Jim Goulart

Final: Hagerstown (Mets) 4, West Virginia 1 West Virginia Site Game Summary -- link is to their home page only, it doesn't appear as though game summaries archive, so we'll also text them below, as we would normally anyway: www.wvpower.com/ The Hagerstown Suns pitching staff shined in Friday night?s game at Appalachian Power Park, as they held the Power to two hits in their 4-1 victory at the brand new ballpark. Mike Carp and Grant Psomas hit back to back homeruns in the top of the second inning to give the Suns an early 2-0 lead. Carlos Gomez began the scoring in the top of the third with a solo shot to make it 3-0 Suns and Hagerstown added another run in the inning on a Psomas RBI double to take a 4-0 lead. Carlos Corporan provided the only piece of offensive excitement for the Power when he hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the top of the fourth inning and made it a 4-1 game. No runs were scored from that point forward. Jose Sanchez (2-0) earned the victory for the Suns, Forrest Martin (0-2) obtained the loss for the Power and Carlos Muniz earned his 2nd save of the season. With the victory the Suns improve to 8-1 on the season and the Power drop to 1-8 with the loss. The Power will continue the four game series against the Suns on Friday night at Appalachian Power Park. Righthander Robbie Wooley (0-0, 10.80) will throw for the Power and the Suns will counter with righthander Matt Durkin (0-0, 0.00). The First Pitch will be delivered at 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score: RHP's Brian Montalbo and Simon Beresford end the game cleanly on their end; the Jason Tuttle watch continues -- 0-for-24 -- sorry, kid... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Two-out opportunity for Dallas Bates in the 2nd; otherwise, absolutely nothing... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

Final: Jupiter (Marlins) 11, Brevard County 3 Brevard County Site Game Summary: Link, then text -- going forward, if Manatees management could note the next game's starting pitcher, that'd be great... www.manateesbaseball.com/...e4150.html VIERA, FL -- The Manatees' pitching, which had been on a roll all season, was ineffective most of the night as the Hammerheads rolled past Brevard 11-3 Friday night at Space Coast Stadium. Starter Ken Durost lasted just four innings, allowing four runs on five hits walking five and giving up a three run homer in the first. The first two hitters Durost faced singled before right fielder Angel Molina, who homered last night, hit a three run shot onto the left field berm to put Jupiter up 3-0. It was all the offense the Hammerheads would need as their pitching held the Manatees to just three runs on 10 hits. Brevard?s first run came on a solo home run by center fielder Steve Moss. Drew Anderson picked up two hits while Ozzie Chavez had a triple and run. Anderson had an RBI single and a run for the Manatees to start a minor comeback in the eighth as his single scored Chavez who was on third with his triple. Jeff Eure followed with a single to put Lou Palmisano up with two on and two outs. Palmisano hit a single to score Anderson and advanced to second on an error by the right fielder. But it was all for naught as the Hammerheads would stop the bleeding and end the inning with no further damage. Jupiter?s fourth run came on a mammoth home run by shortstop Todd Brock to center field which cleared the batter?s eye. It was estimated the home run went well over 450 feet. The Manatees fall to 3-5 and will conclude their three game home stand versus the Hammerheads tomorrow at 7:00 PM (6:00 PM Central). Brevard County Box Score: Looks like we'll have cut-and-paste box scores available at the lower levels... YTD YTD JUPITER AB R H BI AVG BREVARD COUNTY AB R H BI AVG A.De Aza LF 6 1 1 0 .280 O.Chavez SS 5 1 2 0 .179 F.Moore 2B 3 2 2 0 .333 S.Sollmann 2B 4 0 1 0 .207 J.Campusano SS 1 0 0 0 .105 D.Anderson LF 4 1 3 1 .333 A.Molina RF 4 2 2 3 .300 J.Eure 3B 4 0 1 0 .250 L.Mitchell 3B 4 2 2 2 .313 L.Palmisano CAT 4 0 2 1 .304 R.Bear 1B 4 2 2 1 .344 S.Moss CF 3 1 1 1 .143 R.Abercrombi CF 3 1 0 0 .111 W.Campana DH 4 0 0 0 .429 P.Arlis CAT 5 0 2 3 .235 R.Deevers RF 4 0 0 0 .111 A.Rohleder DH 3 0 1 0 .200 C.De La Cruz 1B 4 0 0 0 .000 M.Brock SS 0 0 0 0 .231 K.Durost PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Brock 2B 5 1 1 2 .231 B.Hall PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Mildren PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Rival PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Baker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Diggins PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Martinez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Lewis PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Olivera PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 38 11 13 11 TOTALS 36 3 10 3 JUPITER 3 1 0 0 3 4 0 0 0-11 13 1 BREVARD COUNTY 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0- 3 10 3 E--A.De Aza, S.Sollmann, J.Eure 2. DP--JUPITER 0, BREVARD COUNTY 1. LOB--JUPITER 10, BREVARD COUNTY 7. 2B--F.Moore (3), P.Arlis (1), S.Sollmann (1). 3B--R.Bear (1), O.Chavez (2). HR--A.Molina (2), L.Mitchell (2), M.Brock (2), S.Moss (1). SB--A.De Aza (5). CS-- F.Moore, A.Molina. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA JUPITER P.Mildren (W,1-0) 5.0 4 1 1 0 7 1 1.00 R.Baker 2.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1.80 C.Martinez 1.0 4 2 2 1 0 0 18.00 M.Olivera 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 BREVARD COUNTY K.Durost (L,0-2) 4.0 6 4 4 5 3 2 8.59 B.Hall 1.0 2 3 2 2 1 1 6.35 K.Rival 1.0 4 4 4 1 2 0 9.00 B.Diggins 2.0 1 0 0 2 2 0 2.45 J.Lewis 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.45 SO--A.De Aza, F.Moore, A.Molina 2, L.Mitchell, R.Abercrombi 2, P.Arlis, M.Brock 2, O.Chavez 2, D.Anderson, J.Eure 2, L.Palmisano, R.Deevers 2, C.De La Cruz. BB--F.Moore 2, A.Molina 2, L.Mitchell, R.Bear, R.Abercrombi 2, A.Rohleder 2, S.Moss. T--3:00.Brevard County Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1

