18 since April 3. The latest came on Thursday, when infielder Ryan Crew was placed on the suspended list. *** We do not know the circumstances nor the length of the suspension for the 24-year-old utility player, hitting .197 in 61 AB's over 38 games -- we also do not know if another player will be added to the roster in the interim.

Link while active, text follows: Key hit eludes Grasshoppers By Brian Joura Special to the Greensboro News & Record GREENSBORO -- The Greensboro Grasshoppers had the tying run on base in the ninth inning and their hottest hitter at the plate. But closer Mike Ramlow struck out Matt Dominguez to give the West Virginia Power a 4-3 victory, snapping Greensboro's three-game winning streak Thursday night at NewBridge Bank Park. Dominguez, who went 3-for-3 in his last game, already had two hits and a walk when he came to the plate in the ninth. But Ramlow struck out last year's first-round draft pick. "The right guy was at the plate," Hoppers manager Edwin Rodriguez said of Dominguez. "Two outs and (Bryan) Petersen got a base hit against a tough left-hander. I was glad to see Dominguez at the plate. If the same thing happened again that's the same guy I want to see out there." Though Dominguez was unable to come through in the ninth, it was hardly the only scoring chance Greensboro had. The Hoppers stranded 10 baserunners, including three in the first when they loaded the bases with one out and were unable to score. Mike Stanton struck out looking and Tom Hickman bounced out to first, ending the threat. "I don't think we were aggressive enough," Rodriguez said. "With one out, bases loaded and we took a third strike looking. You have to put the ball in play. You have to be more aggressive. We didn't do that. We were flat the first five innings." Though Rodriguez bemoaned the lack of aggressiveness, the Hoppers failed to wait on starter R.J. Seidel in the following innings. After a 28-pitch first inning, Seidel needed just 19 pitches in the next two innings and completed six innings without overwhelming stuff. After falling behind 2-0, Greensboro rallied to tie in the fourth inning. A one-out walk to Hickman followed by back-to-back doubles by Tyler Belcher and Jameson Smith knotted the score. It was the first runs scored by the Hoppers for starting pitcher Jay Voss (0-3), who was making his third start of the year after being slowed by elbow problems. But he gave up the lead in the fifth, surrendering two more runs. Hunter Mense cut the deficit in half when he greeted reliever Nick Tyson with a leadoff home run in the seventh inning. But they could not complete the comeback against a team that came in with a four-game losing streak. West Virginia continued its mastery over Greensboro. The Hoppers went 5-12 versus the Power last year, and with Thursday's loss they dropped to 14-27 all-time versus their Northern Division rival.

Follow Friday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, choose "Log" or "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. Nashville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_30_nasaaa_albaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_30_hunaax_mobaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_30_vbdafa_breafa_1 West Virginia: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_30_wvaafx_gboafx_1

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

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF! All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Lindsay Gulin at Albuquerque (Marlins), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Donovan Hand at Mobile (Diamondbacks), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Audio link via WUMP (game will also archive at this link): http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559 Brevard County: TBD (perhaps RHP John Axford) at home vs. Vero Beach (Rays), 6:00 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this series... West Virginia: RHP Amaury Rivas at Greensboro (Marlins), 5:45 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime Audio link via WSWW, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

