Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...006041423/ Power manager likes team's traits Jacob Messer Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter West Virginia Power Manager Mike Guerrero noticed a never-give-up attitude in his team after its season-opening, four-game homestand against the Delmarva Shorebirds, who won the series with three victories. "We could have been 4-0," Guerrero said of what became a 1-3 home start. "But the good thing is, we have battled every game." That, as it turns out, has been a season-long trend. The Power's first eight games (4-4) have been decided by a total of 16 runs. * * *CHARLESTON IS back home tonight to begin a three-game series against Lexington after taking three of four at Greensboro, finishing the series with a 6-3 win Thursday night. Will Inman, the right-hander who was Milwaukee's third-round pick in last June's draft, worked five scoreless innings for his first South Atlantic League win. Lorenzo Cain, on his 20th birthday, led West Virginia with two hits and an RBI, and the Power sealed the victory with two ninth-inning runs, after Scotty McKnight started the rally with a triple. Left-hander Joe Thatcher, moved from extended spring training to the Power earlier this week, got the save. * * *PITCHING COACH John Curtis doesn't plan to use a piggyback system this season, like Milwaukee did in its first season in Charleston. Here is how it worked: Two pitchers were linked to each other, with one serving as the starter and the other serving as a reliever when it was their turn in the rotation, then switching roles when it was their turn in the rotation again. Of course, no one needs a definition because Curtis isn't using it this season. "We will have a five-man rotation, and we will see how the bullpen comes along," Curtis said. Curtis said the rotation, in order, is Kevin Roberts, a 6-foot, 190-pound right-hander who has an 85-pitch count; Derek Miller, a 6-0, 195-pound left-hander who has a 75-pitch count; Inman, a 6-0, 200-pound right-hander who has a 65-to-70-pitch count; Dave Welch, a 6-4, 215-pound left-hander who has a 65-to-70 pitch count; and Robbie Wooley, a 6-1, 190-pound right-hander who has a 65-pitch count. * * *WEST VIRGINIA has power at the plate -- from the guys behind it. Catcher Angel Salome (.344 with one homer, three doubles, five runs and five RBI in eight games) leads the Power in batting average. Backup Brad Willcutt is at .250 with one double, two RBI and four runs in three games). Salome is the Power's starting catcher, but Guerrero inserts him into the lineup as designated hitter when Willcutt plays behind the plate. * * *THE POWER drew 13,530 fans to its first four-game homestand, including 5,742 for the season opener. The first number is down from 17,685 and the second number is up from 5,354, compared to last season. General Manager Andy Milovich said the combined attendance for the four-game homestand would have improved if the weather would have been better. Rain ended the Power opener and delayed its second game three times. The temperature dropped to 38 degrees in its third game and reached 60 in its fourth game, but felt much cooler because of the wind. "We would have liked to have had bigger crowds, but we were pleased considering the circumstances," Milovich said. "Given the weather, I wouldn't have come out to the games if I were a fan. "We found out last year that most of our fans tend to buy tickets the day of the game. So, we are completely at the mercy of the weather." West Virginia (3,382 per game) ranks sixth in the 16-team league in attendance, behind Greensboro (5,829), Greenville (5,117), Charleston, S.C. (4,979), Lexington (4,093) and Rome (3,856). * * *The Power will have out-of-the-ordinary promotions before each date in its three-game homestand against the Legends, tonight through Sunday. Tonight is Organ Donor Night, when the Power, working with Charleston Area Medical Center, will try to recruit organ donors. Among those attending and participating will be former New York Mets and Kansas City catcher Ed Hearn, who has survived three organ donations. Saturday will be Susan G. Komen Night. In honor of her cause (breast cancer), the Power will wear pink jerseys. Some of those jerseys will be autographed by the coaches and players and auctioned to raise money for her foundation. There will be an Easter sunrise service Sunday at 6 a.m., eight hours before the game. The service will be free, and the public is invited. "This is just something we want to do for community goodwill," Milovich said.

