Jim Goulart

Final: Memphis (Cardinals) 10, Nashville 2 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Ozzie Chavez photo, text follows -- Redbirds Rout Sounds In Series Finale, 10-2 NASHVILLE - The Nashville Sounds dropped their third straight game to the first-place Memphis Redbirds, falling 10-2 on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium. Nashville (19-27) finished its homestand with a 4-4 record but fell five games behind the Redbirds in the standings after losing three of four in the series. Memphis shortstop Brian Barden led off the game with his third home run of the season, a solo shot to left off Sounds starter Chris Narveson, to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead. The visitors doubled the advantage in the second with an unearned run resulting from a Narveson throwing error. Former Sound Mark Johnson plated Nick Stavinoha with an RBI single. Nashville made it a 2-1 contest with an unearned run of its own in the bottom of the frame before Memphis blew the game open with a four-run third against Narveson. Three of the runs scored when Colby Rasmus' two-out single with runners on first and second netted three runs as Nashville centerfielder Laynce Nix misplayed the ball. Redbirds rightfielder Joe Mather made it a 7-1 ballgame in the fifth with a towering solo home run to left to lead off the frame. The blast, which came on a 2-2 Narveson offering, was the outfielder's team-leading tenth of the season. Nashville got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Brendan Katin was hit by a Blake Hawksworth pitch to open the frame, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on shortstop Ozzie Chavez's infield RBI single. Memphis added its final runs in the top of the eighth when Derrick Turnbow's struggles continued. The Sounds right-hander issued four consecutive two-out walks, the final two coming with the bases loaded, to force home a pair of runners. Turnbow threw only 12 of his 30 pitches for strikes in the outing. Luis Pena took over for Turnbow and was greeted by a D'Angelo Jimenez RBI single to right that plated Gabe Johnson, increasing the Redbirds' lead to 10-2. Hawksworth (2-5) picked up the victory after working a quality start. He allowed two runs (one ER) on four hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out four batters and walked two. Narveson (2-6) took the loss after giving up a season-high seven runs (four earned) on nine hits in his five frames. Nashville third baseman Adam Heether made his professional pitching debut when he moved to the mound for the ninth inning and worked a scoreless frame, retiring three of his four batters faced. The Sounds travel to Memphis on Friday morning to begin an eight-game road trip that also includes a stop in Albuquerque. Nashville has performed well at Auto Zone Park over the years, posting a 36-27 record at the Redbirds' home field. Right-hander Richie Gardner (3-1, 5.23) will start Friday's 7:05 p.m. series opener for the Sounds. Memphis will counter with right-hander Mitchell Boggs (4-1, 3.33). Baseball returns to Music City on Saturday, May 31, when the Sounds open an eight-game homestand by hosting the division-rival Iowa Cubs. Nashville Box Score Nashville Game Log

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Milwaukee Brewers GM Doug Melvin (Part 2 of 2)

Final: West Virginia 5, Lake County (Indians) 1 West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER FINISH STRONG IN 5-1 WIN The Lake County Captains held West Virginia to just three hits through the first six innings of Thursday's game at Classic Park, but the Power scored five runs on six hits in the final three innings to take the fourth game of the series 5-1. The Captains plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the first. Adam White reached on an eight-pitch walk to begin the inning. He stole second base and moved to third on Lucas Montero's groundout before he scored on Karexon Sanchez's groundout. West Virginia left four runners in scoring position through the first six innings before they cashed in during the seventh. Eric Fryer tied the game with a two-out single to right field that scored Zelous Wheeler. Brent Brewer, who was 0-19 on the road trip at that point, delivered a clutch two-out double down the right field line to score Fryer and give West Virginia the lead for good. In the eighth, Caleb Gindl's single scored Jonathan Lucroy before the Power pulled away with two in the ninth. Fryer hit a solo homer in the ninth, his second of the year, and Brewer scored the final run on Eric Farris's sacrifice fly. Chris Cody (1-0) was outstanding in his Power debut. He delivered a masterful five-inning relief performance, holding the Captains to just three hits and he struck out eight to get the victory. Jonathan Holt (0-4) gave up three runs on three hits over two innings and was tagged with the loss. R.J. Seidel held the Captains to a run on a hit and struck out four batters through four innings. He ended each of his four frames with a strikeout. The Power improved to 18-28 with the win and the Captains fell to 30-17 with the loss. West Virginia stole five bases in the game, tying their season high. Four Power players had multi-hit games. Lee Haydel, Gindl, Fryer and Brewer all hit safely twice. Seidel and Cody issued seven inning-ending strikeouts in the contest. The Power will finish their five game series against Lake County in Eastlake, Ohio Friday night. Right hander Amaury Rivas (3-1, 2.61) will get the start for the Power and the Captains will counter with left hander Ryan Miller (7-0, 1.02). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

