Jim Goulart

In progress: Lake County (Indians) 3, West Virginia 2, bottom of the 6th in Charleston, regularly scheduled game scheduled for seven innings Once again, the West Virginia audio links are not listed at MiLB.com, so you'll have to settle for Captains audio here: radio.webstream.net/radio...lSign=WELW Actually, it sounds like RHP E.J. Shanks just saved a 4-3 Power victory! Details later on...

Final: Lake County (Indians) 6, West Virginia 4, completion of Saturday's game One horrendous inning burns the Power (a six-run 8th inning against RHP's Travis Wendte and D.J. Lidyard); Andrew Lefave 3-for-5 with four walks (2.178 OPS) after two games; 34 degrees at game time... West Virginia Game One Box Score: Young LHP Zach Braddock with three scoreless innings, but walked five; no game log for this one -- www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

In progress: Daytona (Cubs) 6, Brevard County 4, bottom of the 6th in Daytona The Brevard audio link doesn't seem to be functioning this evening -- Manatee fans can settle for the Daytona audio, which is: www.daytonacubs.com/

Final: Mississippi (Braves) 8, Huntsville 2 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1102 Braves Battle Through Elements to Beat Stars Dan Smith worked five solid innings and Mississippi used two four-run frames to pull away in Saturday afternoon?s 8-2 win over Huntsville in the third game of the season-opening five-game series at a frigid Joe Davis Stadium in front of 986 dedicated fans who withstood the below 40 degree temperatures and gusting winds. The Braves have won the last two games by outscoring the Stars 13-4 after falling in extra innings on Opening Day. J.C. Holt opened the game for a third straight day with a hit, a double to left, moved to third base on a Brent Lillibridge single and scored on a Brandon Jones double that pushed Lillibridge to third. Jarrod Saltalamacchia?s ground ball out plated Lillibridge and moved Jones to third before Matt Esquivel walked and Van Pope followed with a double to chase Jones home. Carl Loadenthal completed the rally against starter Mike Jones with a sacrifice fly. Brendan Katin?s sacrifice fly in the home half of the inning produced the Stars? first run of the day and the only one they have scored in 15 innings covering three starts dating back to last season against Smith. The Mississippi left-hander allowed two hits, did not walk a batter and fanned five to grab the win. He has yielded one earned run on four hits, with 18 strikeouts, in his three turns against Huntsville in which he has two wins and a no-decision. Jones settled down and retired 11 out of 12 after the Pope double before running into trouble in the fifth. Brandon Jones singled home Holt to push the lead to 5-1 and knock the Huntsville hurler out of the game. Luis Villareal walked Saltalamacchia to load the bases and Esquivel then cleared them with a double over the head of center fielder Steve Moss. The Stars bullpen trio of Villareal, Robert Hinton and Mark DiFelice then blanked the visitors the rest of the way. Huntsville?s bullpen has yielded only two runs in 14 2/3 frames in the first three games of the season. Jeff Bennett worked two scoreless innings behind Smith and Jeff Eure?s ground out in the ninth scored Katin with the Stars final run against Charlie Morton, the winning pitcher in Friday?s game. Huntsville stranded a runner at third base with less than two outs in the seventh and eighth innings. The series continues Sunday afternoon with left-hander Manny Parra taking the hill for Huntsville against Braves? southpaw Kelvin Villa. Coverage of the game begins at 1:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP AM and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score: Still just 22 years old, RHP Robert Hinton's an exciting prospect, but after making six starts late last year, he's back in a middle relief role, perhaps a way to ease him into AA... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

Mike Jones just two runs short of a Dave Bush first inning of the season, and like Bush, pitching well subsequently. LHP Zach Braddock is picking up the suspended game for the Power, not sure who will start the nightcap.

