Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=55793 Barnwell comes through in clutch for Sounds By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent In a game in which seemingly neither team wanted to win, Chris Barnwell flared a single into shallow right field to score Ozzie Chavez and give the Nashville Sounds a 2-1 10-inning victory over Iowa at Greer Stadium on Sunday. Barnwell?s fortunate hit ended ten innings of futility for both teams. The Sounds went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, while the Cubs were 0-for-9. ?We had our chances. Their guys made some good pitches in those situations,? Sounds managers Frank Kremblas said of Iowa starter Ryan O?Malley and the Cubs relievers. Conversely, Sounds starter Tim Dillard made some good pitches for Nashville. Dillard is still searching for his first Triple A win, but he turned in his best start of the season on Sunday. Dillard went seven innings, surrendering just two hits and no runs. Barnwell?s clutch hit and Dillard?s stellar day on the mound led Nashville to its fifth win in a row. ?It was finally good to get everything to come together,? said Dillard, who added he wasn?t frustrated by the no decision. ?It doesn?t matter to me. As long as there?s a ?W? by Nashville, that?s fine with me. The other four starters throw well, they get the win. I?m thinking, ?I want to win too. I don?t want to be the guy that messes up.?? The win opens up a two-game lead in the PCL Northern Division over the Cubs (9-8). Iowa, which is loaded with starting pitching as well, figures to be the Sounds? top competition for the division crown. ?You look at their pitchers and their lineup, I?ve faced those guys before and I haven?t always done so well,? Dillard said. Nashville (11-6) broke a scoreless game in the sixth when Ryan Braun hit his Pacific Coast League-leading sixth homer of the year. Braun?s home run was a solo shot that rocketed out of the park past the left field foul pole. Dillard yielded to Mitch Stetter in the eighth and that?s when the Cubs got even. Mike Fontenot hit a solo home run off Stetter to tie the game at one apiece. It was Stetter?s second blown save of the season for the Sounds. The two teams meet again tonight at Greer at 6 p.m.

Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Chris Barnwell photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2276 Barnwell Single Gives Sounds 2-1 Win In 10th NASHVILLE ? Chris Barnwell delivered a two-out RBI flare single to right in the bottom of the tenth inning to plate Ozzie Chavez and give the Nashville Sounds a dramatic 2-1 victory over the division-rival Iowa Cubs on Sunday afternoon at Greer Stadium. The win, the fifth in a row for Nashville (11-6), gives the Sounds 10 victories in the club?s last 12 contests and extends the team?s lead to two games over the I-Cubs in the PCL American Conference Northern Division. It was the Sounds? second last at-bat victory and the club?s first extra-inning game of the season. The five-game winning streak matches the longest of the year for Nashville. Both teams struggled in scoring opportunities all afternoon, combining to go just 1-for-18 with men in scoring position; the lone hit was Barnwell?s game-winner. Nashville and Iowa combined to hit into five inning-ending double plays, all of which came with a runner on second or third. Nashville third baseman Ryan Braun broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth inning when he crushed a 1-0 pitch from Iowa starter Ryan O?Malley over the left field wall for a solo homer, his team-leading sixth roundtripper of the season. Braun, who has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games, has ripped 13 of his 18 hits on the year for extra bases. AUDIO: Ryan Braun's Home Run -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-22.mp3 Iowa shortstop Mike Fontenot tied the game at 1-1 with a two-out home run to right off Sounds reliever Mitch Stetter in the bottom of the eighth inning. It was the infielder?s second longball of the season and resulted in Stetter?s second blown save in two chances. Tim Dillard turned in an outstanding outing for the Sounds, allowing only two hits over seven scoreless frames, but was denied his first win of the year due to the blown save. The right-hander walked two batters and struck out three in his 94-pitch outing. Reliever Dennis Sarfate (1-0) was awarded the victory for Nashville following Barnwell?s heroics. The right-hander worked two scoreless frames but needed inning-ending double plays to escape both frames unscathed. Cubs reliever Ben Howard (0-1) took the loss after allowing the game-winning run in his two-thirds of an inning of work. Vinny Rottino (2-for-4) and Chavez (2-for-3) each recorded a multiple-hit effort for the Sounds for the second straight game. Jose Macias went 1-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to five games, his longest effort of the year. The teams continue the series with a 6 p.m. meeting on Monday evening. Right-hander Chris Oxspring (1-1, 2.35) will make the start for the Sounds and face veteran Iowa left-hander Les Walrond (2-0, 1.06).