As fans of West Virginia audio know, Andy Barch often takes listener email while on-air, particularly in the 4th and 5th inning "Fan Interaction Segment". In today's game, Andy takes an offline conversation I had recently had with him about the players' knowledge and interest in Brewerfan.net or other fan sites that follow the Power (there are others? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif), and discusses it during the game for a few minutes -- Andy's comments can be heard at the beginning of the bottom of the 4th inning -- Go to the WSWW audio archive of May 22nd, then go the 1 hour, 28 minute mark (01:28:00)...

Final: West Virginia 5, Lake County (Indians) 1 Official game report in a bit... West Virginia Box Score R.J. Seidel and Chris Cody combine on a four-hitter, striking out 12; no worries about Cody's elbow, that's a heck of a five-inning stint for the win; missed ofensive opportunities early were quickly forgotten after some clutch hitting in the final three innings; Lee Haydel, Caleb Gindl, Brent Brewer and Eric Fryer with with two hits apiece -- Fryer homered as yes, his time behind the plate seems as though it will be minimal, at least for now, with Jonathan Lucroy and Uly Snijders on the roster; Zelous Wheeler reached twice on a walk and an HBP; Power baserunners 5-for-5 in SB attempts, two apiece for Haydel and Lucroy... West Virginia Game Log

After fully researching and then informing you this offseason in this post about OF Curt Miaso, it turns out he will be one of the "phantom" farmhands who never plays in an official game for the organization, as he has been released. Baseball America indicates he was released as a RHP -- that's either a mis-print, or Miaso's conversion to the mound hadn't gone well.

Those notes are still Wednesday's. Thursday's have not been posted yet.

R.J. Seidel and Chris Cody are dealin' on the mound for the Power -- in fact, all six of Cody's outs have come via the strikeout in his season debut. C'mon bats -- Power trails, 1-0, after six innings.

Brady Clark (minor league, Mets) had his season (and possibly career) ended with knee microfracture surgery.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Memphis 24 23 .511 - 9-11 15-12 W2 Iowa 22 23 .489 1.0 13-9 9-14 L1 Omaha 20 24 .455 2.5 12-13 8-11 W1 Nashville 19 26 .422 4.0 11-11 8-15 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 30 16 .652 - 18-8 12-8 L3 West Tenn 29 17 .630 1.0 16-5 13-12 W1 Carolina 27 19 .587 3.0 12-9 15-10 W3 Chattanooga 24 22 .522 6.0 14-11 10-11 L1 Tennessee 16 31 .340 14.5 6-16 10-15 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 28 18 .609 - 17-8 11-10 L1 Brevard County 25 21 .543 3.0 16-10 9-11 W5 Daytona 23 23 .500 5.0 9-11 14-12 L2 Jupiter 22 24 .478 6.0 13-8 9-16 L2 Vero Beach 22 24 .478 6.0 14-7 8-17 W1 St. Lucie 9 37 .196 19.0 5-20 4-17 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake County 30 16 .652 - 14-10 16-6 W2 Greensboro 25 21 .543 5.0 10-12 15-9 L1 Delmarva 24 21 .533 5.5 16-11 8-10 L1 Hagerstown 23 22 .511 6.5 10-12 13-10 L1 Hickory 24 23 .511 6.5 8-13 16-10 L1 Lakewood 22 24 .478 8.0 13-13 9-11 W1 West Virginia 17 28 .378 12.5 7-13 10-15 L2 Lexington 14 31 .311 15.5 5-16 9-15 W1