* sigh *

Is there a more underrated player in the entire organization than Callix Crabbe? He can steal bases, covers a lot of ground defensively, and he walks more than he strikes out. I honestly can't ever remember Callix Crabbe appearing in a game at any position but second base in 5+ years in the system. Like Hernan Iribarren, that seems to rule out "utility guy", or it may just be an acknowledgement by the Brewers that they haven't considered moving around Crabbe a bit to enhance his value.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports: msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6643552 As the industry-wide search for bullpen help continues, the Giants, Rockies, Devil Rays and Nationals have expressed interest in trading for Brewers Class AAA right-hander Jose Capellan, FOXSports.com has learned. Capellan, 26, requested a trade after getting demoted by the Brewers at the end of spring training. He is a strike thrower with a good delivery, and should bring the Brewers more than the $100,000 the Blue Jays obtained from the Phillies for right-hander Francisco Rosario. That is, if the Brewers make a move. The Brewers' bullpen is deeper than it was last season; right-handers Francisco Cordero, Carlos Villanueva, Greg Aquino and Elmer Dessens were not with the club at this point a year ago. However, the Brewers would rather keep Capellan than accept an inferior return. The Nationals might want to use Capellan to help their beleagured rotation; he has started in the past. The Rockies, Devil Rays and Giants are seeking to increase their bullpen options.

Standings through Friday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 1 1 .500 - 0-0 1-1 W1 Memphis 1 1 .500 - 1-1 0-0 W1 [b]Nashville 1 1 .500 - 1-1 0-0 W1[/b] Omaha 0 2 .000 1.0 0-0 0-2 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 1 1 .500 - 0-0 1-1 L1 [b]Huntsville 1 1 .500 - 1-1 0-0 L1[/b] Tennessee 1 1 .500 - 0-0 1-1 L1 Chattanooga 0 2 .000 1.0 0-0 0-2 L2 West Tenn 0 2 .000 1.0 0-0 0-2 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 2 0 1.000 - 1-0 1-0 W2 [b]Brevard County 1 1 .500 1.0 1-1 0-0 W1[/b] Daytona 1 1 .500 1.0 0-0 1-1 L1 Jupiter 1 1 .500 1.0 0-1 1-0 W1 Palm Beach 1 1 .500 1.0 0-1 1-0 L1 Vero Beach 0 2 .000 2.0 0-1 0-1 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hickory 2 0 1.000 - 0-0 2-0 W2 Lexington 1 0 1.000 0.5 1-0 0-0 W1 [b]West Virginia 1 0 1.000 0.5 1-0 0-0 W1[/b] Greensboro 1 1 .500 1.0 0-0 1-1 L1 Lakewood 1 1 .500 1.0 1-1 0-0 W1 Delmarva 0 1 .000 1.5 0-0 0-1 L1 Lake County 0 1 .000 1.5 0-0 0-1 L1 Hagerstown 0 2 .000 2.0 0-2 0-0 L2

Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Crabbe's first Sounds hit a winner By BRYAN MULLEN Tennessean Staff Writer It was fitting. The Nashville Sounds clawed their way back, then a guy named Crabbe was the hero. Callix Crabbe hit a pinch-hit, walk-off home run in the ninth inning Friday night to give Nashville a dramatic 4-3 win over New Orleans in front of 3,012 at Greer Stadium. It was Crabbe's first Triple-A at-bat. The second baseman hit only five homers last year at Double-A Huntsville. "I was just trying to get on base," Crabbe said. "It was very cool." So were the weather and both teams' offenses. Both starting pitchers breezed through the early innings. But the Sounds got a spark in the eighth when Ryan Braun (2-for-4) drove home Chris Barnwell with a double to center to tie the score at 3-3. The Sounds' Joe Dillon was responsible for the Sounds' early offense. The leftfielder drove in the Sounds first two runs on a double and a single. Sounds starter Tim Dillard was stellar in his Triple-A debut. The right-hander went 6 1/3 innings and allowed only four hits and two earned runs. He needed only 31 pitches through the first three innings. "He threw well, kept the ball down and mixed it up," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "That's him, a groundball pitcher. He was pretty economical with his pitches, also." The Sounds (1-1) face New Orleans (1-1) tonight at 6 at Greer. ***Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Dillard's AAA debut ends in no-decision By BRYAN MULLEN Tennessean Staff Writer Most will remember Friday night as the game when Nashville's Callix Crabbe hit a game-winning home run. Tim Dillard will remember it for another reason. The Sounds starting pitcher was superb in his Triple-A debut despite receiving a no-decision. The 23-year-old right-hander allowed only four hits and two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings of the 4-3 win over New Orleans. "He's got a lot of movement on his fastball and it's not soft," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas. "It has some firmness to it." Dillard is ranked as the Brewers' 15th-best prospect by Baseball America. He played at Double-A Huntsville last year and was named to the Southern League All-Star team. He was also named the Brewers' minor league pitcher of the year in 2005 when he went 12-10 with a 2.48 ERA with Single-A Brevard County. Dickey comes home: Nashville native R.A. Dickey gets the start for the Sounds today. The right-handed pitcher and former Montgomery Bell Academy standout was signed by the Brewers as a minor league free agent in January. Dickey spent the majority of last season with Triple-A Oklahoma (Rangers). The 32-year-old spent his first 10 seasons with the Rangers organization before being signed by the Brewers. Racing at the ballpark: NASCAR driver and White House resident Bobby Hamilton Jr., was scheduled to throw out the first pitch Friday night, but a driver's meeting for today's Pepsi 300 at the Nashville Superspeedway ran long. Busch Series driver Eric McClure participated in the dizzy bat race in the fifth inning. The racing theme was part of the Sounds' NASCAR Night, which also included Hamilton's McDonald's car on display. Quick hits: The Sounds have 11 hits after two games and seven have gone for extra bases. Six have been doubles ... Nashville's Ryan Braun has three hits ? all doubles . . . The Sounds only had one pinch-hit home run last season. Now they have one through two games. What they said: "It was good timing. It was 31 degrees and it was freezing." - Kremblas on Crabbe's home run.

We're loving all these early-season photo galleries -- here's the Sounds game from the Tennessean, including a nice Tim Dillard shot: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....amp;Ref=PH