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Reliever Mitch Stetter: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-22.mp3

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1119 Katin's Homer and Four Pitchers Carry Stars to Victory Brendan Katin?s two-out home run in the 11th inning proved to be the winning run in Huntsville?s tense 2-1 victory over Montgomery Sunday afternoon at Riverwalk Stadium. The Stars stopped a three-game slide and improved to 7-8 on the season, while the Biscuits fell to 9-8 and lost for just a second time in seven home games. The Biscuits bullpen trio of Richard De Los Santos (three perfect innings), Nick DeBarr and Brian Henderson had not allowed a hit since the fifth inning before Katin lofted his game-winner over the wall in left field for his second long ball of the season. The Stars are now 2-1 in extra inning games and won for a first time when scoring fewer than four runs. Joe Thatcher retired Chris Nowak on an infield pop up to end the tenth inning and gave up a bunt base hit to Shaun Cumberland to open the eleventh. Josh Arhart dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Cumberland to second base and Thatcher followed by fanning Jason Pridie for the second out of the inning. Marino Salas was called on to close out the game and that he did by retiring pinch-hitter Gabriel Martinez on a fly ball out to Katin in right field. Salas earned his second save in as many opportunities. Nowak?s two-out single in the first chased home Brooks Badeaux to give the Biscuits the early lead and mark the 10th time in 15 games the Stars have been scored on in the first frame. Katin tied the game in the fourth with a run-scoring double and advanced to third base with nobody out on a Lou Palmisano single but was doubled off the bag after shortstop Reid Brignac snared Steve Moss?s line drive. Manny Parra went seven strong innings, the longest outing by a Stars' starter this season, allowing a run on five singles while fanning seven. Mark DiFelice struck out Evan Longoria with runners at first and third and one out in the eighth and retired Nowak on a ground out to end the threat and keep the game tied. He struck out Josh Asanovich with Pridie at second base to end the ninth inning and gave way to Thatcher, who went 1 2/3 scoreless innings to record his first win. The series in Montgomery continues Monday night with southpaw Adam Pettyjohn taking the hill against Biscuits? left-hander James Houser, Jr. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 AM WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Notes from David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com/ Chris Nowak, a .172 hitter, delivered a game-winning, two-out, two-run single off Luis Villareal in the 6th inning after the Stars took a 6-5 lead Saturday night, handing the Stars their 5th loss in seven games........ How frustrating for stand-in manager Sandy Guerrero to bring in someone from the bullpen, the Stars strongest point in this early stage of the season, and see Villareal, who came in with a 1.50 ERA, load the bases, then with two out, give up the tying and winning runs. But the real problem, as I've mentioned before, is this alarming tendency to get off to a bad 1st inning start. This is the 4th straight game in which the Stars have given up at least one run in the 1st....... The Stars are now 2-7 in games in these kind of games, and it made all the difference in Saturday's game....... The Stars have now given up 24 first-inning runs this season while starters have been socked for a .435 average........ As bad as last year's 1st half was, they didn't give up that many runs until May 17th, and opponents were hitting .309 against the Stars in the 1st inning after the first month.. Sam Narron, for the 3rd straight start, gave up a home run in the 1st inning, a line-drive shot to left by Evan Longoria, scoring Reid Brignac......... He and Longoria delivered back-to-back 2-out, RBI singles in the 4th to push the Biscuit?s lead to 5-1........ The Stars then bounced back in the top of the 6th with their biggest inning of the year. Singles by Hernan Iribarren, Mike Carlin, and Brendan Katin loaded the bases....... With nobody out, Steve Sollmann, 7-for-14 in the series against Jacksonville, dropped a base hit into right to score Iribarren and keep the bases full. Steve Moss then smacked a two-run double off the third base bag and down the left field line and made it a 5-4 game......... Moss has now hit safely in six of his last seven games, going 9-for-30 with four doubles and a triple....... After Jeff Eure struck out swinging for the first out, a pickoff throw on an 0-2 pitch to Max St. Pierre sailed past 2nd baseman Josh Asanovich, tying the game...... St. Pierre, who had seen a total of only four pitches in his two previous at-bats, then slapped a 1-2 pitch past Reid Brignac, scoring Moss to give the Stars a 6-5 lead. Huntsville's rotation for the year is now 4-5 with a 5.71 ERA..... After 14 games last year, the Stars were 8-6. Our starters had an of 3.66 and they had given up just nine first-inning runs.