Brevard County Site Game Summary: Manatees down Dodgers Alcides Escobar singled twice and scored the eventual winning run to boost Brevard County past visiting Vero Beach, 3-2, on Thursday. Ryan Braun's one-out, fielder's choice grounder to short in the seventh inning drove in Escobar for the red-hot Manatees (7-1). Braun also smacked an RBI double in the first against the struggling Dodgers (1-7). Brevard County reliever Robert Hinton (1-0) struck out four in three scoreless innings to earn his first win. Josh Alliston fanned two in the ninth for his first save. Brian Akin (0-1), who pitched two innings of relief for Vero Beach, suffered the loss. Starter Julio Cesar Pimentel gave up two earned runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings. Ryan Carter jolted two triples to lead the Dodgers' offense, while Jimmy Rohan added two singles. Xavier Paul and Travis Denker had an RBI single apiece. The teams continue their three-game series at 7:05 ET on Friday. -- Christopher Heine/MLB.com ***Vero Beach Site Game Summary: Still One Run Short Despite coming back from a 2-0 deficit, the Vero Beach Dodgers dropped their 6th one-run loss of the season Thursday night at Brevard County. The Manatees scored an unearned 7th-inning run to down the Dodgers 3-2. The series continues Friday night with Matt Merricks getting the call for Vero Beach. Brevard County (7-1) scored two runs in the 1st inning off Vero Beach starter Julio Pimentel. Alcides Escobar singled and Ryan Braun doubled him home. Braun then stole third and scored on a ground out. The first Dodger run came in the 3rd. Jimmy Rohan drew a leadoff walk and Gabriel Gutierrez followed with a single. Jamie Hoffman's sacrifice advanced both runners, then Xavier Paul rolled a single between third and short to plate Rohan. In the 4th, Ryan Carter hit the first of his two triples of the night and scored on Travis Denker's base hit. That tied the score at two and it remained that way until the decisive 7th. Travis Ezi began that frame with a single off reliever Brian Akin. Escobar then reached on a bunt when no one covered first base. Braun grounded a ball to short that led to a force at second, but when 2B Blake DeWitt tried to turn the double play, his throw sailed past first base and allowed Ezi to score what turned out to be the winning run. It was only the second run this year Akin had allowed. The other run was also unearned and also resulted in a loss.

Link while active, text follows: www.wvgazette.com/section...2006041341 Power welcomes Legends to APP Friday Charleston Gazette The West Virginia Power returns home from a short four-game road trip to Greensboro (N.C.) tonight to begin a weekend series with the Lexington Legends. But if you can?t make it out to Appalachian Power Park for tonight?s 7:05 start (6:05 Central), don?t fret: You?ll have plenty of chances to see the Power and Legends lock up this season. Thirteen chances, to be exact. The Legends will be far and away the most frequent visitor to Charleston?s new park this season. Lexington is scheduled to make four stops in the Capital City, including a six-day, six-game layover May 2-7. Hagerstown will play the second-most games in Charleston with eight, followed by Hickory with seven. All told, the Power and Legends will meet 20 times this season, as West Virginia visits Lexington for seven games. ***The Power offense has gotten off to a slow start through the first week of the season. Entering Thursday?s game at Greensboro, West Virginia was in the middle of the pack in the South Atlantic League with a .248 team batting average and 26 runs scored. Catcher Angel Salome leads the way with a .357 average and a .991 OPS. Second baseman Kenny Holmberg, whose home run keyed the Power?s victory over the Grasshoppers Wednesday, is hitting .308 with a team-leading two homers. Holmberg, Salome and shortstop Ryan Crew have each driven in four runs. Third baseman Mat Gamel hasn?t gotten off to such a hot start. Through seven games, Gamel has committed four errors and struck out 10 times in 24 at-bats. Outfielder Darren Ford (.219 avg., zero extra-base hits) and first baseman Ned Yost (.130 avg.) have also stumbled out of the blocks. The Power pitching staff has fared a little better and sits in seventh with a 3.14 team earned run average. West Virginia pitchers have surrendered the fifth-fewest runs in the league (25) and are fourth in WHIP (1.14). The longball has been an issue, though, as the team is next to last in home runs allowed with eight. Starting pitcher Derek Miller sports a 1.80 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 10 innings. Relievers Dane Renkert, Wilfrido Laureano and Ronny Malave have done the job out of the bullpen, combining for 161/3 innings and just one earned run with 16 strikeouts and no walks. ***After three games with Lexington this weekend, the Power has an off-day Monday before hitting the road for seven games in seven days. The trip starts with four games at Hagerstown, followed by three at Lexington. The Power returns to the APP April 25 for a three-game set with Greensboro, including the season?s first Grand Slam School Day April 26. That day?s game will begin at 10:35 a.m (11:35 Central)..