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com/ This cold, frigid air that has hit Huntsville is not all that unusual....... Cold snaps in April are to be expected and it is more unusual to see the kind of consistently warm days to last throughout the month, as it did last year........ But what was most unusual was to see SNOW -- BLOWING SNOW, coming in from the third base side in the bottom of the 7th inning....... Even as late as March, snow is most uncommon here. Needless to say, there was no signs of global warming tonight......... In fact, in the nearly 40 years I have lived here, I have never -- never -- seen snow in April. Temperatures in the upper 20s, yes...... Snow -- no!. Wisely, I had made up my mind long before the game started to watch it from the press box. It's not my favorite place to watch a game. The ballpark atmosphere is lost there to me. I'd much rather experience the game from the seats on a warm day and smell the hot dogs, hear the pounding of leather, and hear the smack of wood as ball and bat collide. But there is no ballpark atmosphere when the wind chill is in the mid-20s. The game time temperature was 44°. Depending on what source you go by, maybe 45°........ By the time the game ended, it had dropped to 37°......... The Friday Fireworks show, traditional on these nights for the past couple of years or so, went on, remarkably......... At 10:09 the ballgame was over....... At 10:10, there was a quick 5....4...3...2...1 introduction from Dave, the P.A. announcer......... There were less than a dozen people in the seats to watch it, and it was quickly over. The bitterly cold weather took a lot of luster from a game that had little in itself tonight.........The hardest hit ball was a drive by Brendan Katin to the center field track in the 7th inning, scoring Hernan Iribarren from 3rd for the Stars' final run as the snow blew across the field....... Braves' left fielder Brandon Jones hit one nearly that far in the 3rd inning, advancing leadoff hitter J.C. Holt to 3rd, setting him up with the Braves' 2nd run of the game when Steve Sollmann failed to hold on to a hard throw from Hammond on a soft grounder near the 3rd base line. The Stars were never in this game...... Steve Hammond was knocked around quite a bit. He retired the side in order in the 2nd, but he started out the game giving up a single to Holt on his second pitch, then walking Brent Lillibridge..... After a fielder's choice and a stolen base by Jones, one of five for Mississippi, Matt Esquivel put the Braves on top, 1-0, with a single hit hard to Adam Heether, who made a fine stop deep near the grass and to the line, but was unable to do anything with the ball........ After four innings, Hammond had thrown 57 pitches, 40 for strikes, but in the 5th, the first four Braves, starting with Lillibridge, reached on hits, including a double by Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The fifth hit of the inning, a hard grounder to shallow left, brought home Saltalamacchia, but Lou Palmisano was able to hold onto Ron Davenport's strong throw as Esquivel barreled into him, ending the inning with the Braves ahead, 4-1....... Hammond threw 22 pitches in the 5th, only 11 for strikes....... Joe Thatcher looked real good in his two innings of work. His slider was filthy and his fast ball complemented it well. Jeff Eure made the play of the game in the 6th, racing back into left field from his position over into foul territory, and then reaching over the concrete barrier separating the seats on the 1st base side to make a catch off Lillibridge to end the inning........ Marino Salas also looked good in his Stars debut, striking out four and throwing 23 of his 36 pitches for strikes. There was one scoring change in this game made by official scorer Don Rizzardi after it was over. Thatcher's wild pitch in the 7th inning was taken away. It became a stolen base for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who took second. Palmisano was able to keep Thatcher's 2-2 pitch in front of him, although he had to dig it out of the dirt, too late to nail Salty. As I mentioned Thursday, the unseasonable weather is only going to get more unseasonable........ Saturday's game is a 2 PM start, but the high is expected to reach only 47° --- hardly what I call comfortable. My only hope is that the winds die down, but the forecast just calls for more northwest winds at 10-15 mph........ Mike Jones will get the start, where Maine's Mark Rogers would probably feel more comfortable.

Link while active, text follows: www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp Stars far from hot on frigid evening Guerrero fills in for Money as Braves claim 5-2 victory By SKIP VAUGHN For The Huntsville Times, skipv@htimes.com Huntsville Stars hitting coach Sandy Guerrero had an additional role to play in Friday night's game against the Mississippi Braves. Guerrero was the acting manager - on his 41st birthday - because Don Money went home to New Jersey on Friday morning for personal reasons. Guerrero doesn't know when the regular manager will return. "It all depends," he said. In his five years with the Stars, Guerrero has served as manager four or five times, usually for 3-5 days. "Hopefully Don will be here within that time period," he said. "If not we'll just try to take care of business like he was here." Guerrero, who resides in Huntsville in the offseason, assessed the strengths of this year's team. "Pitching definitely, pitching and defense (are the strengths)," he said. "Hitting-wise, we're still good. But I think that the pitching and defense are above our hitting." On a brisk night at Joe Davis Stadium, the Stars lost 5-2 to Mississippi before an announced crowd of 1,596. It even snowed in the bottom of the seventh. The Stars fell to 1-1 in the season opening series which continues today at 2:05 p.m. Steve Hammond (0-1) took the loss. "They were luckier than us," Guerrero said. "Our pitching did well. Defensively we made one error that cost us a run. Very rough weather. I thought their pitcher did very well, too. They were moving the ball around the plate. Hitting, we got six hits. You can't really expect to win on six hits and two runs." Lou Palmisano went one-for-one, scored a run and walked three times for the Stars. "I think we played a pretty good game," the catcher said. "I think they just got a couple of key hits at the right time and they ended up on top." The Braves (1-1) opened the scoring in the first inning against Hammond (0-1). J.C. Holt hit a leadoff single and scored on Matt Esquivel's two-out hit. Hammond went five innings with four strikeouts, one walk and allowed nine hits and four runs (three earned). "He threw the ball well," Stars pitching coach Rich Sauveur said. "He left a couple of pitches up, they took advantage of it. Tough weather, just cold. "It was tough for both pitchers." Mississippi added an unearned run in the third when Holt singled, advanced to second on a balk, went to third on a flyball and scored on an error by first baseman Steve Sollmann. In the fifth, Jarrod Saltalamacchia's RBI double and Josh Burrus' run-scoring single upped the lead to 4-0. The Stars scored in the bottom of the fifth when Sollmann drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk to chase Braves starter Jo-Jo Reyes. Van Pope upped the Braves lead to 5-1 with his run-scoring single in the seventh. With snow falling, the Stars scored in the seventh on Brendan Katin's RBI sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. Charlie Morton (1-0) earned the win for Mississippi by retiring one batter in relief. Zach Schreiber got the save with a perfect ninth.