West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER EXTEND STREAK WITH SIX RUN SIXTH Trailing the Hickory Crawdads 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning of Sunday afternoon?s game at Appalachian Power Park, the West Virginia Power scored six runs on six hits to take the lead and defeated the Crawdads 8-5 to win their ninth game in a row. Jamie Romack?s two-out single in the top of the first inning gave Hickory their first lead of the game. In the bottom of the first, Brent Brewer doubled, stole third and then scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Hickory regained the lead on Romack?s RBI double in the third and added to their lead later in the inning on Jim Negrych?s run-scoring single. Kent Sakamoto ripped an RBI single in the fourth inning and Hickory plated their final run in the same frame when Wanell Macia crossed the plate as Alex Presley grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Hickory right hander Jared Hughes had retired 15 of the last 17 batters he faced, before the Power got to him in the bottom of the sixth. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Chuckie Caufield hit a groundball to Hickory shortstop Angel Gonzalez. Gonzalez booted the ball, allowing Taylor Green to score. The next batter, John Alonso, brought the Power within a run on a two-run double, and Michael Brantley followed Alonso with a two-run double of his own. Kenny Holmberg capped the six-run frame with a run-scoring double. The Power added their final run on Holmberg?s solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. It was Holmberg?s second of the year, and West Virginia?s first home run in ten days. In his first outing of the season, J.T. King (1-0) tossed three scoreless innings of two-hit ball out of the bullpen to get the win, E.J. Shanks (2) tossed a scoreless ninth inning to get the save and Jared Hughes (1-1) suffered the loss. The Power improved to 11-3 with the win and the Crawdads fell to 7-7 with the loss. Holmberg and Brewer both had three hits for the Power while Green chipped in with two. Holmberg, Alonso and Brantley all knocked in two runs a piece for the Power. The Power will continue the four game series against the Crawdads Monday morning. The Power will start left hander Brae Wright (1-0, 2.93) and the Crawdads will counter with right hander Mike Crotta (0-0, 4.00). The first pitch is scheduled for 10:35 AM (9:35 Central).

Today's Nashville Media Notes: GULIN ACTIVATED FROM D.L.: Left-hander Lindsay Gulin has been activated from the disabled list to fill the open roster spot created when Chris Spurling?s contract was purchased by Milwaukee following last night?s game. Gulin has spent the entire 2007 season on the Sounds? D.L. and will make his first Pacific Coast League appearance since 2003. The southpaw was an All-Star in the independent American Association last season and spent the 2004 & ?05 campaigns playing in Japan. In his last PCL stint, Gulin went 10-10 with a 4.85 ERA in 28 games (27 starts) for Las Vegas (AAA-Dodgers) in 2003 and threw a nine-inning no hitter on June 13. AQUINO TO JOIN SOUNDS: Right-handed reliever Greg Aquino will join the Sounds? bullpen sometime in the next three days after being optioned to Nashville by Milwaukee last night. The 29-year-old hurler posted a 5.87 ERA (5 ER / 7.2 IP) in eight relief appearances for the Brew Crew this season but had surrendered all five of his runs in his most recent two appearances. Upon Aquino?s arrival, the Sounds will have to make a move to add him to the active roster, which currently stands at the 24-man maximum.