Final: Carolina (Marlins) 4, Huntsville 3 Huntsville Site Game Summary -- link, then text: www.huntsvillestars.com/s...newsId=563 Jeremy Hermida homered and drove in three runs to push Carolina past the Stars 4-3 Friday night in their home opener before a crowd of 5,350 at Joe W. Davis in Huntsville. The Mudcats improved to 6-1 with five of the wins against the Stars, who dropped to 1-7 overall and 1-5 in one-run games. Eric Reed opened the game with a bunt base hit and advanced to second base on a ground ball out before Hermida singled to center field to chase home the speedy center fielder with the game?s first run. The Stars tied the game in the home second against Scott Olsen, who had blanked them over five innings in a rain-shortened victory seven days ago. Vinny Rottino reached on a throwing error by third baseman Chris Bass with one out, advanced to second base on a passed ball and stayed there when Tony Zuniga walked. Brandon Gemoll then singled into right field and Rottino was held at third before Hermida?s throw to the infield sailed over the head of the catcher Chris Ashby, allowing Rottino to score and the other runners to advance a base. However, Enrique Cruz struck out and pitcher Manny Parra grounded out to end the inning with the game tied at one. Hermida then smoked a line drive two-run home run to right-center field off of Parra in the sixth to put the visitors up 3-1. The 11th overall selection in the 2002 draft has hit both of his home runs and knocked in all six of his runs against Stars pitching this season. Reed?s two-out double in the seventh scored Drew Niles to make it 4-1 and chase Parra from the game after the longest outing of the season by a Huntsville starting pitcher. The southpaw suffered his first loss of the sesaon after fanning five and issuing one walk in his second start. Scott Olsen lasted five innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits to earn his second win in as many starts against the Stars. The home team trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the eighth on a two-run pinch hit double by John Vanden Berg, his first hit of the year, but left him stranded at third. Chris Resop took over on the hill for Carolina in the bottom of the ninth and yielded a one-out single to Zuniga before first baseman Todd Sears made a diving stop on a Gemoll grounder that looked like it was ticketed for a base hit to right field. Sears threw to Resop for the out at first as Zuniga advanced to second base before Enrique Cruz struck out to end the game. Resop has four saves in four appearances this season, all against the Stars. The series continues Saturday night with right-hander Glenn Woolard taking the hill for Huntsville against Carolina right-hander Nic Ungs. Coverage of the game gets underway at 6:50 p.m. central time on ESPN 1450 AM and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score: Nelson Cruz 0-for-4, four K's... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

Final: Nashville 5, New Orleans (Nationals) 3, ten innings Nashville Site Game Summary -- link for Prince Fielder photo, text follows: www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1509 The Nashville Sounds continued to demonstrate their resolve on Friday evening, overcoming a pair of deficits to defeat New Orleans, 5-3 in 10 innings, and ruin the Zephyrs? home opener. With the victory, the Sounds (6-3) extended their lead in the American Conference Northern division to 1 ½ games over Memphis. With the Sounds facing extra innings for the first time this season, Rickie Weeks opened the tenth by drawing a walk on a 3-2 pitch from Roy Corcoran. Prince Fielder followed with a double into the right field corner to snap a personal 0-for-9 skid. Pinch-hitter Matt Erickson followed with an opposite-field, pinch-hit RBI single through the left side to plate Weeks and give Nashville a 4-3 lead. Corey Hart, who finished 3-for-5 in the contest after opening the year 2-for-27, followed with an RBI single to right and a 5-3 lead. The Sounds wasted no time getting the offense going, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. With one out, Weeks was hit by a pitch by rehabbing Zephyrs starter Tony Armas, Jr., then stole second. Two batters later, Brad Nelson drove him in with an opposite-field RBI single to left. New Orleans took a 2-1 lead with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning. Armas recorded the first hit of the game for New Orleans with a leadoff triple down the right field line that eluded Hart, the Sounds? rightfielder. Z?s leadoff hitter Tyrell Godwin followed with a routine comebacker to the mound but Sounds starter Rick Helling misfired into the New Orleans bullpen, allowing Armas to score and tie the game at 1-1 on Nashville?s second straight two-base error. After Godwin stole third, Rick Short delivered a sacrifice fly to left to put the home team ahead by a run. Nashville quickly tied things up at 2-2 in the top of the fourth. Nelson drew a one-out walk and moved to third one batter later on a single to left by Kevin Orie (2-for-4). Catcher Pat Borders knotted the contest with an RBI chopper to third. The Zephyrs jumped back ahead with a run in the bottom of the sixth. Brendan Harris led off the frame with a single to left then moved to third on a single to right by Larry Broadway. Jason Bowers followed with an RBI dribbler to second, plating Harris to give New Orleans a 3-2 advantage. The Sounds tied the contest again in the top of the eighth with back-to-back two out hits from Hart (double) and Orie (RBI single) against Zephyrs reliever Gary Majewski. One down note for Nashville in the contest was an 0-for-4 effort from leadoff hitter Dave Krynzel, snapping the outfielder?s season-opening hitting streak at eight games. Sounds reliever Justin Lehr (1-1) picked up the victory after tossing two scoreless innings, while Corcoran (1-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up the game-deciding runs in the tenth. Jeff Bennett earned his second save of the season with a scoreless bottom of the tenth and kept his season ERA at 0.00 through five appearances (5.1 IP). The teams continue their series with a 6:05 p.m. matchup on Saturday evening at Zephyr Field. Left-hander Andy Pratt (0-0, 11.25) makes his second start for Nashville. He?ll face rehabbing New Orleans right-hander Claudio Vargas, who will make his first appearance of the 2005 campaign. Nashville Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1 Audio link -- key Kevin Orie RBI base hit: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-15.mp3

Another player just released by the Brewers is LHP Justin Wilson. Wilson, who will be 23 years old in May, was a sign-and-follow out of Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona (37th round, 2003). His professional record is spotless, as he posted an ERA of 0.00 in seven scoreless relief appearances covering 14.2 innings at Helena early last season. Wilson broke his pitching hand and missed the remainder of the season. We're unaware of the specifics behind his release at this point. If I might, on a personal note, express an extra amount of disappointment regarding this. Justin had just recently agreed to answer a series of questions for me as part of what would then become a Brewerfan Home Page Q&A article. I was just getting ready to finalize my questions when I learned of his release. Why interview Justin, a rather obscure young prospect? It's a shame that the Helena newspaper folks didn't present us with a profile on Justin last year, because his story was certainly that of human interest. Justin is deaf. We don't reveal a lot about our personal lives behind our Brewerfan monikers, but I'm a proud parent of nine-year-old Sara, also a proud member of the deaf community. I was looking forward into pouring that perspective into both my baseball-related and lifestyle questions for Justin. I hope I can keep in touch with the young man and follow his career elsewhere if he so chooses and is able. While outfielder Curtis Pride probably comes to mind for many of you as a deaf baseball player, the ranks of deaf pitchers in major league baseball is much shorter than that of position players. In recent years, we've linked you to stories about the Dodgers' fine pitching prospect Ryan Ketchner, who has faced Brewer farmhands in Beloit, High Desert and Huntsville. He's likely to be the first deaf major league pitcher in nearly a century: losangeles.dodgers.mlb.co...;fext=.jsp Here's hoping the very best for Justin Wilson going forward, and that somehow he'll be right behind Ketchner soon...