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

Follow Thursday'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_22_mrbaaa_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_22_biraax_hunaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_22_breafa_dunafa_1 West Virginia: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_22_wvaafx_lcoafx_1

Thursday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chris Narveson at home vs. Memphis (Cardinals), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: LHP Derek Miller at home vs. Birmingham (White Sox), 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: RHP Alex Periard at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 6:00 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this series... West Virginia: RHP R.J. Seidel at Lake County (Indians), 9:50 AM pre-game, 10:05 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

Link while active, text follows: Late show ruined Huntsville's rally in 9th topped by Birmingham's game winner in 10th By BRAD SHEPARD For The Huntsville Times In the midst of their longest home-stand of the season's first half, the last place the Huntsville Stars expected to be was in a slump. But after dropping a 6-5 game in 10 innings against Southern League South leader Birmingham on Wednesday in front of 1,559 fans at Joe Davis Stadium, that's where the North-leading Stars are. They're now 1-5 since coming home and have four more games against their neighbor to the south. More importantly, the Stars' lead shrunk to one game with West Tenn's win over Chattanooga. "I think we're just sort of having a hard time scoring runs," first baseman Chris Errecart said. "We're getting the base hits, but we're just not scoring." After Birmingham struck for the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th, the Stars (30-16) got two-out singles by Errecart and Freddy Parejo in the bottom half, before Angel Salome grounded into a force play to end the game. Huntsville rallied from a 5-2 deficit with two runs in the eighth and a clutch two-out, two-strike single by Alcides Escobar in the ninth to tie the game. He drove in Michael Brantley, who ripped a two-out single to left and stole second. But in the 10th, Birmingham's Stefan Gartrell hit a double off Jason Shiell, and catcher Cole Armstrong sent a grounder between first and second that Mike Bell couldn't corral. The ball caromed into foul ground, and the error scored Gartrell. "That kind of stuff happens," said a visibly frustrated Bell. "I tried to smother it. The ground was real hard out there, and I knew it would take some sort of hop. It just bounced up and hit me. I just didn't get my glove there in time. "Got to make that play. Can't blame it on the field." The Stars blew a prime opportunity to tie or take the lead in the eighth. Trailing 5-2, Huntsville loaded the bases with nobody out off Fernando Hernandez before the reliever walked Mat Gamel to force in a run. After a pitching change brought Derek Rodriguez in, he hit Matt LaPorta in the arm to make it 5-4 with the bases still loaded and still nobody out. Then, things tumbled downhill. Cole Gillespie and Errecart struck out swinging back-to-back, and Parejo grounded out to end the threat. "That's the perfect example of how we've been playing the last six games," Errecart said. Huntsville starter Steve Hammond had his second game in a row in which he didn't feature his best stuff. He allowed four runs and nine hits in six innings Wednesday. He had two wild pitches and a throwing error on a pickoff that led to two runs, and he also allowed a long two-run homer by David Cook - the Barons' center fielder, not the American Idol winner. "The way things are going, and we still had a chance to win the game," Stars manager Don Money said. "One base hit in the eighth, and we probably win the game."

Huntsville Pre-Game Audio Interview with RHP Mike Jones Make sure you are on the WUMP archive of May 21st, then go to the 09:00 minute mark; interesting and well-spoken, definitely worth a listen...