Standings through Saturday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 10 6 .625 - 4-4 6-2 W4 Iowa 9 7 .563 1.0 6-2 3-5 L1 Memphis 7 10 .412 3.5 6-3 1-7 W1 Omaha 7 10 .412 3.5 5-3 2-7 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 8 6 .571 - 2-2 6-4 W2 Huntsville 6 8 .429 2.0 4-6 2-2 L3 Chattanooga 6 10 .375 3.0 4-6 2-4 L2 West Tenn 6 10 .375 3.0 2-4 4-6 L1 Carolina 5 11 .313 4.0 3-3 2-8 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 9 6 .600 - 5-5 4-1 W2 St. Lucie 8 7 .533 1.0 4-5 4-2 W2 Daytona 8 8 .500 1.5 5-3 3-5 L2 Brevard County 7 8 .467 2.0 2-4 5-4 L2 Vero Beach 7 8 .467 2.0 5-3 2-5 W4 Jupiter 7 9 .438 2.5 2-3 5-6 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 10 3 .769 - 8-3 2-0 W8 Greensboro 9 6 .600 2.0 7-2 2-4 W1 Hickory 7 6 .538 3.0 2-3 5-3 L2 Lexington 8 8 .500 3.5 6-5 2-3 L1 Delmarva 6 8 .429 4.5 1-2 5-6 W3 Lakewood 5 7 .417 4.5 2-5 3-2 L3 Lake County 6 9 .400 5.0 2-2 4-7 L1 Hagerstown 6 10 .375 5.5 2-5 4-5 W1

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 Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, choose "Log". 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: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_monaax_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

These links will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally they are updated an hour or two prior to gametime, with Nashville's usually earlier: Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf Huntsville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf

Sunday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Tim Dillard at home vs. Iowa(Cubs), 1:40 PM pre-game; 2:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: LHP Manny Parra at Montgomery (Devil Rays), 1:50 PM pre-game; 2:05 gametime Audio link: www.huntsvillestars.com/ Brevard County: Idle West Virginia: RHP Roque Mercedes at home vs. Hickory (Pirates), 12:55 PM pre-game, 1:05 gametime Audio link (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: www.wvgazette.com/section...2007042148 Power wins 8th straight in slugfest By Rick Ryan Charleston Gazette Assistant Sports Editor Power manager Mike Guerrero has nothing to be superstitious about. Because right now his team is playing, well, super. The Power stretched its winning streak to eight games Saturday night, racking up season highs in runs and hits during an 11-6 South Atlantic League victory over Hickory. A turnout of 4,693, another season high, enjoyed the mild weather and the hitting display at Appalachian Power Park. First baseman John Alonso led the 15-hit onslaught as West Virginia (10-3) maintained its two-game lead in the Northern Division. Alonso went 4-for-5 with a double and drove in three runs. ?We?re just playing great ball since the start of the season,?? said Guerrero, the team?s second-year skipper. ?The guys have come together pretty good and the chemistry on this team is pretty good. I see a different guy every night stepping it up a notch and having a great night. That?s what everything is all about. ?There is nothing to be superstitious of. I believe there is a God upstairs, and he?s blessed us with a really good start.?? About the only blip on the radar screen Saturday were the numbers of Power starter Mike Ramlow. The left-hander gave up seven hits and six runs ? all earned ? in four innings. That came on the heels of a three-game home sweep of Greensboro when the Power held the Grasshoppers to five total runs. But that was more than offset by the Power?s hitting barrage and the work of relievers Luis Ramirez and Omar Aguilar. Ramirez (1-0) picked up the win with four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four with one walk. Aguilar gave up a leadoff hit in the ninth, but fanned Angel Gonzalez, then induced James Boone into a double-play grounder to short to end the game. Another thing Guerrero liked was his team?s aggressive nature. The Power swiped five bases ? three by Darren Ford, two by Brent Brewer ? and responded every time the Crawdads (7-6) made a move. West Virginia put up a five-spot in the first, with Alonso and Martin Maldonado providing run-scoring hits. Hickory answered with three in the top of the second, but the Power matched that with three of its own in the third, including another RBI single by Maldonado. Hickory came up with three more in the fourth to shave the deficit to 8-6 ? Kent Sakamoto blasted a two-run homer ? but the Power again retaliated with a pair of runs in the fifth to maintain a cushion. Alonso laced a two-run line-drive single to center to bump the lead back to 10-6. ?That?s the way I manage,?? Guerrero said of his team?s aggressiveness. ?It?s not looking to make a statement. I?m looking to win ballgames.?? The Crawdads came into the opener of the four-game series riding an effective pitching staff. In winning two of three at Lexington, Hickory held the Legends to a .202 team batting average. But the Power?s bats proved to be hotter than Hickory?s arms, and the offense was enough to give West Virginia a rare comfortable win. Seven of the team?s 10 victories have come by a single run. ?I believe that every ballgame is different,?? Guerrero said. ?There?s ballgames that you have to execute a little more than others. Tonight we had a really good ballgame all around. They also had a couple good innings that they hit the ball well. We just had a better night than them.?? The series continues at 2:05 PM today (1:05 Central), with the Power throwing right-hander Roque Mercedes (0-1, 3.75 ERA) against Crawdads righty Jared Hughes (1-0, 1.69).

Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Sounds pitcher gets first RBI Dickey also has first hit in minors, helps beat Iowa By MIKE ORGAN, Tennessean Staff Writer R.A. Dickey's first career RBI helped the former Tennessee pitcher pick up his first win of the season Saturday night. Dickey's single to left field, his first hit in the minor leagues, scored Vinny Rottino in the second inning of the Sounds' 6-1 win. It marked the fourth time in Dickey's 11 seasons in professional baseball that he has batted. He was 1-for-3 for the Texas Rangers. His only previous hit was a single in 2003 off Claudio Vargas. A season-high Greer Stadium crowd of 9,786 saw the Sounds win their fourth consecutive game and ninth out of the last 11. "The hit was probably more eventful than the actual game,'' Dickey said. "Any time you can help yourself in a game like that it's good. You never know what the score is going to be. I was fortunate, I got a fastball on the first pitch and I just swung." As big as Dickey's hit was, his eight-inning performance on the mound was better. The former Montgomery Bell Academy standout retired nine of Iowa's first 10 batters and finished by allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts and one walk. The win was Dickey's first as a Sound after losing his first two starts. Iowa's pitchers struggled. The Sounds got 10 hits off of the Cubs' three pitchers. Starter Angel Guzman gave up five runs and six hits in three innings. Dickey's eight innings marked the most by a Sounds pitcher this season, eclipsing Tim Dillard's 6+ innings. Dickey retired the side in four innings. "I wanted to go more because I felt great,'' Dickey said. "I worked on some things between my last start and this start. I really think with Stan Kyles, our pitching coach, we might have figured some fun things out that might really help us in the future. I'm really looking forward to getting back out there because of the adjustments that we made." The win moved Nashville ahead of Iowa for first place in the American Conference Northern Division. Saturday's game was the first divisional game for both teams. What they said: "We're swinging the bats much better than we have been and we're scoring a lot more runs. The pitching is still holding us in there, doing a great job and giving us a chance.'' ? Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas. ***Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Brewers send Aquino to Sounds' bullpen By MIKE ORGAN, Tennessean Staff Writer Milwaukee pitcher Greg Aquino was optioned to Nashville after the Sounds game Saturday night against Iowa. In eight relief appearances this season for the Brewers, Aquino had no decisions, posted a 5.87 ERA and gave up five earned runs in 7 2/3 innings. Aquino has three days to report to Nashville. Also, the contract of Sounds reliever Chris Spurling was purchased by Milwaukee. Spurling was 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA in six relief appearances for the Sounds. Delayed start: The starting time for Saturday's game was moved to 7 p.m. because some of the Cubs' equipment was delayed on a flight. Half of the team's 50 equipment bags did not arrive in Nashville on a flight from Minneapolis until 5:35 p.m. Starting pitcher Angel Guzman's bag was among those that arrived late. Sounds' personnel picked up the equipment at the airport and arrived at Greer Stadium at 6 p.m., giving the Cubs an hour to get ready. First start: Saturday was the first start for Guzman for Iowa after being optioned by Chicago on Tuesday. Guzman appeared in four games for Chicago in relief and posted a 2.45 ERA. Guzman was pulled after the third inning after giving up five runs and six hits. Ryan rolling: Nashville's Ryan Braun picked up another extra base hit Saturday. The third baseman hit a double to right field in the first inning, meaning 12 of his first 16 hits this season were for extra bases (seven doubles and five home runs). Braun also has had a hit in nine consecutive games, the longest for any Sounds player this season. Braun added a single in the sixth. First homer: Andy Abad's third-inning homer over the right field wall was the first of the season for the first baseman. Auction: The Sounds players, managers and mascot Ozzie wore white Milwaukee Brewers uniforms for Saturday's game. The jerseys and pants were auctioned off to fans with proceeds going to the Nashville Sounds Foundation for charitable efforts. Braun's uniform got the top bid at $250.