The Brewers released OF Ryan Gordon, a player who never got a chance to suit up in a professional game for the organization -- here's what we wrote when Gordon was signed this winter: Gordon will be making his pro debut in 2005 having turned 24 in January, so starting out at low-A West Virginia is a possibility. He was a two-way player at UNC-Greensboro, and did not sign with the Blue Jays after being selected in the 43rd round in 2003, opting to return for his senior year. Gordon raked to a 1.041 OPS in 2004. www.uncgspartans.com/spor...YER_ID=859

In progress: Jupiter (Marlins) 6, Brevard County 0, bottom of the fifth at Space Coast RHP Kenny Durost was your starter for the 'Tees -- unfortunately he struggled, as has the offense so far...

Use these links to follow along the updating box scores and game logs for tonight's minor league action. You should be able to check out the live gamecast at the Nashville site come gametime as well... Nashville Home Page for GameCast: www.nashvillesounds.com/ Nashville (milb.com): www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

Mark Rogers' Latest Journal (link, then text -- click on link to send Mark an email): www.minorleaguebaseball.c...;fext=.jsp Player Journal: The season starts By Mark Rogers / MLB.com Mark Rogers was the 2004 first-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers, the No. 5 overall pick of the draft. The right-hander out of Mt. Ararat High School in Maine made his debut in the Arizona League last summer and is now in his first full season of professional baseball. He's a starting pitcher for the West Virginia Power, the Brewers' affiliate in the Class A South Atlantic League. He's agreed to chronicle his experiences in a journal for MinorLeagueBaseball.com. Hey everyone, The season has begun and I've pitched twice since the last time I wrote. The first game of the season, I'd been thinking about it for a while. Then we had a five and a half hour bus ride to Hagerstown, Maryland, so I was going over it in my mind. At game time, I felt great, but I guess it was one of those days. The first batter, I got ahead of 0-2 and thought this was going to be a great night. But I lost him and walked the leadoff batter and that kind of set the tone for me for the next couple of innings. I ended up walking four and allowing five earned runs in three innings. There were some positives I took out of it. As bad as I thought I threw, it could've been much worse. I pitched out of a couple of situations. I used my fourth best pitch, my changeup, as my most effective pitch and got a couple of strikeouts off of it. I actually pitched backwards off my changeup, which isn't common for me. It was a different situation for me, trying to pitch out of trouble. And I know I'm going to face it many times again. I'm not going to throw out of the windup all the time. You have to experience it some time and learn from it and put it toward your next outing. You have to live game to game, and forget about it too. Obviously, numbers are important, but I'm working on a few different things right now. My numbers may not be as good because I have to work on these things to be better down the line. Just watch Tiger Woods. He revamped his swing over the last year, kind of had to take a step back, and come back and won the Masters. Sometimes you have to step back, reassess your delivery and mechanics, to be that much better a year down the road. I was able carry some of that over to my next outing, when I went 2 2/3 innings, didn't give up a run and struck out three. I was a lot more successful in this outing. I couldn't ask for a whole lot more than what happened there. We had our home opener on Thursday. It was crazy. There were 5,354 people there, and it's a stadium that fits 4,500, so it was packed to the walls. It was the spark we needed coming off our unsuccessful road trip. We knocked out 12 hits and scored eight runs. The fans gave our offense the spark it needed to get going and we picked up our first win. The new ballpark is unbelievable. The most impressive part of it is when you walk out onto the field, you see the jumbotron in left field and the enormous scoreboard. Everything is so clean. The infield grass is perfect, there's a high mound. It has that brand new feeling and smell. It's awesome right now. Your emails were awesome, too. Thanks for all the good wishes as we get going this season. I'll try to answer some of your emails in every journal. Mark's Mailbag Hey Mark, Hope to see you in Milwaukee in a couple years. Could you talk a little about your different pitches, and what pitches you are working on? -- Eric O., Milwaukee, WI Eric, what most people know is I'm a fastball, curveball pitcher right now. Over the winter, I worked on my changeup. I've been throwing a cutter really effectively during the spring. I think I can throw all four of them, it's just a question of perfecting them and knowing when to throw each one, when each one will be effective. Mark, What has the organization told you regarding how you will be handled this year? With baseball seasons being so short in Maine (like they are here in Wisconsin), will you be on some sort of a pitch count this year? Also, what was it like training with Barry Zito, and what did you work on with him? -- Brad S., Wisconsin Rapids, WI Brad, as far as this year, we're doing the piggy-backing system. There are three tandems on our team. I'll start one game, and I'll be on a pitch count which will get greater as the season goes on. The following outing, I'll follow the starter in relief and be on a pitch count there, too. It's their way of controlling the young pitcher. As far as working with Barry, that was one of the best experiences I've had in baseball. To work with someone who's 26, but understands what a 19-year-old draft pick is going through, was great. He's only 26, but he has so much experience under his belt, a Cy Young, playoff games. It's not just the pitching side of it, it's the mental side of things that impressed me so much. We did yoga. Just seeing him in that studio, it's like there's no one else with him there in the studio. He takes that with him out there on the mound. It's just him out there on the mound. I took that confidence he has in himself with me this season. Mark, When you were little what team did you want to play for? Thanks and good luck with the Class A West Virginia power. -- Mac S. Mac, growing up in New England, it was hard... I better be careful here... there are a lot of Red Sox fans. I was definitely one of them. Growing up, I thought I wanted to be a Boston Red Sox. That being said, I'm really fortunate the Brewers took me when I did and I'm happy to be a part of their organization.