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Thurman shines in Stars' loss Pitcher throws six shutout innings in Huntsville's 2-0 loss By PAUL GATTIS Huntsville Times Sports Staff, pgattis@htimes.com It's nights like this when you're the Huntsville Stars and your offense is muted and you lose 2-0 to Birmingham that the top priority of player development is a nice consolation. Because Stars starter Corey Thurman was simply spectacular. In fact, spectacular may not cover it. Outstanding might be a good adjective to add. So would marvelous. In his second start of the season, Thurman pitched six shutout innings and allowed only one hit - a bunt single by Barons leadoff hitter Christopher Getz to start the fourth. But Thurman - limited to 70 pitches as he recovers from rotator cuff surgery that sidelined him for the 2005 season - left a scoreless tie and an inning before Birmingham got a two-run homer from third baseman Micah Schnurstein before 1,109 at Joe Davis Stadium. "Thurman did an outstanding job," Stars manager Don Money said. More applause for Thurman: He allowed one walk and hit one batter - which was mostly the good fortune of Josh Henson wearing a baggy jersey that got clipped by an inside pitch than the result of a poorly thrown ball. And he got through six innings on his allowance of 70 pitches. "Six innings in 70 pitches, that's outstanding," pitching coach Rich Sauveur said. Of course, this start maybe wasn't even as good as his first start. Against Mississippi, Thurman pitched four no-hit innings before leaving that game with a 2-0 lead. But the Braves rallied for a 6-2 win. So for the season, Thurman has allowed one hit - the bunt single - and no runs in 10 innings. And his record is a cold-hearted 0-0. "Everything," Sauveur said when asked what pitches were working for Thurman. "His change-up is probably his best pitch, but when he's throwing all four pitches (well), he's on." All the Barons could do was wait for Thurman to leave the game. "Sometimes you just have to wait it out," Barons manager Chris Cron said, "and wait for the opportunity." For Birmingham, opportunity arrived in the seventh. Ricardo Nanita doubled to left-center with two outs, surviving at the plate after a borderline pitch for strike three was called a ball. Then Schnurstein sent a rocket-shot deep over the fence in left field off Stars reliever Steve Bray (0-1). And that was enough for the Barons, which employed four pitchers to hold the Stars to five hits and without a run for the second time in three games. Tyler Lumsden pitched five innings and Brian West (1-2) pitched two innings for the win while Ehren Wasserman got his second save. In their first three games at home this season, the Stars have been shut out twice and scored four runs in the other game - and all four runs came on a Greg Sain grand slam on Wednesday. "We're getting ourselves in the hole in the count," Money said of the Stars' hitting woes. "We're swinging at a lot of first pitches." But there is good news for the Stars. At least they don't have to bat against Corey Thurman.

"We had a run taken away from us by the umps. It should have been a balk. That's the problem with replacement umps that are 70 years old. They can't see." ? Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas. Tell us how you really feel, Frank http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Link while active, text follows: Link includes nice photo close-up of the Sounds' championship ring... tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Sounds will try to defend title with speed Likely to have less power than in '05 By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer If the 2005 edition of the Nashville Sounds seemed suited to the managerial style of an Earl Weaver, the team that opens the home portion of the 2006 schedule tonight at Greer Stadium might be more a reflection of a Whitey Herzog. Weaver, the legendary manager of the Baltimore Orioles, whose offensive approach was built around the three-run home run, would have fit in well with last year's team as it bashed 164 roundtrippers en route to the Pacific Coast League championship. However, with the Sounds listed on the opening-day roster accounting for just 113 longballs last season, it appears the "get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in" philosophy Herzog utilized with the St. Louis Cardinals will be standard operating procedure. "What do I expect?" Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas asked rhetorically. "I expect us to play good defense, be good fundamentally and steal a lot of bases." In fact, though the Sounds weren't afraid to exhibit their power stroke last season, they also ran often, finishing the year with 170 steals. Heading into tonight's homestand opener with Oklahoma, Nashville ranks second in the PCL with 12 stolen bases ? including six in Wednesday's 2-0 win at Iowa. Kremblas said he'll encourage the team to run early and often. In fact, it'll be more a matter of when they shouldn't go than when they should. "Everybody has the 'green light,' but they never run enough for me," he said. With five different players that stole 10 or more bases in '05, though, that idea might be challenged. Outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. swiped 34 bags at Class AA Huntsville, while Dave Krynzel had 24 for the Sounds. Infielder Zach Sorensen had 21 with Triple-A Salt Lake (Angels), outfielder Nelson Cruz compiled 19 between Huntsville and Nashville, and utilityman Jermaine Clark had 14 at Triple-A Sacramento (Athletics). It won't be just the usual suspects in motion, though, according to Kremblas. A slimmed-down Brad Nelson ? "He's lost 35 pounds," Kremblas said ? will get the opportunity to build on his five steals from last year, and catcher Mike Rivera finished with three after joining the Sounds in May. "Everybody runs," Kremblas said. Still, to make sure they don't run themselves into a bad situation, he said he'll let Nashville baserunners know when to stay put. "I'll put the 'red light' up if I don't think it's a good time to go ? if there's a situation where we don't want an open base, or if they may be pitching out," he said. All of that's not to say that the Sounds won't be capable of some punch. Cruz finished the year with 27 total home runs, while Rivera added 16 and Krynzel 11 with Nashville, and infielder Enrique Cruz hit another 14 at Huntsville. Between Nashville and Huntsville, Nelson hit 13. The team looks to be versatile defensively as well as offensively. Though only three outfielders are listed on the active roster ? Cruz, Gwynn and Krynzel ? all but one of the seven infielders have seen time in the outfield and will likely do so at some point this year. In fact, a defensive player has already made a pitching appearance for Nashville. Infielder Chris Barnwell, who threw 4+ scoreless innings and earned a win in four relief appearances last season, was the last pitcher in the Sounds' 7-6, 11-inning loss Monday at Iowa.