Link while active, text follows: Sounds stumble on bases By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer A couple of base-running blunders might have played into the Sounds' 7-6 loss Wednesday to Memphis. In the opening inning, Callix Crabbe slid head-first into second base on Laynce Nix's sacrifice fly to right field, then got up and took a couple of steps toward third before being doubled off first base. "I didn't peek," Crabbe said. "I've got to do a better job of peeking in that situation. It could have been the difference (in the game), but that's baseball. "I know better than that as a base runner." The double play limited the Sounds to just one run, as the next two batters reached base before an inning-ending ground ball. In the sixth inning, Eric Munson was caught off third base when Hernan Iribarren attempted a two-out steal of second base. The ensuing rundown resulted in a caught-stealing for Munson - the first for the Sounds in their last 23 tries. "In that third-and-first situation, you're taking a chance," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "If they don't throw through (to second), you're going to look like that." Prior to Munson's out, Nix's steal in the fifth inning was Nashville's 22nd consecutive successful attempt and gave the team a Pacific Coast League-high 52 stolen bases. Heads up: Nashville third baseman Russell Branyan had a scary moment in the sixth inning. Memphis' Josh Phelps broke his bat while hitting a ground ball. Both the ball and the barrel of the bat went in Branyan's direction, but the veteran fielded the ball cleanly to start an inning-ending double play. The barrel, meanwhile, helicoptered past Branyan and stuck in the dirt, broken-end first. "I saw (the bat) when it broke, but I didn't see it at the end," Branyan said. "I knew it was close. I tried to duck, but I wanted to throw the ball." The incident was similar to a May 2005 incident when Sounds pitcher Rick Helling's forearm was impaled by a bat shard during a game. "He (Branyan) was aware of it coming, but he tried to make sure he made a good throw. That's a heck of a double play," Kremblas said. Carpool?: Following today's series finale, the Sounds and Redbirds will play four games in Memphis beginning Friday. It's one of two back-to-back home-and-home sets the Sounds are scheduled to play this season. After playing four games at Round Rock, Texas, on Aug. 16-19, Nashville and the Express will come to Greer Stadium for five games Aug. 20-24.

Link while active, text follows: Sounds can't control Redbirds in seventh By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer A four-run seventh inning was costly Wednesday for the Sounds, as they dropped a 7-6 decision to visiting Memphis for their second straight loss. The defeat marked their first back-to-back Greer Stadium losses since their season-opening homestand. Nashville rallied from a 2-0 first-inning deficit to take a 4-3 lead on Brad Nelson's sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, but couldn't avoid the damaging seventh. The Redbirds sent 10 batters to the plate against three Sounds pitchers and took advantage of three walks in the game-turning rally. "Other than that one inning, we were on top of things," Nelson said after a 2-for-3, two-RBI effort. "That big inning hurt." Trailing by three in the ninth, the Sounds put the winning run on base. Mel Stocker's pinch-hit leadoff double sparked the hopes, and base hits by Hernan Iribarren, Callix Crabbe and Nelson kept them alive. But Russell Branyan fouled out to third base and Vinny Rottino struck out to end the game. "Playing for (Nashville Manager) Frank Kremblas, we don't quit," said Crabbe, a 2007 member of the Sounds who recently rejoined the team after opening the season with San Diego. "He doesn't let us give away at-bats. That makes a difference in tight games. We still felt like we had a chance." Jeff Weaver, who pitched into the seventh, was charged with two of that inning's runs and took the loss. However, reliever Steve Bray allowed a pair of run-scoring base hits that contributed to the rally. "We had a chance to make plays and get out of the inning, and we didn't," Kremblas said. "That was the difference. Bray did a good job. He gave up a 'bleeder', and one off his glove, then they hit one up the middle and we had a play at the plate that I don't know what happened." Nashville, which hasn't lost a home series since losing back-to-back mid-April sets to both Iowa and Omaha, can prevent doing so again with a win in today's series finale. "Things have definitely been going uphill, but we feel like we have everything in place," Crabbe said. "We've got a lot of good guys in this clubhouse, guys that have been successful." What they said: "We had to come a long way back. We came back; we were just short. But everybody really did their job." - Nelson.