Here''s a Link Report bonus this morning -- a video news report on the weather conditions and some hardy fans: wowktv.com/story.cfm?func...ryid=22337 Seem like awfully friendly folk there in Charleston, as we've often read...

Link while active, text follows: www.wvgazette.com/section...2007040645 Snowed out Power game suspended, reset as part of twin bill By Tommy R. Atkinson Charleston Gazette Staff Writer Surprisingly, West Virginia Power second baseman Kenny Holmberg has seen snowier days and colder temperatures than the wintry conditions that forced the suspension of Friday night?s game against the Lake County (Ohio) Captains. Holmberg, a Dunedin, Fla., native in his second year with the Power, made several trips to Auburn, N.Y., located just outside Syracuse, this past winter. Holmberg?s father, Dennis, is the manager of Auburn, a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate in the Class A short-season New York-Penn League. Dennis Holmberg has led the Doubledays to five straight division titles. ?I?ve seen it before,?? said Kenny Holmberg of the white stuff. ?I actually spent this Christmas in upstate New York and they had about 7 feet. ?It was 7 degrees [and] it was just bad. Just to tag along with my dad, it was a good experience but I couldn?t wait to get out of there; it was so cold. I didn?t see the sun the whole time I was in Auburn.?? Holmberg staked the Power to a 1-0 lead Friday in the first inning with a solo home run, but the snow wouldn?t abate and the game was halted in the bottom of the third after Power third baseman Taylor Green led off with a triple. West Virginia and Lake County will complete Friday?s suspended nine-inning game beginning at 4:05 PM today (3:05 Central) with Green on third and none out. The two teams will then play a seven-inning contest approximately 30 minutes after the completion of the first game at Appalachian Power Park. Green lofted a fly ball to center field that would have been an easy out under most weather conditions, but Lake County?s Ramon Hernandez couldn?t find the white ball in a swirling snowstorm that intensified as the game wore on. The ball dropped about 10 feet to Hernandez?s right, allowing Green to take third. The umpires finally pulled the players off the field and waited 44 minutes before suspending the game. By that time the infield and outfield grass was covered with snow. As if right on cue, the snow began on the first pitch from Power starter Mike McClendon as a crowd of about 500 attended in 34-degree weather. It was a shame the weather didn?t hold off because the Power was off to a good start in their second game of the season. West Virginia edged Lake County 4-3 in Thursday?s season opener. Holmberg?s blast Friday was off the advertisements on the right side of the scoreboard in center field and McClendon, who resides in Orlando, Fla., didn?t seem fazed by the cold, striking out five of the 11 batters he faced and allowing only two hits. ?It?s the first time I ever played in snow,?? Holmberg said. ?It was definitely an experience. It was cold. I?m sure it affected everybody. Mentally you?ve just got to prepare yourself to go play. The first inning when it was coming down I couldn?t even see. The wind was blowing to right-center a little bit and the snow was just crushing me in the face. ?It was tough to see the ball off the bat even if it was in the strike zone. It was just tough to get a read on the ball. Then in the third inning when that base hit dropped in for them [a short pop up behind second base that turned into a double], I looked up and I saw it and I looked down and just lost it. I can?t wait to get back in the heat.?? Holmberg was so concerned about losing his first homer of the season that he went to the umpires? locker room to make sure the game would be made up so the statistics from Friday?s game would count. ?I wanted to make sure the game got suspended,?? he said. ?It was a good way to get that first one out of the way and have it count for real. If it would have gotten taken back it would have been kind of upsetting.?? Holmberg said it was nice to also see that Green?s first hit in a Power uniform would also go down in the books. ?You take them as they come,?? Holmberg said of his teammates? triple. ?A lot of guys their first year here they want to get that first one out of the way so they can kind of relax. I?m happy for him. ?When they get their first hit out of the way they can settle in a little bit. Some of these guys are in awe a little bit. Once they get a few knocks out of the way and they settle down, this team is going to be fun to watch.?? Charleston Gazette Photographer: Chip Ellis http://www.wvgazettemail.com/images/stories/Power2.jpg