MiLB.com: Cards top Manatees in 12 Ian Church singled and scored the winning run on an error in the bottom of the 12th inning as Palm Beach outlasted Brevard County, 3-2, on Saturday. Church was 0-for-4 before starting the 12th with a base hit to left field. He moved to second on Shane Robinson's sacrifice and Dan Nelson walked before center fielder Charlie Fermaint misplayed A.J. Van Slyke's fly ball. Nathan Southard smacked a two-run double in the seventh for the Cardinals (10-6). Scott Vander Weg (1-0) struck out three over two innings of hitless relief for the win. Palm Beach starter Tyler Norrick allowed a run on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts over six innings as his ERA climbed to 0.38. Josh Wahpepah (0-3) took the loss after yielding an unearned run on one hit and a walk while retiring two batters in the 12th. Brevard County starter Derek Miller gave up two runs on one hit and two walks with four strikeouts over 6 1/3 frames. Cole Gillespie drove in both runs for the Manatees (7-9). --Danny Wild/MLB.com

Brewerfan sends condolences to Stars manager Don Money and his family. Huntsville Times: Stars manager Don Money, whose father Robert died last Wednesday, will rejoin the team this week. His tentative plans were to return in time for the series opener in Birmingham on Thursday.

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Stars notebook Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times Covering the bases Scott Martens, business manager in the Milwaukee Brewers' player development office, was in Huntsville last week for an inspection tour of the Stars' new clubhouse. Martens was a key figure in getting the long-overdue project off the ground and helped in the design. It's a nice, roomy, first-class clubhouse with a lounge area adjacent to the dressing area and good office space for the staff. There are still finishing touches left to be done, and it was disheartening that the work was still being completed as the players arrived to begin the season. That was due not to workers' delays, but to inexplicable delays in beginning the bid process. Still, it's a mystery to some that the new clubhouse wasn't put on the first-base side. The cramped visitors clubhouse on that side could've been revamped and the Stars moved there, leaving visiting teams with the smaller room on the third-base side. Martens had more pressing construction worries on his visit to the South. He's also been in Nashville, where the Brewers' Triple-A team works in 30-year-old Greer Stadium. A new downtown stadium had been planned in Nashville, but failure by the developers to secure funding has led the city government to rescind its approval of the project. The city could soon be without a pro baseball team. ... Bucky Jacobsen, the popular former Star who had a brief stay with the Seattle Mariners a couple of years ago, began this year in Mexico but has asked for his release, hoping to hook on with a team in Japan or Korea. ... Even if the recent home stand against Jacksonville wasn't always stellar for the Stars, it was considerably better than Huntsville's 0-10 record against the Suns last year. ... What a moment in Wednesday's game: Grant Balfour, the reliever from Australia, facing Chin-Lung Hu, the Jacksonville shortstop from Taiwan, with Max St. Pierre, the catcher from Canada, behind the plate, with Luis Mata, the second baseman from Venezuela, on base. Only in America. Brewings Triple-A Nashville Sounds (9-6 before Saturday's play, first place in Pacific Coast League American Division): 1B Brad Nelson eight-game hitting streak, 3B Ryan Braun 5 HR, 11 RBIs in 15 games, .278 Single-A Brevard County Manatees (7-7, tied for third in Florida State East): Infielder Chris Errecart .411, 10 RBIs. Single-A West Virginia Power (9-3, first in South Atlantic League Northern Division): SS Jimmy Mojica .353, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs. On deck The Stars are in Montgomery today for the second of a five-game series, then travel to Birmingham for five more games beginning Thursday. Huntsville's next home game is May 2 against Chattanooga.