Another set of photos from the Tennessean from the Sounds game

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 6, Huntsville 5, ten innings Huntsville Site Game Summary: North Division Race Tightens Further Stars Fall in Extra Innings By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Stefan Gartrell scored the winning run on an error in the tenth inning to push Birmingham past Huntsville 6-5 Wednesday night in the opener of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Barons improved to 26-20 and increased their lead to five games over Jacksonville in the South, while the Stars dropped a season-high third straight game to fall to 30-16 and saw their lead over West Tenn in the North trimmed to a single game. Gartrell doubled with one out in the tenth and scored the decisive run when Mike Bell couldn't cleanly field a sharply hit ball by Cole Armstrong at second base. The ball caromed off him into foul territory allowing Gartrell to score easily and hand Jason Shiell his first loss since joining the Stars. Chris Errecart and Freddy Parejo singled with two outs in the bottom of the inning against Johnny Lujan, who got Angel Salome to bounce into a force out at second base to end the game and record his first save of the season. John Link, who had converted 11 of 12 save chances, opened the ninth on the hill for the Barons and retired the first two hitters before Michael Brantley singled, stole second base and scored on a base hit by Alcides Escobar that tied the game. Fernando Hernandez began the eighth inning on the mound for Birmingham and gave up two hits and a walk to load the bases before walking Mat Gamel on four pitches to force in a run that cut the Barons' lead to 5-3. Hernandez was removed from the game and replaced by Derek Rodriguez, who hit Matt LaPorta with his first pitch to score Brantley to make it 5-4. However, the right-hander bounced back to strike out Cole Gillespie and Errecart and ended the inning by getting Parejo to ground out to preserve the lead. Run-scoring hits by Victor Mercedes and Cole Armstrong staked Birmingham to a 2-0 lead after four and David Cook's two-run home run, his ninth of the year and eighth in May, extended the advantage to 4-0 in the fifth. Huntsville got back into the game in the home half of the fifth against Clayton Richard on a run-scoring ground out by Salome and a two-out RBI double by Bell, who had his ninth two-hit game in his last 19 starts. Stars' starter Steve Hammond went six innings, giving up four runs, the most he has yielded in any of his six home starts, on nine hits, while walking two and fanning three. Richard lasted a season-high seven frames, allowing two runs on four hits, while issuing one walk and matching a season-high with six strikeouts. The series continues Thursday night with southpaw Derek Miller taking the mound for the Stars against Barons' right-hander Kyle McCulloch . 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 Angel Salome gunned down three of four runners trying to steal -- nice!; Mike Bell is one heck of a # 9 hitter; Chris Errecart with three hits (including two doubles) in his first start in nine days (sore back); heart of the order Mat Gamel, Matt LaPorta and Cole Gillespie 0-for-12 with two walks, five K's, and one HBP (LaPorta, who gets plunked often); Michael Brantley nailed a runner at the plate from center field in the 4th... Huntsville Game Log

Final: Brevard County 5, Sarasota (Reds) 0 Brevard County Site Game Summary: Jeffress Shuts Down Reds By Tyler Stover / Brevard County Manatees (Viera, FL) Jeremy Jeffress was dominant in his second start of the season, striking out 10 hitters in just five innings of work, leading the Manatees to a 5-0 win to complete their four-game sweep of the Sarasota Reds. The game was never in doubt, as Taylor Green blasted a two-run homer in the first inning, giving the Manatees pitching staff all the support it would need on this night. The Manatees went on to string together four hits in the third inning to add three more runs to their lead. Jeffress (1-1) showed many signs of why he was chosen in the first round of the 2006 draft during this dazzling performance. He regularly hit the high-90s with his fastball, topping out at 99 mph, while displaying a nasty breaking ball as well. Bobby Bramhall and John Axford came in and continued the dominance with four hitless innings of relief. The Reds were held to just four hits total for the game. Jordan Smith (7-2) was hit hard by the Manatees, who tagged him for five runs in five innings to equal the highest total he has allowed this season. The Manatees (25-21) finished their homestand at 6-2, and have won five straight games for the second time this season. Alexandre Periard (3-3, 5.75) will look to keep things rolling as the Manatees hit the road, facing off against Kyle Ginley (3-0, 1.59) and the Dunedin Blue Jays. Brevard County Box ScoreStephen Chapman an RBI triple and a walk; Bobby Bramhall just one run allowed in five outings over 11.2 innings... Brevard County Game Log Jeremy Jeffress blew away the Sarasota Reds, fanning 10 in the 5-0 victory. (MiLB.com Photo by Dennis Greenblatt) http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2008/05/21/mAj3FVeq.jpg