Standings through Thursday's Games: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 5 3 .625 - 5-3 0-0 W1 Omaha 5 3 .625 - 5-3 0-0 W1 [b]Nashville 3 5 .375 2.0 0-0 3-5 L1[/b] Memphis 0 8 .000 5.0 0-0 0-8 L8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 6 2 .750 - 3-0 3-2 W3 West Tenn 6 2 .750 - 0-0 6-2 W1 Carolina 3 5 .375 3.0 0-0 3-5 L3 [b]Huntsville 3 5 .375 3.0 0-3 3-2 L3[/b] Tennessee 2 6 .250 4.0 1-2 1-4 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Brevard County 7 1 .875 - 3-1 4-0 W2[/b] St. Lucie 6 2 .750 1.0 4-1 2-1 W1 Palm Beach 5 3 .625 2.0 1-1 4-2 W1 Jupiter 4 4 .500 3.0 3-3 1-1 L1 Daytona 1 7 .125 6.0 0-5 1-2 L1 Vero Beach 1 7 .125 6.0 1-1 0-6 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delmarva 6 2 .750 - 2-1 4-1 W3 Lexington 6 2 .750 - 6-2 0-0 L1 Greensboro 5 3 .625 1.0 5-3 0-0 L2 Lake County 5 3 .625 1.0 1-0 4-3 W1 [b]West Virginia 4 4 .500 2.0 1-3 3-1 W2[/b] Hagerstown 3 5 .375 3.0 3-0 0-5 L1 Hickory 3 5 .375 3.0 1-3 2-2 W1 Lakewood 0 8 .000 6.0 0-1 0-7 L8

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated an hour or two prior to gametime: Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf Following Nashville's lead, Huntsville now makes its media notes available as well, nice: www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf

Follow Friday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Activate the Nashville Gameday. For the other links, 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. It's sweet! Nashville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

Friday's Daily Menu: Nashville finally gets some "home" cookin'... All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Dana Eveland at home vs. Oklahoma (Rangers), 7:40 PM pre-game, 8:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Nashville Game Day Feature from MILB.com: Please note that GameDay links will not become active until approximately 1-2 hours before game time www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: LHP Jeff Housman at home vs. Birmingham (White Sox), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ Brevard County: RHP Josh Wahpepah at home vs. Vero Beach (Dodgers), 6:00 PM Audio link (opponent's): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp West Virginia: LHP Dave Welch at home vs. Lexington (Astros), 6:05 PM Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower.

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Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, then text -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...newsId=782 Lumsden Leads Barons to Victory Micah Schnurstein knocked in the only runs of the game with a seventh inning home run as Birmingham blanked Huntsville 2-0 Thursday night at Joe Davis Stadium. The Barons have taken the first three games of the five-game set to square their record at 4-4, while the Stars slipped to 3-5. Birmingham has won 12 of the 14 games played between the teams since last season, including taking six of seven in Huntsville. Corey Thurman retired the first nine hitters he faced before a leadoff bunt base hit in the fourth inning by Chris Getz, who reached base three times with two hits and a walk. Thurman then set down the next five he faced and finished his six shutout frames allowing only the one hit, while fanning three and walking one. The right-hander has tossed 10 scoreless innings in his two starts and has given up only one hit. Tyler Lumsden matched Thurman, retiring the first eight he faced and allowed four hits through five shutout frames. The southpaw, who was sidelined by surgery last season and did not pitch, has thrown 11 scoreless innings in his first two starts at the double-A level. Steve Bray took over for Thurman and allowed a two-out double to Ricardo Nanita and Schnurstein followed with his first long ball of the year to left field to break up the scoreless deadlock. Five different Barons have hit home runs in the series after Tom Collaro belted their only two in the first series of the season. Brian West retired all six hiters he faced to earn the win and Ehren Wasserman recorded his second save with a shutout ninth inning. The Barons bullpen has tossed 11 scoreless innings in the series. The Stars will send left-hander Jeff Housman to the mound in the fourth game of the series on Friday night and he will be opposed by Birmingham left-hander Corwin Malone. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 p.m. central time and can be heard on ESPN Radio 1450 AM locally and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 2, Huntsville 0 Not the way to win over largely apathetic Huntsville fans early in the season... Huntsville Box Score: Corey Thurman yet to allow a run in two starts; Adam Heether just six singles in 29 AB's thus far; # 3 hitter Steve Moss yet to drive in a run... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: Sweet pitching duel detailed here... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