Nashville Media Notes for Friday (PDF format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

Link while active, text follows: dailymail.com/news/Jack+B...k-20050415 New ballpark, new energy for the Power Jack Bogaczyk Charleston Daily Mail Sports Editor It wasn't a night about baseball, or at least it didn't start that way. It was about pomp, and the circumstances were all about seeing and being seen. It was opening night at Appalachian Power Park. In the seats behind home plate, there were so many politicians that it looked like the State Legislature was in one of those traveling special sessions. It was an electric Thursday night at "The APP" and it wasn't just because the box seat cheerleading chatterbox, Rod Blacktoast ... er, Blackstone ... now has a wall outlet installed near his front-row location for toaster heating purposes. (Gee, wonder how much of The APP's $23 million it cost to run that Power line. Can we get Blackstone a surge protector, too?) A standing room only crowd of 5,354 (approaching 900 over the 4,474-seat capacity) came for a celebration and really got more than it expected to see. All it took for West Virginia was a dramatic change of scenery, a debut in a gleaming jewel of a ballpark surrounding the most expensive diamond the capital city has seen. The first week of "Powerball" had been like a lottery ticket with the wrong numbers. No winners. Then, with a Dante Brinkley homer on the third pitch in APP history, it appeared Hagerstown still had plenty of juice. After a woeful 0-7 road start, in the bottom of the first inning, the home team got into the atmosphere in its Power Park dress whites, then ripped into the unbeaten Suns for four runs, matching the Power's futile scoreboard total in four dates last week against the Suns. The Power outage was history. Charleston's club, already with a new park, a new name and a new sudsy affiliation to follow on last year's new ownership and management, played with a new verve in an 8-3 triumph. West Virginia had timely hitting (the top three hitters in the order were 7-for-15), solid pitching and played errorless ball, leaving Class AA Tennessee (0-7) as the only winless team in baseball's bushes. Hey, who needed postgame fireworks? "That's what we saw all spring," said visiting Milwaukee Brewer player development chief Reid Nichols of the Power play. As for the ballpark, it plays like a hitter's paradise. Watt Powell Park, it isn't. The ball carries very well to right field. A bouncer or a roller remain just that, not an adventure, on a superb playing surface. A 359-foot power alley in right-center is pitcher-unfriendly. The asymmetrical fence distances, altering heights and angles of the outfield wall figure to be fun for fans, but not for double-chasers. The low walls in foul territory offer fielders and fans equal opportunity on pops. OK, so the Power is 1-7. It's been a tough start for the Double-A and Class A full-season levels for the Brewers so far, with three teams combining for a 5-17 record. For the Power, it's a long way to Labor Day, especially since West Virginia plays Lexington and the Suns, the teams that unplugged the Power in the season's first week, a combined 44 more times this season. That's why winning to start the home season was crucial, not so much because the stands were overflowing. Really, though, success doesn't matter this season as much at the new yard. The Power already has sold more than 140,000 tickets. Curiosity about The APP is going to sell more, as will an enhanced ballpark experience provided by more entertainment than the talents of Brewer second base prospect Hernan Iribarren and strike-throwing pitchers. Charleston's pro baseball season attendance record is a very snappable 185,389, set in 1991 at Watt Powell by the Cincinnati-affiliated Wheelers, who went 92-50 with current Reds Manager Dave Miley as the skipper. There's a second straight sellout tonight, but there will be days when baseball will be the game that matters at the new ballpark. What mattered Thursday was that even with a bunch of newfangled appliances to jolt the senses, the Power was no longer burnt toast.

Charleston Daily Mail records the following for history: Top of the firsts A look at firsts at Appalachian Power Park: Attendance -- 5,354 Pitcher -- Derek DeCarlo, West Virginia Batter -- Wilson Batista, Hagerstown Pitch -- Fastball, called strike Hit -- Home run by Dante Brinkley, Hagerstown Run -- Brinkley, Hagerstown Single -- Carlos Gomez, Hagerstown Double -- Will Lewis, West Virginia Triple -- Hernan Iribarren, West Virginia Home run -- Brinkley, Hagerstown Run batted in -- Brinkley, Hagerstown Putout -- Alcides Escobar, West Virginia, line drive to shortstop Outfield assist -- Carlos Gomez, Hagerstown, threw out Lewis at home Strikeout -- Ambiorix Concepcion, Hagerstown Walk -- Josh Murray, West Virginia Stolen base -- Carlos Gomez, Hagerstown Hit by pitch -- Dallas Bates, West Virginia (by Jeff Landing, Hagerstown) Error -- Wilson Batista, Hagerstown, dropped infield popup Winning pitcher -- DeCarlo, West Virginia Losing pitcher -- Jeff Landing, Hagerstown Save -- Yovani Gallardo, West Virginia Pickoff -- Brinkley, Hagerstown, by DeCarlo, West Virginia (at first) Sacrifice -- Lewis, West Virginia (bunt) Wild pitch -- Rafael Cova, Hagerstown

Link while active, text follows: www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...005041527/ Nichols 'perplexed' but not overly concerned with Power's slow start Michael Dailey Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter Reid Nichols spent 13 seasons as a professional baseball player, including 540 games with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Montreal Expos. So, he knows that a 0-7 start is just a drop in the bucket in a 140-game season. Still, Nichols, now a special assistant to the general manager and the player development director for the Milwaukee Brewers, was a little perplexed with the West Virginia Power?s season-opening road trip, from which they returned as one of two winless teams in minor league baseball and the only winless team in Class A. ?I?m not overly concerned, but I have lost a little sleep over the 0-7 start trying to figure out what?s going on,? said Nichols. ?But if you give them a little time and let them get their feet on the ground, I think they?ll start to come together and play a lot better. ?What I?m getting from the staff is that they are pressing. They?re trying to do too much. Every player is trying to win the game instead of just doing what they do. ?They just need to tell themselves that it can?t get any worse,? continued Nichols. ?They just need to relax, have some fun and do what they can do. Once they realize that and get to that point, and I think they may already be there, they?ll start playing like we think they can. ?It?s got to be a lot more fun to come home and play in front of the home crowd and to open a new ballpark. I?m sure the players are excited right now and it might end up being enough of a distraction that they?ll be able to go out and have some fun.? That?s exactly what the Power did in the inaugural game at newly constructed Appalachian Power Park. After falling behind in the top of the first inning, the Power rallied for four runs in the home half of the inning en route to an 8-3 win over the Hagerstown Suns in front of an overflow crowd of 5,354. Charleston improved to 1-7 on the season, while Hagerstown dropped to 7-1. ?On the road, we were only out of two games,? said Power Manager Ramon Aviles. ?We lost one game 9-1 and another 8-0, but in the rest of the games, we were in the game. We had chances to win, but the breaks didn?t come our way and we didn?t get the key hits like we did tonight. ?They were trying too hard. And when you try too hard nothing seems to work. This will definitely help them relax and quit pressing.? Power second baseman Hernan Iribarren agreed with Aviles. ?We feel a lot better because we won that first game,? said Iribarren, who had three hits in the win. ?Now, we just have to keep going. That?s what we needed. One victory and now we need to keep going.? One thing that could help the Power surge is the continued turning of the stadium?s turnstiles. ?I wouldn?t say we were pressing, but we were kind of confused,? said Power left fielder Will Lewis, a native of Texarkana, Ark. ?We played well this spring and, then, we came out with a loss and we didn?t know what was going on. ?We were confused about what it takes to get a win. We were playing hard, but things just weren?t going our way. ?But this atmosphere was great,? said Lewis of the opening night crowd. ?The fans were very supportive. It?s good to go out and hear cheering. It makes you want to go out there and do something positive for your team. ?I hope they keep coming because they?re a big influence on us.?