Jeremy Jeffress through four innings -- no runs, four hits, no walks, eight K's (seven swinging). Manatees up, 5-0, after four, Taylor Green a two-run HR in the first. EDIT: Five innings, no runs, four hits, 1 BB, 10 K's, nine swinging http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

West Virginia Site Doubleheader Summary: REALINI'S HEROICS CATAPAULT CAPTAINS OVER POWER Dustin Realini delivered two big hits in Wednesday's doubleheader at Classic Park. He ripped a game-winning RBI single in the eighth inning of game one to give the Captains a 4-3 victory and did the same thing in the seventh inning of game two as the Captains beat the Power 3-2. The Captains plated the first run of game one on Lucas Montero's RBI single in the bottom of the third. West Virginia then scored three times with two outs in the top of the fourth to take the lead. With runners on first and third, Brent Brewer stole second base, and on the throw down to second Caleb Gindl scored to tie the game. Brewer scored on Curt Rindal's base hit and Scott Houin capped the three-run frame with an RBI double. Montero struck again with a solo homer in the fifth inning to cut the lead to one and the Captains tied the game in the sixth inning when Roman Pena scored on Realini's sacrifice fly. Realini was the hero in the bottom of the eighth as he singled into left field and brought Pena in again to win the game. Mark Thompson and Ramon Hernandez ripped back-to-back RBI singles with two outs in the second inning of game two to give the Captains an early lead. West Virginia plated two runs in the seventh inning to tie the game. Vinnie Pestano's balk allowed Brent Brewer to score before Uly Snijders ripped a single into center-field to score Houin. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the inning, Realini singled into left to score Montero. In game one Dallas Cawiezell (2-1) tossed a scoreless inning of relief and got the win while Jose Garcia (1-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing a run on two hits over an inning and a third. Vinnie Pestano (1-0) got the win in game two, even though he allowed a pair of inherited runs to score. Reed Dickert (0-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing a run on two hits through an inning and a third. The Power fell to 17-28 with the losses and the Captains improved to 30-16 with the wins. Eric Farris reached three times in game one, going 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and a walk. Scott Houin had West Virginia's only multi-hit game in the second contest, going 2-for-3. West Virginia had no extra base hits in game two. Steffan Wilson was ejected in the first inning of game one by home plate umpire Will Little for arguing balls and strikes and Little tossed Lake County pitching coach Ruben Niebla four innings later for the same reason. The Power will continue their five game series against Lake County in Eastlake, Ohio on Thursday morning. Right hander R.J. Seidel (1-3, 5.18) will get the start for the Power and the Captains will counter with right hander Chris Archer (1-6, 5.18). The first pitch is scheduled for 11:05 AM (10:05 Central). West Virginia Game Two Box Score West Virginia Game Two Game Log

After tying Game Two 2-2 in the top of the final (7th) inning, the Power had runners on 1st and 3rd with one out when a weak David Fonseca pop-up and a Uly Snijders pickoff on the fake-throw-to-third-turn-to-first play (ugh!) ended their chance and effectively the game, as the Captains scored the winning run off Reed Dickert in the bottom of the frame. 3-2 Lake County. Hardly household names mentioned above, but still a painfully frustrating dual loss for the Power today. Details later on...