Final: Brevard County 3, Vero Beach (Dodgers) 2 Brevard County Box Score: Ryan Braun four stolen bases already; this team is living up to expectations in the early going... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: Yo Gallardo gets a huge double play ball in the 3rd... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

Final: West Virginia 6, Greensboro (Marlins) 3 West Virginia Site Game Summary: Inman tosses five scoreless in Power win Will Inman tossed five scoreless innings in Thursday night?s game against the Greensboro Grasshoppers and the Power took advantage of three Greensboro errors, beating the Grasshoppers 6-3. In the top of the first inning 20-year-old birthday boy Lorenzo Cain hit a two-out RBI single to give the Power a 1-0 lead. With the bases loaded and two out in the top of the fourth inning, Scotty McKnight hit a groundball to shortstop Agustin Septimo; Septimo bobbled the ball, then threw it to the second baseman Gary Roche who bobbled the ball as well, allowing Brad Wilcutt to reach second base safely. Both Tony Festa and Nate Yoho scored on the play. One batter later, Michael Brantley ripped an RBI single to give the Power a 4-0 lead. In the bottom of the seventh inning the Grasshoppers cut the lead in half on RBI singles from Trent D?Antonio and Gary Roche to make it a 4-2 contest. Gabby Sanchez hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, making it a 4-3 contest. In the top of the ninth inning Scotty McKnight led off with a triple and scored later in the inning on Angel Salome?s RBI single. Mat Gamel reached on a fielder?s choice later in the inning and brought in Darren Ford in the process for the final run of the game. Will Inman (1-0) earned the victory, Joe Thatcher (1) earned the save and Ryan Tucker (0-1) obtained the loss. The Power are 4-4 after the victory and the Grasshoppers fall to 5-3 with the loss. The Power will begin a three game series with the Lexington Legends at Appalachian Power Park on Friday night. Left hander Dave Welch (0-0, 1.80) will start for the Power and Lexington will counter with right hander Sean Walker (1-0, 1.80). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score: Reminder -- Will Inman only turned 19 last February... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_gboafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Check out Inman's 5th inning, buckled down nicely after first two reached... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_gboafx_1

Nashville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1900 Another Late Rally Dooms Sounds In 2-1 Loss DES MOINES ? The Nashville Sounds dropped the finale of a four-game series to the Iowa Cubs by a 2-1 count on Thursday afternoon at Principal Park, resulting in a series split. Nashville finished its season-opening road trip with a 3-5 record. The Sounds held on to a 1-0 lead as long as they could but the Cubs struck in the bottom of the eighth with a pair of runs in their final turn at bat. It marked the fifth time in Nashville?s five losses that the opponent scored the winning runs in its final half-inning at the plate. Sounds starters remained strong on the season as left-hander Zach Jackson held the Cubs scoreless through 5 1/3 innings and allowed only four hits. Jackson faced a close call in the bottom of the third when a line-drive hit by Augie Ojeda grazed his left hand, but the southpaw remained in the game unphased by the blow. The Sounds took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth on a Vinny Rottino double that scored Jermaine Clark. AUDIO: Vinny Rottino RBI Double -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-13.wma After the fifth, the Nashville offense went cold as they left seven men on base and recorded only two hits the last four innings. Allan Simpson came in to relieve Jackson in the bottom of the sixth and held the Cubs scoreless until the bottom of the eighth, when he gave up a first-pitch leadoff home run to Jeff Deardorff. After the home run, Mitch Stetter (0-2) was called into the game. The left-hander pitched one-third of an inning and gave up one run on two hits to take his second loss of the season. Michael Restovich broke the 1-1 tie with an eighth-inning RBI single off Stetter to score Ryan Theriot from third with the eventual winning run. Two Sounds, Rottino and Mark Johnson, both broke out of personal slumps. Rottino broke out of his 0-for-12 slump by going 2-for-4 with the team?s lone RBI, and Johnson recorded his first two hits of the season, ending an 0-for-10 start to the campaign. Clark and Chris Barnwell combined for the other four Sounds hits, two apiece. Prior to the Cubs? two-run outburst in the eighth, it looked as though the one Sounds run was going to be enough to win. The Nashville defense held five baserunners in scoring position and turned two double plays helping to keep the Cubs scoreless early in the game. The two twin killings gave the Sounds a league-leading 14 on the year. The Cubs tried to strike in the bottom of the fifth. Restovich led off with a triple to the wall. Restovich was unable to score thanks to a great defensive play by Brad Nelson. Jamel Strong hit a groundball to Nelson and, instead of going to first, Nelson threw out Restovich at the plate keeping the Cubs scoreless. The Sounds return to Greer Stadium on Friday for their 7 p.m. home opener against the Oklahoma RedHawks (AAA-Rangers). Left-hander Dana Eveland (0-0, 1.80) takes the mound for Nashville to face RedHawks right-hander Jon Leicester (1-0, 7.20) in the first game of a four-game series between the clubs.