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1118 Stars Drop Second Straight One-Run Decision Chris Nowak?s two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning turned out to be the game-winning hit in Montgomery?s 7-6 win over Huntsville Saturday night in the opener of a five-game series in front of 7,298 at Riverwalk Stadium. The Biscuits improved to 9-7 on the season and 5-1 at home, while the Stars dropped to 6-8 in losing a third straight game for a first time this season. Huntsville slipped to two games behind Tennessee in the Southern League North. Chris Seddon held the Stars to one hit through five frames before Hernan Iribarren, Mike Carlin and Brendan Katin singled to load the bases to open the sixth. Steve Sollmann?s base hit to right field plated Iribarren to cut the Biscuits? lead to 5-2 and chased the left-hander from the game. Brett Wayne took over and promptly allowed a two-run double to Steve Moss that trimmed the lead to 5-4 and pushed Sollmann to third base. An errant pickoff attempt by Wayne at second base permitted Sollmann to score to tie the game and advanced Moss to third, from where he scored the go-ahead run on a Max St. Pierre single. Luis Villareal took over for starter Sam Narron in the home sixth and gave up a leadoff single to Josh Asanovich and a double to Fernando Perez before retiring Jason Pridie and Reid Brignac to maintain the lead. The Stars elected to walk Evan Longoria, who had already homered and knocked in three, to load the bases and the strategy was foiled when Nowak, a .171 hitter coming into the game, grounded a 1-1 pitch into left field for the decisive blow of the game. Longoria?s two-out, two-run line drive long ball in the first staked the defending league champions to the early lead and marked the third straight start in which Narron had surrendered a home run in the first frame. Brignac singled in a two-out run in the second inning and he and Longoria delivered back-to-back two-out, run-scoring singles in the fourth to push the Biscuit?s lead to 5-1. Moss?s RBI double in the second inning extended his hitting streak to seven games and got the visitors on the board. The Huntsville center fielder has a home run, three doubles and five runs batted in over the last two games. Sollmann, the league leader in on base percentage entering the game, singled twice, scored twice and was hit by a pitch. The series in Montgomery continues Sunday afternoon with left-hander Manny Parra making the start against Biscuits? right-hander Derek Feldcamp. Coverage of the game begins at 1:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 AM WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Houston Astros left fielder Carlos Lee puts his hand on the outfield wall with a video image of Milwaukee Brewers' J.J. Hardy after Hardy hit his second home run of the game during the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 21, 2007, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070422/capt.205372615a744148a3e4ad96aa79f5a9.astros_brewers_baseball_wimg106.jpg

colbyjack, in case you didn't know, the start of the Sounds game was one hour later than scheduled due to Iowa equipment arrival delays. Just what you want with a Saturday night crowd...go you concessions!

Final: Nashville 6, Iowa (Cubs) 1 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for R.A. Dickey photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2275 Dickey, Sounds Take Down I-Cubs, 6-1 NASHVILLE ? Nashville native R.A. Dickey turned in an outstanding start, allowing one run over eight innings, to lead the Sounds to a 6-1 victory over the division-rival Iowa Cubs in front of a season-high 9,786 fans on Saturday evening at Greer Stadium. The win was the fourth in a row and ninth in the last 11 contests for Nashville (10-6), which took a one-game lead over Iowa in the PCL American Conference Northern Division. Dickey (1-2), who had lost his first two outings of the year, allowed only four hits and struck out four batters in his 111-pitch outing. He also helped himself out at the plate, going 1-for-4 with his first career RBI in the contest. Vinny Rottino reached base in all four of his plate appearances, Andy Abad drove in three runs and belted his first home run of the year, and Ozzie Chavez continued his recent hot hitting with a 3-for-4 evening that included a double. Nashville grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Callix Crabbe led off with a single against Iowa starter Angel Guzman and moved to third on a Ryan Braun double, the third baseman?s twelfth extra-base hit among his 16 knocks this season. Abad followed with an RBI groundout that plated Crabbe with the game?s first run. The Sounds tacked on two runs in the second when Rottino scored on a Chris Barnwell groundout and Dickey plated Chavez with an RBI single to right, the hurler?s first minor-league hit and first career RBI. Abad upped the Nashville lead to 5-0 in the third with a mammoth two-run home run to right field off Guzman. The blast, his first of the season, also plated Braun, who had opened the frame with a walk. AUDIO: Andy Abad's Two-Run HR -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-21.mp3 The I-Cubs scratched across their lone run against Dickey in the fifth when catcher Koyie Hill led off with a double and later scored on a Buck Coats groundout. Nashville added its final tally in the seventh when Rottino was hit by a Randy Wells pitch and took advantage of a sluggish Iowa defense to hustle home from first when Chavez followed with a single to right. Guzman (0-1) took the loss for Iowa after allowing five runs on six hits in three innings during his first Triple-A appearance of the season. The teams continue the series with a 2 p.m. matinee meeting on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Tim Dillard (0-1, 4.32) will man the bump for the Sounds and face Iowa southpaw Ryan O?Malley (0-1, 1.15). SPURLING CALLED UP BY BREWERS; AQUINO OPTIONED TO SOUNDS: Nashville reliever Chris Spurling had his contract purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers following the game and will join the club tomorrow. The veteran hurler went 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA (2 ER / 9.2 IP) in six relief outings for the Sounds to open the season. Milwaukee optioned reliever Greg Aquino to Nashville and the right-hander will join the Sounds within three days. In eight relief appearances for the Brew Crew this season, Aquino posted a 5.87 ERA (5 ER / 7.2 IP). Nashville Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: Ryan Braun defense -- caught a foul pop up in his only chance; there was an infield hit to third base in the 9th... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Final: Montgomery (Devil Rays) 7, Huntsville 6 Painful loss after the Stars had rallied with a five-run 6th to take a 6-5 lead, but LHP Luis Villarreal gave it back in the bottom of the inning... Huntsville Box Score: Stars down 2-0 after the 1st inning -- this is getting really old already with Huntsville starters faltering early; Steve Moss with two doubles and three RBI -- he's been team MVP thus far; Steve Sollmann on base three more times... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_monaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: Stars go down meekly in the 9th, all on K's; Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria big parts of Tampa Bay's # 1 farm system; Stars' announcer Brett Pollock just noted on the post-game that all seven Biscuit runs scored with two outs... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_monaax_1