Final: Memphis (Cardinals) 7, Nashville 6 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Russell Branyan photo (who else?), text follows -- High-Scoring Contest Ends in 7-6 Sounds Loss NASHVILLE - Despite plating six runs on 11 hits, the Nashville Sounds were unable to top the Memphis Redbirds in a 7-6 loss on Wednesday afternoon at Greer Stadium. Russell Branyan homered and Brad Nelson added two RBIs for the Sounds, but the Redbirds offense proved too much for Nashville. There was back-and-forth scoring the entire game, but a four-run rally in the top of the seventh gave the final advantage to Memphis. Redbirds starting pitcher J.P. Walters (2-0) turned in a quality start to earn his second win of the season, pitching six innings and giving up only three runs. Josh Phelps produced the first runs of the game when he hammered a two-run bomb off Sounds starter Jeff Weaver that sailed over the center field wall in the top of the first inning. It was his sixth home run of the year, with all of them coming off right-handed pitchers. Cody Haerther scored on the homer after reaching on an infield single earlier in the inning. Nashville responded in the bottom half of the inning when Hernan Iribarren doubled to right-center field and then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Callix Crabbe, who reached on an error by Redbirds starter P.J. Walters. Laynce Nix then collected an RBI when he hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Iribarren. With that RBI, Nix now has six in his last six games. Branyan gave the Sounds the lead in the bottom of the third inning when he belted his team-leading 12th home run of the year over the right field wall on the first pitch of the at-bat. The longball was a two-run shot that scored Brad Nelson from first base after he singled in the previous at-bat. With the dinger, Branyan increased his team-leading RBI total to 36. AUDIO: Russell Branyan Two-Run HR Not to be outdone by Branyan, Memphis right fielder Joe Mather cranked a solo home run off the guitar scoreboard in left field to tie the game up at three in the top of the fourth inning. The homer was Mather's ninth of the year and third in the last five games. The lead-swapping continued in the bottom of the fifth inning when Nashville plated its fourth run of the game. Crabbe led off with a walk and then moved to third when Memphis first baseman Phelps sailed a throw meant for second base into center field on a ground ball from Nix that could have been a double play. Nelson followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Crabbe from third for the unearned run. After a rare scoreless inning for both teams in the sixth, the Redbirds mounted a four-run rally in the top of the seventh inning. David Freese doubled on a line drive to left field to start things off and was followed by a Colby Rasmus walk. Nashville reliever Mitch Stetter then replaced Weaver and induced a ground ball from Bryan Anderson that forced Rasmus out at second. Steve Bray relieved Stetter after his only batter faced and had an inning he probably would like to forget. Pinch-hitter Nick Stavinoha singled off Bray to score Freese from third with the tying run, and Anderson scored to give the visitors a 5-4 advantage when Jarret Hoffpauir reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop Adam Heether. Heether made the stab up the middle but second baseman Iribarren could not handle his backhand toss, so all runners were safe on the play. Haerther followed with a single to left that scored Stavinoha from second, and the final run of the inning was scored after Bray gave up two straight walks to Mather and Phelps, with Hoffpauir scoring on the walk to Phelps. Weaver (1-2), who took the loss, was charged with one of the runs on the inning, bringing his line to five earned runs over 6 1/3 innings pitched with five strikeouts. Bray pitched two more scoreless innings to bring his total to two runs over 2 1/3 innings. Nashville made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth when pinch-hitter Mel Stocker started a rally with a double to center field for the Sounds against Redbirds reliever Jason Motte. Iribarren followed with an RBI single to score Stocker and moved to second after Crabbe hit another single in the next at-bat. Nelson added another single to score Iribarren and put two men on base for the red-hot Branyan, but he popped out to third for the second out. The Sounds were unable to capitalize on the opportunity when Ron Flores was brought in to relieve Motte and struck out Vinny Rottino on a 3-2 pitch to earn the save. For the game, Nashville left nine men on base and had their 22-game stolen base streak snapped when Eric Munson was caught at home on a double steal attempt. The Sounds will finish their eight-game homestand on Thursday night against the Redbirds at 7:00 p.m. at Greer Stadium. Southpaw Chris Narveson (2-5, 4.26) will start for Nashville against righty Blake Hawksworth (4-1, 6.90) for Memphis. Nashville Box Score Doug Melvin had to come away impressed with both Russell Branyan and Brad Nelson this week; Steve Bray's mystifying 2008 troubles continue... Nashville Game Log