Final: Iowa (Cubs) 2, Nashville 1 Was there a major league game this afternoon? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif Pregame Audio Chat with RHP Ben Hendrickson: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-13.wma Nashville Box Score: LHP Zach Jackson threw only 68 pitches (42 strikes), but left midway through the 6th; reliever Allan Simpson hasn't really been "on" in an outing yet, and we're still kind of waiting for an extended period of real Mitch Stetter effectiveness going back to early 2005; old friend Jeff Deardorff tied it in the 8th with a HR off Simpson; four Sounds with two hits apiece, everyone else zero... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_iowaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: Check out Mike Adams contribution in the 8th... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_iowaaa_1

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1 Barons dim Stars' light Grand slam gives Stars lead, but Barons rally By MARK McCARTER Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com Greg Sain pulled a beautiful rescue job. It was like Dudley Do-Right rescuing a damsel in distress from the railroad tracks. Trouble was, they didn't see the train coming the other direction at the same time. Sain, the Stars' designated hitter and 2004 Southern League home run champ, belted a third-inning grand slam to erase a four-run deficit, only to see Huntsville hand the game back over to Birmingham in an 8-4 loss. The Stars have dropped two in a row to Birmingham to fall to 3-4 on the season. They'll host the Barons again tonight and Friday in 7:05 games, then close the series at 2:05 Saturday. Corey Thurman pitches tonight for Huntsville against Tyler Lumsden. From the Stars' perspective, it's been an inopportune time for the Barons to heat up. After the Barons scored only seven runs in their 1-4 opening series against West Tenn, they have racked up 16 runs and 27 hits in two nights here. Even one of the Barons players, in an aside to Stars manager Don Money said, "Man, we couldn't get a base hit (against West Tenn).'' "Now,'' Money said, "they're getting all the base hits. It's one of the things of baseball. It's a cycle.'' It's also the inherent danger - or benefit - of the new five-game series the Southern League has instituted. "Five games is a long time to play against one team,'' Money said. "It works both ways. But they beat us twice now. They saying, 'We're going to score eight, 10 runs on them.' That's probably the way they feel and I don't blame them.'' The Barons opened with four consecutive hits off Tim Dillard, producing a pair of runs. Gustavo Molina homered in the second, then Birmingham made it 4-zip on three straight singles in the third. Dillard, who allowed only two hits in his season debut last week at Mississippi, gave up 11 hits and six runs in 32/3 innings. Sain's slam, coming after an Ozzie Chavez single, Kennard Bibbs double and Callix Crabbe hit-by-pitch, tied the game at 4-all. It was only the third homer of the year for Huntsville in seven games. It was the first Stars grand slam since Brandon Gemoll belted one May 10, 2004. The tie lasted only a matter of minutes. Robert Valido was hit with a pitch to begin the fourth, then Mark Quinn belted a Birmingham homer off a Dillard changeup. A Christopher Amador triple keyed a two-run seventh. "It seems like every time we made a mistake, the ball is up and they hit it,'' said Money. "And they hit it hard.'' Before there could be a deja vu grand slam moment, after the Stars loaded the bases again trailing by four, Birmingham reliever Fraser Dizard got Crabbe to pop up and Drew Anderson to hit into a double play to end the Huntsville seventh. "That took the wind out of us,'' Money said. "We have to score when we get the opportunity.''

While the focus is on the big league squad this afternoon, be aware that the Sounds game video is available free via MiLB.TV: www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../video.jsp

West Virginia press release indicates left (pitching) shoulder inflammation for Brandon Parillo.