Florida Today: Manatees rally in 11th to hand Cubs 3-2 loss The Brevard County Manatees turned to drama to get their first win of the season. Alcides Escobar singled in Chris Errecart in the bottom of the 11th inning in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory against the Daytona Cubs on Friday night at Space Coast Stadium. After falling behind 2-1 in the 11th, Brevard County opened the bottom half of the inning with three straight hits, including an RBI single by Errecart. Billed as a pitching duel, the game lived up to its billing. Manatees (1-1) starter Will Inman -- a top Milwaukee Brewers prospect -- allowed one earned run in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked one. Daytona (1-1) starter Jeff Samardzija was almost as good. The former Notre Dame baseball and football star allowed one earned run in five innings, striking out one and walking one. The Cubs struck first in the top of the fifth inning when Robinson Chirinos doubled to center field and scored on a single to center by Mark Reed. Brevard County answered in the bottom half of the inning on a run-scoring single by Nestor Corredor, which plated Carlos Corporan. With the score 1-1 in the top of the 11th, Daytona picked up a run on Kyle Reynolds' sacrifice fly. Luis Pena earned the win, tossing three innings of relief. Errecart and Cole Gillespie had two hits apiece for the Manatees. The teams play again today -- this time in Daytona -- at 7:00 PM (6:00 Central). ***Here's another nice photo gallery, unfortunately no captions -- at least as of this "post time". In order, you'll see Carlos Corporan sliding at home (# 25), Alcides Escobar (# 15), Chris Errecart (# 33), Escobar four more times, Will Inman (# 22), Cole Gillespie (# 24) in the background of a Jeff Samardzija photo, Inman on defense, and another Gillespie / Samardzija shot: www.floridatoday.com/apps...ofile=1002 ***MiLB.com: Kyle Reynolds lifted a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th to give Daytona a 2-1 lead. But Cole Gillespie and Charlie Fermaint started the bottom of the inning with consecutive base hits off Billy Petrick (0-1). Chris Errecart sent a ground ball into left field to plate Gillespie with the tying run. After Carlos Corporan bunted into a forceout, J.R. Hopf walked to load the bases and Alcides Escobar followed with a single up the middle. Three Manatees combined for 14 strikeouts. Starter Will Inman allowed one run on four hits while striking out six and walking one in 5 2/3 innings. Ben Stanczyk yielded one hit and fanned three over 2 1/3 scoreless frames and Luis Pena (1-0) gave up a run on a hit with five strikeouts over three innings for the win.