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

Final: Nashville 9, Albuquerque (Marlins) 4 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Laynce Nix photo, text follows -- Sounds Take Second Straight From 'Topes, 9-4 ALBUQUERQUE - The Nashville Sounds recorded their fourth win in the last six games on Thursday evening at Isotopes Park, defeating Albuquerque 9-4. Laynce Nix and Tony Gwynn led Nashville (23-30) with three hits apiece and combined to score five of the club's runs. Ex-Sound Chris Barnwell homered and drove in three of the four Albuquerque scores on the evening. Left-hander Sam Narron (3-0) earned his third win in three starts for the Sounds. The left-hander allowed four runs on 10 hits over seven innings of work. Nix (3-for-4) continued his recent hot hitting when he spotted the Sounds a 1-0 lead with a two-out solo homer to right in the top of the first inning. The blast, off Albuquerque starter Bobby Keppel, was the outfielder's seventh of the year. AUDIO: Laynce Nix Home Run Albuquerque jumped ahead 2-1 in the second inning. Isotopes center fielder Jai Miller evened the contest with a two-out longball of his own, a solo shot to center off Narron. The 'Topes proceeded to load the bags on singles by Andrew Beattie and Keppel followed by a Robert Andino walk before Barnwell (3-for-4) put the home team in the lead with an RBI single. Narron avoided further damage by inducing an inning-ending groundout from John Gall, leaving the bases full. The two-out scoring rallies continued in the top of the third as the Sounds re-took a 3-2 lead on Brad Nelson's two-out, two-run single to right. Nix (double) and Gwynn (single) scored on the knock. Nashville catcher Vinny Rottino followed with a double to extend his hitting streak to nine games, matching his season-best effort and the longest streak by a Sound all year. Nelson was thrown out at home on the play, however, to end the inning. The Sounds increased their lead to 6-2 in the fourth with a three-run frame highlighted by Narron helping his own cause with a two-run double. Albuquerque got a run back in the bottom half of the inning when Barnwell recorded his second RBI single of the night, plating Beattie to make the score 6-3. Nashville netted an unearned run in the sixth when Brendan Katin doubled and scored when Miller mishandled an Ozzie Chavez fly ball in center field. The Sounds plated two more in the seventh when Gwynn scored on a wild pitch and Rottino drove in Nix with a sacrifice fly, increasing the lead to 9-3. Barnwell's solid night at the plate continued in the bottom of the seventh when he slammed his fourth home run of the year, a one-out solo shot to left off Narron that closed out the evening's scoring. Keppel (6-4) was saddled with the loss after giving up seven runs (four earned) on nine hits in six frames. Jason Shiell and Luis Pena each worked a scoreless inning behind Narron to close out the Nashville victory. Sounds second baseman Callix Crabbe went 0-for-5 to snap his season-best hit streak at eight games. The teams wrap up the series with an 8:05 p.m. CT finale on Friday evening. Left-hander Lindsay Gulin (1-4, 3.05) will make the start for the Sounds to face Albuquerque right-hander Gaby Hernandez (2-3, 5.79). Nashville Box Score More ground ball outs from Sam Narron (see the pattern tonight?), who only struck out one, but only needed 90 pitches to get through seven innings; Brad Nelson walked twice in addition to his two-run single -- those were the only two walks the Sounds drew... Nashville Game Log

Nashville's Chuck Valenches' most recent blog entry, on the plethora of Sounds transactions

Official Brevard County Press Release: Ford, Green to Represent Manatees in FSL All-Star Game (Viera, FL) Centerfielder Darren Ford and third baseman Taylor Green have been selected to represent the hometown Brevard County Manatees in the 2008 Florida State League All-Star Game, which is being held at Space Coast Stadium. The game takes place June 14 at 7:30 PM (6:30 Central), and is preceded by the FSL Home Run Derby. Ford, 22, hails from Vineland, New Jersey. He currently leads the Florida State League with 27 stolen bases, a total that ranks him third among all minor league players. He is hitting just .236 on the season, but is getting on base at a .330 clip due to his ability to draw walks, with 26 this season. When on base, Ford has been one of the most dangerous players in baseball, threatening to swipe a bag at any time. He tied an FSL record for steals in one game earlier in the season, with five steals against Clearwater on May 5. Ford was selected in the 18th round of the 2004 draft, and is currently in his fourth season in the Brewers' organization. Green, 21, is a resident of Courtenay, British Columbia. He has continued the trend of great Manatees third basemen, following in the footsteps of reigning National League Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun of the 2006 Manatees and Mat Gamel of the 2007 Manatees. He leads the Manatees in several hitting categories, including batting average (.302), RBI (38), walks (27), slugging pct. (.440), and on-base pct. (.392). His RBI total is the third highest in the FSL. Green was selected in the 25th round of the 2005 draft, and is currently in his third season in the Brewers' organization. Brevard County pitchers Donovan Hand and Omar Aguilar were also selected as All-Stars, but will not be taking place in the game due to their recent promotion to the Huntsville Stars.

It's not so much for player movemnet, Al, but for the convenience of the several various roving instructors and other visitors from the front office -- I guarantee you the 70-mile distance between Huntsville and Nashville is often appreciated.

Huntsville Pre-Game Audio interview with Manager Don Money Interesting discussion about Mat Gamel's progress at third base, and a frank analysis of Chris Errecart's defensive play at first, something we have not really touched on here previously... Just click on the link for May 29th, the interview is literally right off the top -- I hope you've all created your free MiLB.com accounts to play these interview clips -- it's really the best way to get some of the most detailed insights about the kids. Plus, I don't want to be wasting my time here... At that same May 29th archive -- Angel Salome's Three-Run HR -- 51:00 minute mark Chris Errecart's leadoff HR in the 4th -- 01:04:00 hour/minute mark Mat Gamel with two nice defensive plays to end the 5th -- 01:29:00 hour/minute mark The sequence below -- 01:55:00 hour/minute mark - Michael Brantley homers (1) on a fly ball to right field. - Alcides Escobar singles on a line drive to center fielder Chris Rahl. - Mat Gamel homers ("crushed") (12) on a fly ball to right field. Alcides Escobar scores. Defensive gem by Alcides Escobar on a 1-6-3 play to kick off the 9th -- 02:39:00 hour/minute mark