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com/ Joe Davis Stadium is a neutral ballpark, meaning it favors neither hitter nor pitcher. If anything, it leans slightly to the hitter according to figures provided by the 2006 Baseball Prospectus. Early on, though, it looked liked it was going to be bombs away. Three home runs were hit between the two teams before the 5th inning, but the big blast came from Huntsville's Greg Sain. No one since Brandon Gemoll on May 10, 2004 had hit a grand-slam HR for the Stars and no one since David Gibralter on May 19, 2001 had done it against Birmingham........ Sain blasted a Larry Broadway 3-and-2 fastball that soared toward left-center field close to 400 feet beyond the top wall of the ballpark, nearly clearing the star-shaped advertisement to the left of the scoreboard, which got the sparsely scattered 1,000+ fans up out of their seats cheering wildly....... Sain had just erased a Birmingham 4-0 lead and tied the ballgame, one night after being blanked 8-0. The joy was only temporary though......... 17 of the Stars next 24 batters were retired. Two double plays and a nice stop by 3rd baseman Micah Schurrstein in the 5th inning froze any attempt to rally back........In the 7th, Fraser Dizard came out of the bullpen for Larry Little, a former independent league pitcher, with the bases full and nobody out, and got Callix Crabbe on a pop up just beyond the grass on the infield, then got Drew Anderson to swing at a first pitch sinker and hit into an easy 4-6-3 double play. Other than Sain's home run, it's hard to find anything positive to say. Tonight's crowd adds up to a two-day attendance total of 2,856 -- the lowest figure in Stars history for the first two home dates of the season. Tim Dillard, our ace, was shelled for 11 hits and six runs in just 3 2/3 innings with his grandparents watching. But for the 2nd day in a row, I saw some dazzling defense from Ozzie Chavez, who certainly looked better than the Ozzie Chavez I saw in 2004, and he is hitting a decent .259 to start the year........ There was also an eye-popping diving catch made by Kennard Bibbs in right field in the top of the 6th off Robert Valido...... Valido looked like he would be exiting from the game after being hit solidly on the elbow by a Dillard fastball in the 4th inning. As it turned out, Valido was on base when Mark Quinn, the former Kansas City Royals outfielder who played in 135 big league games and hit .294 in 2000, launched a home run to left to unlock the 4-4 game. Well that's it....... There's a lot more I could say, but I'm really tired and I'm going to bed. Stars fans, the few who show up and care anyway, will see Corey Thurman, the former Texas League All-Star for the first time against the new-look Barons' Tyler Lumsden, who missed all of last year after January surgery to remove a bone spur........ No one in the Barons lineup tonight played against the Stars last year, and yet they're showing the same kind of power left behind by Casey Rogowski, Jeremy Owens, Chris Stewart, et. al....... The Stars have now lost 11 of their last 13 games against Birmingham, going back to last year.

Link while active, text follows: desmoinesregister.com/app...003/SPORTS I-Cubs are unable to carry tune, but Sounds make noise RANDY PETERSON DES MOINES REGISTER STAFF WRITER That crisp, cracking sound of baseball bats Wednesday night came from someone other than the Iowa Cubs. Talk about a quiet evening on the edge of downtown Des Moines - Nashville pitching checked the Cubs on two hits in a 2-0 victory for the Sounds before a paid crowd of 5,309 at Principal Park. There was no noise ordinance violation for these Cubs - second baseman Mike Fontenot got the only hits, singles in the first and fourth innings. "Every time we hit the ball hard, it seems like it went right at someone," said Fontenot, who lined out to shortstop Chris Barnwell for the final out of the game. The Cubs hit five balls to the outfield against three Sounds pitchers - Michael Restovich flied to right in the first inning, Ryan Theriot flied to right in the third and ninth innings, and Fontenot had singles to center and right. Both hits were allowed by starter Ben Hendrickson, who went six innings. Brett Evert and Jason Kershner combined for three innings of hitless relief. There were just a few scoring chances - the only Cub to attempt to run to third base was gunned down in the third inning. Geovany Soto walked, was bunted to second, then tried to tag to third on Theriot's fly to right. But right fielder Nelson Cruz threw him out with a perfect throw. Theriot's six-game hitting streak ended. Soto was the only Cub to advance past first. "It was just one of those nights," Fontenot said.