Link while active, text follows: www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...005041513/ Pomp, circumstance and a victory Matt Lockhart Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter He hasn't moped. He hasn't cried. He hasn't pouted around. Will Lewis has just changed - positions, that is. The only thing flying off the handle with this West Virginia Power ultra-utility man are screaming line drives. Lewis is sparking a batting order that's hitting over .200 for the first time this early 1-7 season. His three-run, first-inning double that put the Power in front for good in an 8-3 home-opener win over previously-unbeaten Hagerstown at Appalachian Power Park Thursday is just the latest in Lewis' file. See, the 23-year-old was a middle infielder. But he was playing left field Thursday. "I might have played outfield when I was 12 years old," Lewis said. The problem for him is that the Milwaukee Brewer brass believes shortstop Alcides Escobar and second baseman Hernan Iribarren -- both Venezuelans -- are the future. So, when Lewis sat out the first two games of the season on the pine, no one flinched. Then, he showed up in the outfield for two games, before sitting out the next two. Instead of kicking and screaming, Lewis came out Wednesday and smacked two homers. He followed it up with Thursday's three-run double to boost him into team highs in batting (.333), RBI (5) and home runs (2), despite playing in only four of the eight games. West Virginia Power Manager Ramon Aviles isn't shocked by the hitting, however. After all, Lewis batted .328 in Beloit last season with the Class A team West Virginia replaced. What did surprise the former big leaguer Aviles was Lewis' second at-bat. He bunted, sacrificially. "It surprised me when he bunted because he did it on his own," Aviles said, as fireworks crashed in the background of an opening night that drew a standing room only crowd of 5,354. "He surprised me by bunting." Then again, anyone is surprised by a bunt from someone that had two home runs and a three-run double in his few previous at-bats. "I saw (the third baseman) back," Lewis said. "I was like, ?I'll sacrifice myself.' " Sacrificing himself is something that might just pay off for Lewis. The move to the outfield appeared natural Thursday. At times, he even showed off a strong arm on throws to second from left field. "We feel he can do both," Aviles said about Lewis playing infield and outfield. "That will give him more value. Anytime you can do that, you have more value on a team." And more value as a prospect. "Whatever is going to get me on the field and get me seen to give me a chance to move up," said Lewis, who was a 32nd round pick in 2003 out of Texas Christian University. "That is what I'm going to do. I don't care if I have to catch -- and I've never caught in my life. "Whatever it takes to play every day." He didn't mope, cry or pout. Lewis just changed. *** Just like that. It took only three pitches and a deep home run by Hagerstown's Dante Brinkley for players and fans to see what is in store for this season at the new $23 million park. "Man it flies out to right, right center," said Lewis. "It is going to be crazy. The balls will fly out for sure, especially when we get a little wind going." Hagerstown's Wilson Batista followed with a homer to right two innings later, but West Virginia's four-run first inning was too much for the Suns to overcome. The four runs equaled the combined Power total in the four-loss season-opening series at Hagerstown (7-1). Even though the Suns got to Power starter Derek DeCarlo (1-0) early with two homers, the 22-year-old from Miami, Fla., didn't allow another run in his five innings of work to pick up the club's first win. He was the unlikely benefactor of a lively right-center field. "We just had a meeting and the pitchers were talking about it," outfielder Dallas Bates said. "We practiced over at (Watt Powell Park) and that place was huge. But balls were getting hit pretty hard tonight. The ball carries." When asked to compare the new stadium's playing conditions to Watt Powell Park, Aviles pointed to the ground and said "From here to the moon." POWER PLUGS: Right-hander Forrest Martin (0-1, 2.45 ERA) will start for the Power at 7:05 (6:05 Central) tonight in front of a sellout crowd against right-hander Jose Sanchez (1-0, 0.00). ... The Power got its final run in strange fashion. Grant Richardson stuck out swinging for the third out, but the ball went in the dirt and the catcher failed to tag him. Richardson thought the inning was over, so he slammed his helmet out of frustration and walked to his first base position. Then, Richardson realized he hadn't been tagged out and ran to first safely. In the meantime, Alcides Escobar scored from third. ... The Power struck out eight times Thursday to raise its total to 75 in eight games. ...West Virginia outfielder Jason Tuttle is 0-for-21. ... Former West Virginia University shortstop Grant Psomas was 3-for-4 Thursday for Hagerstown to raise his batting average to .433. ... Appalachian Power Park isn't the only new South Atlantic League stadium. The Greensboro Grasshoppers are averaging 7,024 fans in the first two games at the 8,000-seat First Horizon Park. ... Hagerstown catcher Tony Piazza isn't related to New York Mets' backstop Mike Piazza. That designation would belong to another Mets' minor league catcher, Tommy Piazza. West Virginia Power's Dallas Bates, center, gets caught in a rundown against Hagerstown third baseman Grant Psomas, far right, and catcher Aaron Hathaway (13) while West Virginia Manager Ramon Aviles looks on during the Power's first game at Appalachian Power Park. Photo: Bob Wojcieszak http://www.dailymail.com/images/Race0415.jpg