West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER OUTSLUG HICKORY The West Virginia Power set single game season highs with 11 runs and 15 hits on Saturday night at Appalachian Power Park as they defeated the Hickory Crawdads 11-6 to take the first game of the series and win their eighth game in a row. West Virginia jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first. John Alonso and Martin Maldonado both smacked RBI singles, Kenny Holmberg and Chuckie Caufield both brought in a run as they reached on Anderson Gonzalez?s errors at short and Anderson Delarosa knocked in a run on a groundout. Hickory answered quickly with a three-run second inning. Jared Keel smacked an RBI triple, Kent Sakomoto brought in a run on a groundout and Eddie Prasch hit a solo shot, his first of the year. West Virginia got all three runs back in the third inning. Delarosa walked with the bases loaded, Maldonado ripped his second RBI single of the game and Jimmy Mojica knocked in the third run on a sacrifice fly. Hickory continued to stay close as they countered West Virginia?s three-run inning with a three-run frame of their own. In the top of the fourth, Keel doubled in a run before Kent Sakomoto hit a two-run homer to bring the Crawdads within two. West Virginia scored the last three runs of the game on Alonso?s two-run single with two outs in the fifth inning and Maldonado?s third RBI single of the game in the eighth. Power lefty Luis Ramirez (1-0) provided four scoreless innings of two-hit ball in relief to earn his first victory of the season and Mike Felix (0-2) suffered the loss. Alonso and Maldonado paced the Power with four hits and three RBI a piece. Darren Ford, Holmberg and Steve Chapman all chipped in with two hits. The Power improved to 10-3 with the win and the Crawdads fell to 7-6 with the loss. The Power will continue the four game series against Hickory Sunday afternoon. The Power will start right hander Roque Mercedes (0-1, 33.75) and the Crawdads will counter with right hander Jared Hughes (1-0, 1.69). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 PM (1:05 Central).

Final: Palm Beach (Cardinals) 3, Brevard County 2, 12 innings Boy, this team has lost some tough games; CF Charlie Fermaint's error with two outs in the 12th allows the winning run to score... Brevard County Box Score: The Manatee 5-through-9 hitters went 0-for-20 with six K's and one walk; LHP Derek Miller was your Brevard starter (not Rafael Lluberes) -- Miller deserved much better, allowing only one hit in 6.1 IP, both runs he allowed came in after he left the game; Palm Beach lefty starter Tyler Norrick has been one of the best pitchers in all of minor league baseball this April... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_pbcafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_pbcafa_1

Final: West Virginia 11, Hickory (Pirates) 6 Eight in a row for the Power -- at some point we can't call this an overachieving bunch any more -- there's talent here... West Virginia Box Score: 1B John Alonso 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI; newcomer C Martin Maldonado on base five times, 4-for-4 with a double and a walk; Darren Ford on base four times, steals three bases; the afore-mentioned Luis Ramirez with four stellar innings in relief... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Sloppy Hickory defense sparked the Power to a 5-0 first inning lead... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1