Link while active, text follows: news-record.com/apps/pbcs...EWSREC0205 Grasshoppers stumble in extra innings By Jeff Carlton Greensboro News and Record Staff Writer GREENSBORO -- They got the solid, hold-them-close pitching from their bullpen, and they got the clutch late-inning hits Wednesday night. It was just as the Grasshoppers had done throughout the first week of their South Atlantic League season. The only thing missing was a victory. Kenny Holmberg's second home run of the night, a two-run, opposite-field shot to right field, lifted the West Virginia Power to a 5-3 triumph in 12 innings at First Horizon Park. Greensboro (5-2) had scratched out single runs in the eighth and ninth to send a game to extra innings for the first time this season. "I think in this last week we've shown we have the ability to come back, and that's a good sign," Hoppers manager Brandon Hyde said. "I think we have a lot of character on this team. I'm proud of the way they came back late in the game again." Their final comeback effort fell just short. When Gabriel Sanchez hit a broken-bat dribbler that West Virginia's shortstop couldn't handle cleanly, it put two Greensboro runners on with two outs for Kris Harvey, who had earlier homered. This time, after two outside strikes were called against him, the Clemson alum took a somewhat defensive swing against Dane Renkert and flied out to short left field. There was no dramatic, walk-off home run. Harvey believes he just missed hitting one out in the eighth inning, though, when he lined a single to left field to score Jeff Van Houten, which cut the Power's lead to 3-2. "Van Houten got on, then Gaby, then the guy left a curveball up that I probably should've hit out for a three-run homer," Harvey said, "but I got on top of it a little bit." Harvey beat out a force play at second to load the bases, but Jonathan Fulton struck out to end the threat. All three West Virginia pitchers -- starter Derek Miller and relievers Ronny Malave and Renkert -- kept a lid on the Grasshoppers' offense for most of the night, allowing only one extra-base hit and one earned run, while striking out 15. Greensboro's bullpen matched them. After a decent five innings from starter Aaron Thompson, relievers Jarrett Santos, Jason Iehl and Blake Jones held the Power in check until Holmberg's homer off Rafael Galbizo in the 12th. Jared Gaston got to second base on a pair of Power errors to open the bottom half of the ninth inning. Justin Webb moved him to third, and Agustin Septimo brought home the tying run with a base hit into right field. "You can never count us out," Harvey said.

Brevard County Game Two Game Summary: Manatees edge Cardinals Brendan Katin belted a three-run homer as Brevard County rallied for a 4-3 victory over visiting Palm Beach on Wednesday. After suffering their first loss of the season to the Cardinals earlier in the day, the Manatees responded with their sixth win in seven games. Brevard County climbed out of a three-run hole in the third inning after Travis Ezi tripled with one out and scored on a single by Alcides Escobar. Ryan Braun followed with a base hit, and Katin hit his second homer of the season off Palm Beach starter Tyler Adamczyk (0-2) for a 4-3 edge. Manatees starter Mark Rogers lasted just three innings, but reliever Ben Stanczyk (1-0) yielded only one run and four hits over three innings to pick up the win. Jeremy Lewis allowed a leadoff single in the ninth before striking out the side for his second save. Matt Shepherd drove in a pair of runs with singles in the second and fifth for the Cardinals (4-3), who had nine hits but stranded 10 runners. Brevard County opens a three-game series at home against Vero Beach at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday. Palm Beach continues a six-game road trip in Daytona at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday. -- Carl Dispoto/MLB.com

Link for Steve Sollman photo while active, text follows: No mention of the nightcap victory... www.floridatoday.com/apps...002/SPORTS Manatees lose slugfest Palm Beach hands Brevard first loss BY SCOTT BROWN FLORIDA TODAY If Wednesday is any indication, leads over the Brevard County Manatees aren't exactly safe these days. The Palm Beach Cardinals appeared to be in command of the first game of a doubleheader after scoring three runs in the second inning at Space Coast Stadium and another in the third. But a 4-1 lead quickly evaporated as Brevard County scored six runs in the bottom of the inning. That turn of events portended a wild game that ultimately ended with the Manatees absorbing their first loss of the season. Palm Beach right-fielder Terry Evans hit a pair of two-run homers in helping the Cardinals rally past the Manatees, 11-9, in front of an announced crowd of 497. The Manatees (5-1) had opened Florida State League play with five straight victories before dropping the game that had been continued from Tuesday after it was deemed unplayable because of a wet field. The Cardinals (4-2) saddled the Manatees with their first loss of the season by simply outscoring them. Palm Beach rapped out 18 hits and got seven RBI alone from Evans, whose two-run blasts in the fifth and sixth innings allowed the Cardinals to erase a three-run deficit. Palm Beach scored three runs in the seventh and then held on for the win. A strong wind blew out of the stadium and both offenses took advantage of it. The Manatees had 12 hits, including three by shortstop Alcides Escobar and two by three others. Catcher Nestor Corredor, one of the few Manatees who had gotten off to a slow start offensively, led Brevard County with three RBI, including one on a double. The Manatees, who host Vero Beach today at 7:00 PM (6:00 Central), didn't get the good pitching that had also been a key to their fast start. All three of Brevard County's pitchers gave up at least three runs with Dave Johnson (2-1) taking the loss after giving up his first runs of the season.