Just in case you hear about this "toast guy" in Charleston: Throughout the evening, fans waited in lines for beers and burgers. Families and friends packed the picnic areas while others crowded into the luxury suites. It appeared everyone was having fun but the Hagerstown players, who had to walk past a heckling Rod Blackstone to the dugout. Blackstone, the mayor's assistant, also is known for his presence at ball games, where he tosses toast to fans each time the opposing team strikes out. This might be the oddest news blurb we've ever linked to... Link while active, text follows: www.dailymail.com/news/News/2005041536/ With new toaster, popular heckler at his post Jake Stump Charleston Daily Mail Staff Ballpark developers made sure they had one crucial task completed before the grand opening of Appalachian Power Park. "One of the first things we figured out was where to put an electrical outlet for the toaster," said David Molgaard, Charleston city manager. "It's a must-have. There is no way the park could've opened without it." Folks who have attended minor league baseball games in Charleston in the last 15 years know what the toaster is for, and it isn't to accompany bacon and eggs. It's for the Toastman, and he was at the West Virginia Power's home opener Thursday night with a new four-slice appliance. "It's a brand new toaster for a new era of baseball," said Rod Blackstone, a sort of unofficial mascot with multiple identities. By day, he's the polished, business-minded assistant to Mayor Danny Jones. He's even worked for Gov. Bob Wise in the past. But after working hours, Blackstone can be seen hurling burned toast into crowds at baseball games, dancing foolishly to tunes blaring over the loudspeaker and taunting players on the away team with cornball jabs. Every time an opposing player strikes out or makes an error, Blackstone slings toast into the crowd and chants, "You are toast!" That's not the only thing he says at games. "Where is Jeff landing?" Blackstone yelled at the Hagerstown Suns pitcher in the third inning of Thursday's Power-Suns game. The pitcher was Jeff Landing, and Blackstone was playing off his name to criticize his pitches. Blackstone asked again, "Where is Jeff landing?" before Landing struck out a Power player. "That was the wrong answer," Blackstone said aloud. Blackstone also makes up cheers for each of the Power players and brings his homemade signs to get the fans to chant with him. "I say, ?Rising Star,' and you say, ?Escobar,'" Blackstone shouted to fans in Section 107, referring to infielder Alcides Escobar. City and team officials even put an image of a toaster on the sign identifying Section 107, the prime toasting area between the visitors' dugout and home plate. A net separates the seating area from the field, and that is good for Blackstone in case a player gets mad. "He's classic," Molgaard said. "He makes it fun and was a driving force in development of the park. If not for Rod, it would've been easy to throw our hands up in the air and quit." While the Power gave 18 people the honor of the throwing simultaneous first pitches Thursday, Blackstone had his first toast toss reserved for one person. J.R. House, record-setting former Nitro High quarterback and recent Pittsburgh Pirates catcher, slung out the first slices. Suns' right fielder Ambiorix Concepcion was the victim. Blackstone usually stocks up on loaves of bread from Flowers Baking Co. in Kanawha City, where he purchases four loaves for $3. "A really good night is a three-loaf night," he said. "I try to make it as dark as possible to prevent people from eating it. You're not supposed to eat the toast. You don't know where it's been. Sometimes I have leftover toast that's been in my trunk for a day or two." The mayor even joined in on the fun Thursday by holding a sign that read, "Don't Eat the Toast." Blackstone's boisterous behavior at Charleston games dates back to 1990 with the Charleston Wheelers. "I started thinking it'd be nice to get more fans into it," he said. "I recognized that when people know what to say, they'll cheer with you. So I made signs for the players when they came up to bat." In 1992, Dennis Bastien, the Wheelers owner at the time, allowed Blackstone to make toast at Watt Powell Park. "Most players take it the right way," said Blackstone, a Pirates fan who grew up near Pittsburgh. "I'll see former opponents and a lot of them smile and wave or talk to me." Some have even gotten their picture taken with him, he said. "You shouldn't acknowledge a heckler," Blackstone said. "That means you're getting to them." Sometimes the message doesn't even reach the other team, especially during the first games of the season when Blackstone's voice is still green like a rookie's. "It's the third inning already and my voice is toast." Decked out in a tuxedo, baseball lover Rod Blackstone urges the opening night crowd to feel the power of the Power. Photo: Bob Wojcieszak http://www.dailymail.com/images/OPEN170417.jpg

Link while active, text follows: www.wvgazette.com/section.../200504156 Power notebook On the surface, much better By Mike Whiteford Charleston Gazette Staff Writer On April 5, the Power players arrived in Charleston to inspect their new home, look for apartments, meet the media and work out. But because of construction activities at Appalachian Power Park, they moved the workout across town to Watt Powell Park. There, they saw first-hand the stark contrast between a professional-grade playing surface and one infamous for its bad hops and lunar-like landscape. How big of a difference was it? ?It was like from here to the moon,?? Power manager Ramon Aviles said with a smile after his team?s 8-3 home-opening victory over the Hagerstown Suns Thursday night. Power first baseman Grant Richardson, who contributed a first-inning single and scored a run Thursday night, took part in that Watt Powell workout and now sympathizes with the Charleston players who preceded him. ?I feel sorry for the team last year,?? said Richardson. ?I wish they could experience what we?re experiencing now, but I?m glad we moved here and got a chance to play in this great town and great ballpark.?? The early consensus is that the ball carries well to right field but not so well to left and that the playing surface is soft, especially around third base, although it is likely to change as the season wears on. ?The field is a little soft right now,?? said Power shortstop Alcides Escobar, ?but it?s going to help us win a lot of games. We play half our games here, and we?ll get used to it.?? POWER POINTS: Friday's game against the Suns will start at about 7:10 PM (6:10 Central) and is already sold out. The Power and Suns will play single games at 7:05 PM (6:05 Central) Saturday and 2 PM (1 PM Central) Sunday. Those two games are expected to draw about 4,000 fans each, said Power general manager Andy Milovich. ... For Thursday?s opener, the city placed portable bleachers around the concourse areas, including the outfield. If the bleachers prove popular, Milovich said the ballclub would consider adding permanent ones. ... Sixteen people, all of whom played a role in the new ballpark?s creation, participated in a simultaneous opening pitch. ... In addition to the 5,345 fans inside Appalachian Power Park, a handful of folks watched from atop Contemporary Galleries and Kyle Furniture on Smith Street. A ?Go Power?? sign was posted in a Contemporary Galleries window. ... Charleston starter Derek DeCarlo picked up the victory, allowing just two runs in five innings. ... The loss was Hagerstown?s first after seven victories. The Suns are a Mets team this year. ... Power pitchers entered the game with a 5.63 earned run average, which ranked 15th in the 16-team South Atlantic League.

Links to some nice photos from Opening Day at the new ballpark -- PDF (Adobe) format: www.wvgazette.com/images/...ower6A.pdf Another set in PDF format; these photos are great, color so vivid -- nice shot of 18-year-old Alcides Escobar signing autographs for fans included here: www.wvgazette.com/images/...ower7A.pdf Fans look on as the first pitch is thrown at Appalachian Power Park Thursday night. Charleston Gazette Photo by Chip Ellis http://www.wvgazettemail.com/images/stories/pitch1.jpg