Link, text follows: www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1100 Braves Bounce Back To Beat Stars Jarrod Saltalamacchia knocked in a run, scored twice and stole a base in Mississippi?s 5-2 win Friday night over Huntsville in the second game of the season-opening five-game series at a frigid Joe Davis Stadium in front of 1,596 who withstood the elements. The Braves squared the series at a game apiece after falling in extra innings on Opening Day. J.C. Holt started the game with a single and came into score on a two-out infield hit by Matt Esquivel, who had gone hitless in four at-bats in the opener. The Braves tacked on another run against Stars? starter Steve Hammond in the third when Holt bunted for a hit, stole second, moved to third base on a fly ball out and scored when Steve Sollman could not handle a throw from Hammond on a Saltalamacchia tapper to the mound. The visitors strung together five hits in the fourth inning to produce two runs and their biggest lead of the series. Saltalamacchia doubled home Brandon Jones and then scored on a two-out single by Josh Burrus on which Esquivel was thrown out at the plate to end the inning by left fielder Ulyses Davenport. Hammond, who had picked off Brent Lillibridge after a leadoff single earlier in the inning, was taken out after five frames during which he gave up four runs, three earned on nine hits, the most he has allowed in 14 starts with the Stars. Jo-Jo Reyes blanked the Stars on two hits through four innings before issuing back-to-back walks to Lou Palmisano and Yohannis Perez and hitting pinch-hitter Jeff Eure to load the bases with one out in the fifth. Hernan Iribarren fanned for the second out and Sollman drew a walk to force in the home team?s first run and chase Reyes from the game. Charlie Morton ended the threat by striking out Davenport. Reyes, the eighth-best prospect in the Braves organization according to Baseball America, struck out five and walked four in his double-A debut. Saltalamacchia walked, stole second and scored on a Van Pope single in the seventh inning to push the Braves lead to 5-1. Iribarren and pinch-hitter Mel Stocker singled and Davenport reached on a Lillibridge fielding error to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning with snow falling at a rapid pace. Brendan Katin?s sacrifice fly plated Iribarren but Ryan Basner struck out Adam Heether to end the threat. Eure bounced into an inning-ending double play in the eighth and Zach Schreiber retired the Stars in order in the ninth to record his first save of the season. The series continues Saturday afternoon with right-hander Mike Jones taking the hill for Huntsville against Braves? southpaw Dan Smith. Coverage of the game begins at 1:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP AM and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Link for Tim Dillard photo, text follows: www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2247 Last At-Bat Crabbe HR Delivers 4-3 Win Over Z's NASHVILLE ? Pinch-hitter Callix Crabbe made his first career Triple-A hit count for Nashville as he led off the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday evening at Greer Stadium by drilling a 3-2 Jon Adkins offering over the wall in right-center to give the Sounds a dramatic 4-3 victory over the New Orleans Zephyrs. AUDIO: Callix Crabbe's Game-Winning HR -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%204-6.mp3 The win was the first of the season for Nashville, which sent six of its nine hits on the evening for extra bases, including the game-winner. The Sounds scored two runs over the final two innings to erase a late 3-2 deficit. Ryan Braun continued a strong start to his 2007 season, finishing 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI, and a run scored. The prospect is 3-for-7 with three doubles on the young campaign. Chris Barnwell added a pair of two-baggers for Nashville. Jose Capellan (1-0) picked up the victory as a result of Crabbe?s heroics after fanning two of his three batters faced in a perfect inning of work. Both starting pitchers were impressive from the hill but did not factor in the decision. Nashville?s Tim Dillard turned in a solid outing in his Triple-A debut, allowing two runs on four hits over 6 1/3 innings of work. He left in line for a victory but took a no-decision following a blown save by the Sounds bullpen. Zephyrs starter Jason Vargas threw only 65 pitches over his six innings of work and gave up two runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Joe Dillon (2-for-4, 2 RBIs) gave Nashville a 1-0 lead in the fourth when he plated Drew Anderson with a run-scoring, ground-rule double to left-center off Vargas. The Sounds doubled the advantage in the sixth with a two-out rally against Vargas. Braun ripped a double down the left field line before Dillon followed with his second RBI knock of the night, a run-scoring single up the middle. New Orleans tied the contest at 2-2 in the top of the seventh. Ben Johnson?s first hit of the season, a bloop RBI single to center, brought home Carlos Gomez (2-for-4) and chased Dillard to conclude his outstanding outing. After Mitch Stetter came on to strike out Ricky Ledee, Nashville manager Frank Kremblas summoned Chris Spurling to make his Sounds debut. After uncorking a wild pitch to move the runner to second, the right-hander was greeted by a Fernando Tatis RBI single that landed just out of the reach of a diving Anderson in right-center. The Zephyrs grabbed their first lead of the night at 3-2 in the top of the eighth using a pair of infield singles that deflected off Spurling. With one down, Anderson Hernandez (2-for-4) reached on the first single, advanced to second on the right-hander?s third wild pitch of the evening, moved to third on a flyout, and scored the go-ahead tally on a Gomez infield single that deflected off the pitcher. Nashville retied the contest at 3-3 in the bottom of the inning when Barnwell reached on a one-out double, his second two-bagger of the contest, and came in two batters later on a Braun laser double to right-center, the prospect?s second double of the night and third on the year. Adkins (0-1) took the loss for New Orleans after surrendering Crabbe's game-winning blast. The Sounds and Zephyrs continue their season-opening series with a 6 p.m. showdown on Saturday evening at Greer. Nashville native R.A. Dickey makes his first start for his hometown team to face New Orleans right-hander Jorge Sosa.