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Long Balls Lead to Win and Top Spot in Division Stars Flex Muscle in Blanking of BayBears By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Brae Wright tossed eight shutout innings and was the beneficiary of four home runs, as Huntsville bounced back from a crushing loss to crush Mobile Thursday night in the fourth of a five-game set at Hank Aaron Stadium. The Stars improved to 33-21 on the season and moved into a tie for first place in the North Division after West Tenn fell at Mississippi, while the BayBears dropped to 22-32 and were shutout for a sixth time. Mike Bell was hit by a pitch to lead off the third inning, moved to third base on a one-out single by Michael Brantley and scored on an Alcides Escobar fly ball to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. Huntsville has scored first in all four games in the set. Mat Gamel followed with a single before Angel Salome unloaded on a 1-1 offering from Hector Ambriz for his fifth home run of the season and second of the series. Chris Errecart's leadoff long ball in the fourth increased the visitors' advantage to 5-0. With one out in the seventh, Michael Brantley belted Ambriz's first pitch over the wall and on to the roof of the clubhouse building for his first home run this season and just the third of his career to make it 6-0. Escobar singled and Gamel then delivered his second monstrous home run in as many nights, and his 12th of the season, to make it 8-0 and knock Ambriz out of the game. The right-hander suffered his league-high seventh loss after yielding eight runs on nine hits, while walking one and striking out five. Ambriz has allowed a league-high 13 round-trippers, with nine of them coming at home. Meanwhile, in the midst of the power surge, Wright allowed five hits, walked one and fanned five to win his second straight start to improve to 3-5. He recorded a dozen ground ball outs, did not allow a runner to advance past first base and did not face more than four batters in any frame. David Johnson tossed a shutout ninth inning, giving up a two-out single to Cesar Nicolas before Cyle Hankerd flied out to end the game, as the BayBears never pushed a runner to second base. The series finishes Friday night with right-hander Donovan Hand taking the hill for Huntsville against BayBears' right-hander Matt Torra. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 pm central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and www.730ump.com. Huntsville Box Score Make that 4-for-4 with a sacrifice fly for Alcides Escobar; Matt LaPorta with a stance adjustment but his slump continues; you really have to place this Brae Wright start in the top tier, maybe the very top, of all starting pitcher performances in the organization this season... Huntsville Game Log

Final: Daytona (Cubs) 9, Brevard County 3 Game Summary from the Daytona Site: [VIERA, FL] The Daytona Cubs couldn't get back to .500 for the season with a win in Space Coast Stadium, but they could even up the season series with the Brevard County Manatees with a win on Thursday night. The first inning was all the offense that was needed as the pitching and bats teamed up for a 9-3 rubber match victory. Daytona started the game off with an excellent chance to score: bases loaded with no outs. Tony Thomas singled, Jim Adduci walked and Ty Wright singled to bring up Blake Lalli. Though he flied out too shallow to bring in a run, Yusuf Carter drove one deep enough to centerfield to bring in a Cubs run. Though the sacrifice fly brought in a run, the Cubs were in position to score just one run after their superb start. That's when Jonathan Wyatt cracked his third long ball of the year, well over the rightfield fence to give Daytona a tone-setting 4-0 lead after half of an inning. Brevard County's Darren Ford apparently was not intimidated. He led off with a double down the leftfield line. During the next at bat, Ford attempted to steal third base before Cubs starter Marco Carrillo started his delivery. Carrillo's throw to third was errant, allowing Ford to score the Manatees' first run. Despite another double in the inning, Daytona led 4-1 after the first. After dominating the second and third innings, Manatees' starter Josh Butler loaded the bases again with no one out. Two batters later, Thomas continued his recent tear with a two-RBI single to give Daytona a five run lead. Adduci followed with a sacrifice fly to rightfield to open up a 7-1 lead in the fourth inning. Meanwhile, Carrillo was in cruise control after allowing the first man he faced to score. In the second, Carrillo retired the side and a leadoff single was stranded in the third. In the fourth the leadoff man singled again, but Carrillo focused in to strikeout the next three to end the inning. In the fifth, Rafael Lluberes relieved Butler and avoided the strike zone like the plague. After a quick popout, Lluberes walked three consecutive Cubs to load the bases. A strikeout of Mark Reed put pressure on Darwin Barney to not spoil the opportunity, but another Lluberes walk walked in a run. Though Thomas struckout to give the Cubs just one run in the inning, they extended their advantage to 8-1. In the bottom frame, Carrillo's armor began to crack. Charlie Fermaint reached on a costly infield error and moved to second on a walk to Brent Brewer. Carrillo set down the next two for what could have been the second and third outs, but were instead the first and second outs. Brevard County took advantage scoring two runs during Taylor Green's at bat. A wild pitch cut the lead to six, then Green drove in a run on a single to put the Manatees within five, 8-3. After the fifth, Jayson Ruhlman entered to throw two strong innings of relief for Daytona. He faced the minimum in each inning, allowing just one base runner and striking out three. Rocky Roquet finished the job in the final two innings by setting down the side in order in the eighth and face just three in the ninth. A late insurance run gave Daytona a 9-3 win. Brevard County Box Score Andy Bouchie now with ten passed balls -- don't remember this problem with him at West Virginia last season; I'm trying to be fair, but given that so much of the "next wave" is already at AA, it really is an accomplishment that this Manatee squad is still above .500, even if it's now just one game over -- now make me look foolish, guys, and run off ten in a row or something... Brevard County Game Log