Link while active, text follows: www.wvgazette.com/section.../200504151 No place like home Power picks up first win in first game at hitter-friendly park By Mike Whiteford Charleston Gazette Staff Writer Not long after the trolleys had deposited their final load of passengers at Appalachian Power Park, Hagerstown?s Dante Brinkley raised a relevant ballpark question. On the game?s third pitch, Brinkley, the Suns? designated hitter, lofted a solo home run over the right-center concourse and onto Morris Street. It was a healthy poke, but did it have the distance to escape the spacious confines of old Watt Powell Park, the 56-year-old Charleston landmark that on Thursday officially became a thing of the past? Whatever the distance of Brinkley?s blast, it offered a hint that, in addition to Appalachian Power Park?s other wonderful attributes, the park will be a more hitter-friendly place than its predecessor. All in all, the ballpark was quite friendly to the West Virginia Power and the 5,354 in attendance. In the opening game in its history, the Power responded with four first-inning runs, added another in the fifth, another in the seventh and two more in the eighth for an 8-3 victory over the Suns Thursday night. The night?s activities produced more than just the Power?s first victory after seven losses to open the season. ?This park is unbelievable, isn?t it,?? said the Power?s Greg Kloosterman, a pitcher who watched the game from the dugout. ?And the fan base, that was the most amazing part.?? ?I couldn?t have pictured it any better than it was tonight,?? added Power first baseman Grant Richardson, a former Washington State athlete. ?The stands were full, and everybody was cheering. And they were cheering for us, which is nice after a seven-game road trip where everyone was telling us we stink. I can?t explain how nice the field is and how great it is to be playing in a ballpark like this.?? Although the first-inning home run did not bode well for the home team, the Power players responded with some rockets of their own. In the bottom of the first, Hernan Iribarren led off with a triple to right center and, one out later, Carlos Corporan brought him home with a sizzling single to right. After Richardson singled and Josh Murray walked, William Lewis rocketed a double to left center, clearing the bases and bringing the fans to their feet for the city?s liveliest baseball commotion in years. The rally produced a 4-1 first-inning Power lead ? not bad for a team that batted .184 in its opening seven-game road trip and entered the game ranked last in the league in batting average. The Power finished the night with 12 hits and did not make an error. The new park, with its 359-foot distance to right center and a 363-foot dimension to left center, suddenly looked like a place that will lend itself to offense, perhaps changing Charleston?s long-standing reputation as an easy town for pitchers. ?The ball definitely carries,?? said Kloosterman. ?The ball hangs up there.?? ?The ball carries well to right center and right field,?? said manager Ramon Aviles. ?In batting practice, balls were carrying well to right but not to left.?? The Power added a run in the fifth as Alcides Escobar led off with a single to left and later scored on Freddy Parejo?s infield out. The Power even scored on a delayed double steal in the eighth, Escobar stealing second to draw a throw and Iribarren scooting home a split second ahead of the return throw. A second run came home in the eighth on a third strike in which the Hagerstown catcher dropped the ball, allowing the batter to reach safely and the runner from third to score. To contact staff writer Mike Whiteford, use e-mail or call 348-7948.

Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/sports/bas...D=68267529 Oklahoma pair trumps Sounds By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer Back-to-back home runs by Ian Kinsler and Laynce Nix with two outs in the ninth inning left the Nashville Sounds with a split of their four-game series against visiting Oklahoma, as the RedHawks took a 5-2 decision last night. The two homers keyed a three-run rally against Nashville reliever Mike Meyers, snapping a 2-2 tie and capping the comeback after Oklahoma scored a pair of runs in the fifth to tie the contest. Following the game, Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas second-guessed himself for allowing Meyers to face Kinsler after he had struck out Gerald Laird with a runner at third for the second out of the inning. ''He may have let down a little there. It was his third inning of work,'' Kremblas said. ''I thought about getting Jeff (Bennett) ready for that situation. I'll take the blame for that one.'' The Sounds, who went 5-3 in their season-opening homestand, went up 1-0 on Kevin Orie's second-inning RBI double and then doubled the margin with Trent Durrington's run-scoring base hit. From there, though, it was all Oklahoma. Starter Ricardo Rodriguez allowed just three hits over eight innings and overcame three errors by the RedHawk defense. Vladimir Nunez pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season. ''We had some (offensive) opportunities earlier in the game, but we didn't do a lot,'' Kremblas said. ''Their pitcher did a good job, even though they made some mistakes behind him. He made good pitches at the right times.'' Quick start: The Sounds scored the first run of the game last night, marking the first time in eight contests they've done so. Each of their five wins have been of the comeback variety. However, Tuesday's 11-2 loss marked the only game in which Nashville has not led at any point. Krynzel stays hot: Nashville outfielder Dave Krynzel had his hitting streak extended to eight games -- after last night's loss. Krynzel's first-inning ground ball to Oklahoma first baseman Greg Colbrunn was originally ruled an error. Colbrunn bobbled it twice and couldn't beat Krynzel to the base. However, the play was reviewed after the game and changed to a hit ? the only one in four at-bats for Krynzel. Been caught stealing: Krynzel's unsuccessful basestealing attempt in the first inning last night marked the eighth consecutive time the Sounds have been thrown out ? after opening the season with four stolen bases in as many tries. Ready to roll: Jose Capellan, who was scratched from Tuesday's start because of a blister on his right middle finger, threw a side session prior to yesterday's game and is expected to make his next scheduled start Sunday at New Orleans. Back to work: Greer Stadium usher John Harmon, who collapsed late in Wednesday's game, was back last night. Harmon was transported to Baptist Hospital and underwent a series of tests, all of which came back negative. He also took stitches over his left eye to close a gash sustained in the fall. What they said: ''You're going to have those days; it's obviously part of the game. I'm sure everyone's a little frustrated, feeling like there were certain at-bats they could have done something to win the game. I know that's what I'm thinking.'' ? Orie. Maurice Patton covers the Nashville Sounds for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 259-8018 or mopatton@tennessean.com. Nashville's Rickie Weeks, left, falls down after tagging Oklahoma RedHawks' Greg Colbrunn in the fourth. Colbrunn was called safe. JAE S. LEE / TENNESSEAN STAFF http://tennessean.com/sports/baseball/archives/05/03/68267531.jpg