Final: Mississippi (Braves) 5, Huntsville 2 Stars site details later on... Huntsville Box Score Huntsville Game Log

Nashville Pre-Game Coaches Chat with Pitching Coach Stan Kyles: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%204-6.mp3

Final: Nashville 4, New Orleans (Mets) 3 Callix Crabbe pinch-hit walk-off home run ends this one! Ryan Braun already has three doubles in two games; Jose Capellan a perfect 9th gets the win... Full Nashville Site Game Summary shortly... Nashville Box Score Nashville Game Log

Game notes, Daytona site: After a long anticipated wait, Jeff Samardzija took the mound tonight for the first time as a Daytona Cub. The crowd sporting mostly Notre Dame Caps and T-shirts showed up to Space Coast Stadium as the former All-American UND football player made his debut. Among the spectators included Illinois Senator William Delgado and Notre Dame Head Football Coach Charlie Weiss. Samardzija chose a career in professional baseball over the NFL back in January of this year. After he signed a five-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, Samardzija was optioned to Advanced-A Daytona at the end of Spring Training. Through five sound innings, Samardzija received the no decision. He was able to get most of the Manatees out on ground and fly balls, allowing five hits, while recording only one strike out in his first outing. The game tonight was literally an arms race. Both pitchers, Samardzija and the Manatees' Will Inman, held the opposing batters to one run each through five innings. Neither Cubs nor Manatees relievers allowed any runs as the game continued throughout regulation. In the top of the eleventh, Manatees pitcher Luis Pena loaded the bases. On Kyle Reynolds sacrifice fly to centerfield, Nate Spears scored the go ahead run for the Cubs. In the bottom of the inning, Cubs reliever Billy Petrick struggled allowing three consecutive singles to Manatees batters, scoring one. Petrick then walked J.R. Hopf to load the bases. A fly ball base hit by Alcides Escobar to center field advanced the final run to split the series 1-1 with Brevard.

Global warming? The Stars are playing in the snow in Huntsville, Alabama on April 6th.

Final: Brevard County 3, Daytona (Cubs) 2, 11 innings Well, someone beat those Cubs tonight; Alcides Escobar with a huge night, driving in the winning run -- four hits, three stolen bases... Brevard Box Score Brevard Game Log

Manatees rally for two in the bottom of the 11th to come away with a 3-2 victory! Details soon...