Escobar with another incredible defensive web gem in the 9th we'll audio link to later on -- oh yeah, he has four hits as well. Mat Gamel's had a super defensive game, too, as we rely on Brett Pollock to paint the audio picture. Don Money discussed Gamel's "D" in the pre-game, audio forthcoming. Mr. Gamel and Mr. Escobar are giving Mr. LaPorta a run for # 1 on the P50, aren't they? Two days to find out just how much of a run they made... Final: Huntsville 8, Mobile (Diamondbacks) 0 BayBears did not advance a runner past first base -- Brae Wright a masterpiece! Four homers for the boys! Yeah, good game for the Stars tonight, huh? Details later...

Final: West Virginia 4, Greensboro (Marlins) 3 West Virginia Site Game Summary: SEIDEL STRONG THROUGH SIX IN POWER VICTORY R.J. Seidel delivered his longest outing of the season on Thursday night at NewBridge Bank Park, going six innings and held the Greensboro Grasshoppers to just a pair of runs to get his first victory since April 23rd as the Power took the first game of the series 4-3. The Power gained an early advantage in the top of the first inning when Steffan Wilson's sacrifice fly scored Matt Cline. Jonathan Lucroy belted his eighth homer of the season with two outs in the third to double the lead. Tyler Belcher and Jameson Smith ripped back-to-back RBI doubles in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2. West Virginia wasted no time in regaining the lead. In the fifth, Scott Houin tripled off the wall in right and scored on Eric Farris's single before Farris came home on Lucroy's base-hit, which was his third hit of the game. The Grasshoppers plated their final run in the seventh inning when Hunter Mence began the frame with his third homer of the season. The Grasshoppers had the tying run aboard in the ninth when Mike Ramlow struck out Matt Dominguez to seal the deal. Seidel (2-3) allowed just two runs on six hits and walked three in a winning effort. Ramlow (4) allowed just two hits in two scoreless innings to get the save and Jay Voss (0-3) allowed four runs on seven hits through five to get tagged with the loss. The Grasshoppers bullpen held the Power hitless through the final four innings. The Power improved to 20-32 with the win and the Grasshoppers fell to 28-25 with the loss. The victory snapped West Virginia's four-game losing skid and it ended Greensboro's three-game winning streak. West Virginia is now 17-7 all time at NewBridge Bank Park. Jonathan Lucroy went 3-for-3 and has now turned in three consecutive three-hit games. The Power will continue the four game series against Greensboro Friday night. Right hander Amaury Rivas (3-1, 2.53) will get the start for the Power and the Grasshoppers will counter with right hander Stuart Alexander (4-4, 4.99). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM (6:00 Central). West Virginia Box Score Perfect night for Jonathan Lucroy, just a triple shy of the cycle, added a walk and a stolen base, his 6th in seven attempts; R.J. Seidel with only one strikeout, but we have to know that the Power staff including pitching coach John Curtis must have been thrilled with his performance -- 12 ground ball outs, which will be a mini-theme tonight; Mike Ramlow with a 36-to-4 K-to-BB ratio in 36 innings -- Brevard soon, perhaps, but we thought that a few weeks ago... West Virginia Game Log

The blog BrewersNation has a nice interview with Voice of the Stars Brett Pollock