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...119761.xml From Jackson to Jacksonville From West Tennessee to North Florida, changes in league just starting By PAUL GATTIS Times Sports Staff pgattis@htimes.com Just call it a new galaxy for the Stars. No longer will Huntsville play Birmingham so often that it seems like a summer-long box office hit at the movies. No longer will the Stars be in the same Southern League division with the state's other three Double-A teams. No longer will teams like Jacksonville, Fla., and Carolina be rarely seen opponents on the schedule. That's why the Mudcats will be at Joe Davis Stadium tonight for the Stars' home opener instead of more familiar opponents like the Barons or the Mobile BayBears. East and West in the Southern League is now North and South, the realigned divisions made necessary when Greenville, S.C., relocated to Pearl, Miss., near Jackson. "It put the whole thing in another perspective," Southern League president Don Mincher said. "You start looking at the alignment and the travel expenses. Now that gas is $2.25 a gallon, everybody looks at how to travel." Geography is the key to this new-look. And even though Mincher said he labored in trying to keep Huntsville and Birmingham - a long-running rivalry - in the same division, it wasn't feasible. But when Greenville moves to Pearl, what's a league president to do? "When you look at the alignment and the map, it only makes sense to go North and South," Mincher said. This is what the Southern League used to look like: East: Chattanooga, Greenville, Carolina, Jacksonville, Fla., and Tennessee (in Knoxville). West: Huntsville, West Tenn (in Jackson), Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile. This is what the Southern League looks like now: North: Huntsville, West Tenn, Carolina, Chattanooga, Tennessee. South: Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Pearl, Jacksonville. "I guess there's good parts and bad parts," said Stars infielder Chris Barnwell as he begins his second year in Huntsville. "The bad will be the travel. The good is that we mix it up a little bit. We don't play Birmingham 800 times this year." In fact, the Stars and the Barons don't play until July 4 at Joe Davis Stadium. But, by then, the Stars will have played the Chattanooga Lookouts 11 times. But that's an easy trip - barely long enough to squeeze in a nap on the bus. The dark side of that arrangement is two trips to Zebulon, N.C., to play the Mudcats - a 591-mile trek one way. And the 191-mile trip to Montgomery will be replaced with the 211-mile trip to Tennessee. "The traveling is bad," Stars veteran Tony Gwynn Jr. said, "but you get used to it after a while." For all the splitting hairs on traveling to Knoxville or Montgomery, the biggest difference will be the lacking constant presence of the Barons on the Stars' schedule. The rivalry had a lot of fuel between the winning history of both teams, the proximity and the back-and-forth gamesmanship between former Stars manager Frank Kremblas and Barons manager Razor Shines. "It was never dull, that's for sure," Barnwell said. "We played so much, it just created tension between us. Even if we got along with the other team, you just get sick of looking at the same people." Ask Gwynn if he'll miss playing the Barons seemingly every other day and he'll laugh. "Definitely not," he said. "They throw a lot of lefties at you and Razor is in your ear the whole game. I'm not going to miss them at all." Of course, the single worst part about this new galaxy for the Stars? So far, they've lost six of their first seven games.

West Virginia Site Game Summary: The West Virginia Power scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning in the first ever ball game at Appalachian Power Park on Thursday night, and never looked back, beating the previously unbeaten Hagerstown Suns 8-3. Dante Brinkley began the scoring, hitting the first homerun at Appalachian Power Park, a solo shot in the top of the first inning to give the Suns a 1-0 lead. The Power tied the game at 1-1 when Carlos Corporan knocked in Hernan Iribarren on an RBI single on the bottom of the first inning. Later in the inning, William Lewis hit a clutch, two-out, three-run double and gave the Power a 4-1 lead. The Suns cut the lead in half in the top of the third inning on Wilson Batista?s solo shot to make it a 4-2 game. In the fifth inning Alcides Escobar scored on a groundball hit by Freddy Parejo to make it 5-2 Power. Grant Psomas made it a 5-3 ball game with an RBI double in the top of the sixth inning to pull the Suns back within two runs. Dallas Bates knocked in Josh Murray on an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving the Power a 6-3 advantage. The Power pulled off a double steal in the eighth inning with runners on first and third. Suns catcher Aaron Hathaway threw the ball to second and allowed Iribarren to score and give the Power a 7-3 lead. Escobar scored the final run of the game later in the inning, when Grant Richardson reached first base on a dropped third strike. Derek DeCarlo (1-0) pitched five innings and surrendered two runs with six strikeouts to get the victory for the Power, Jeff Landing (1-1) obtained the loss and Yovani Gallardo earned his first save of the season, throwing four innings, allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts. With the victory the Power improve to 1-7 on the season, and the Suns drop to 7-1 with the loss. The Power will continue the series against the Suns on Friday night at Appalachian Power Park. Right Hander Forrest Martin (0-1, 2.45) will throw for the Power and the Suns will counter with Right Hander Jose Sanchez (1-0, 0.00). The First Pitch will be delivered at 7:05 PM.

Nashville Site Game Summary: The Nashville Sounds completed their season-opening eight-game homestand on the short end of a 5-2 loss to the Oklahoma RedHawks, giving the visitors a split of the four-game series. The RedHawks (3-5) plated three runs in the ninth on two home runs. Oklahoma second baseman Ian Kinsler delivered the decisive blow, crushing a two-out, two-run homer off the guitar-shaped scoreboard in left-center. The blast, off Sounds reliever Mike Meyers, was the infielder?s first of the season. RedHawks centerfielder Laynce Nix followed with a solo shot of his own on the very next pitch from Meyers, clearing the 16-foot double wall in right-center for his second tater of the year. The Sounds (5-3) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on an unearned run when Corey Hart reached on a fielding error by Kinsler, stole second, and scored on a Kevin Orie RBI double off RedHawks starter Ricardo Rodriguez. Nashville doubled the lead to 2-0 in the fourth. With one out, Hart and Orie drew back-to-back walks before Trent Durrington delivered an RBI single to right. Rodriguez avoided further damage later in the frame when he induced a double-play lineout from Julio Mosquera to escape the inning. The visiting RedHawks evened the score in the top of the fifth, plating a pair of runs on Jason Botts? two-out RBI single to second coupled with a throwing error by Sounds second baseman Rickie Weeks. Dave Krynzel extended his season-opening hitting streak to eight games with a first-inning single. Rodriguez (1-1) earned his first 2005 victory with a solid outing, limiting the Sounds to two runs (one earned) on only three hits while fanning six over eight innings. The right-hander did not allow a hit after Durrington?s fourth-inning single. Meyers (1-1) took the loss after surrendering the game-deciding longballs in his 2 2/3 innings of work. Vladimir Nunez worked a scoreless ninth to record his first save of the season for Oklahoma. The Sounds open their first road trip of the 2005 season on Friday evening in New Orleans, where they take on the Zephyrs in a 7:05 p.m. contest at Zephyr Field. Right-hander Rick Helling (0-0, 4.76) takes the hill for Nashville to face rehabbing New Orleans right-hander Tony Armas, Jr. (NR) in the Zephyrs? home opener. Audio link -- Kevin Orie puts the Sounds up 1-0: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-14.mp3

Looks like Hurricane had 3 sb's...one of them stealing home. Yup, I was listening in -- part of an exciting double-steal. The Hurricane was everywhere tonight...

Friday's Daily Menu -- we miss California League late-night snacks to flip over to after the Milwaukee games -- notice the unusual start time (4:00 Central) for Manatee audio today... All times Central; pitchers subject to change: Nashville: RHP Rick Helling at New Orleans (Nationals), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: LHP Manny Parra in the Stars' home opener vs. Carolina (Marlins), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ Brevard County: TBD at home vs. Jupiter (Marlins), 4:00 PM Audio link (opponent's feed): www.live365.com/cgi-bin/m...2747300015 West Virginia: RHP Forrest Martin at home vs. Hagerstown (Mets), 6:05 PM Audio link (opponent's feed): streaming0.ctinetworks.co...uns-wa.pls

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