Jim Goulart

Update, in progress: Brevard County 1, Daytona Beach (Cubs) 0, after eight innings Daytona Beach-area native Nick Slack is coming on in the ninth to try and close it out... Update, still in progress (unfortunately): Daytona Beach (Cubs) 2, Brevard County 1, going to the bottom of the ninth Slack and LHP Jeremy Lewis can't hold the lead... Final: Daytona Beach (Cubs) 2, Brevard County 1 Ugh -- Manatees go in order in the 9th; Luis Pena's six scoreless innings wasted...

Pohlman, the posts earlier in the thread are often updated -- look in those posts for the little baseballs indicating new text... Or better yet, click on the Huntsville link above and listen in -- don't be shy!

Multi-tasking on a Friday night -- the gameday feature from the Nashville site is working just fine, auto-updating after each better. Lil' Ben walks the first two -- how's that arm slot? Your show, DHonks, I just wanted to point out the gamecast... www.nashvillesounds.com/live/xlive.htm

Saturday's Daily Menu: Once again, the Brewers' day game allows for a dining audio feast Saturday night... All times Central; pitchers subject to change Nashville: LHP Jeff Housman at home vs. New Orleans (Nationals), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: LHP Manny Parra at Carolina (Marlins), 6:00 PM pre-game, 6:15 gametime; We want a run! We want a run! Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ Brevard County: TBD at Daytona Beach (Cubs), 6:00 PM; same teams, new locale Audio link (opponent's feed): stream.netro.ca/wele West Virginia: RHP Yo Gallardo at Hagerstown (Mets), 5:35 PM Audio link (opponent's feed): streaming0.ctinetworks.co...uns-wa.pls

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In progress: Brevard County 1, Daytona Beach (Cubs) 0, bottom of the third at Space Coast Stadium Obviously, the little Cubbies are traumatized from this afternoon's turn of events at Wrigley; 3B Adam Heether with a HR in his first high-A at-bat... Update, in progress: Brevard County 1, Daytona Beach (Cubs) 0, bottom of the fifth at Space Coast Stadium RHP Luis Pena is dealing. He's only struck out two, but one just came in the fifth after a leadoff triple. After a walk, a double play ball ended the inning -- Pena has induced three double-play grounders in five shutout innings, I believe. Fun fact: Josh Brady's theme as he walks to the plate is the theme from "Knight Rider" -- rock on, David Hasselhoff! We need someone to volunteer for a listen-in and update on Charleston...

OK, Toby, I'll slide over to the Manatees, especially since it's been a HBP, bunt base-hit, and three-run HR for the Mudcats. The Stars are facing Marlins' #2 prospect Scott Olson on the mound. In progress: Carolina (Marlins) 5, Huntsville 0, end of fourth inning Not sure what happened, but the Stars game is no longer on the radio.

Final: Hagerstown (Mets) 3, West Virginia 2 Listening to Dana Eveland on the Huntsville pre-game, will check out the Stars this evening...three other choices as well, split up and cover it all, kids! I like the Hagerstown double announcer team, though they kind of sound alike. - Toby

IF Wandel Campana, who we "wondered about" among those unaccounted for in a separate post in the Transactions thread, is the name we were missing earlier from the Brevard County roster.

With dual newspaper coverage in Nashville and Charleston, we're bound to get some duplication. But there are new quotes and updates here as well, so we'll post if that's the case: Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=40557 Short but sweet win for Sounds By Terry McCormick, tmccormick@nashvillecitypaper.com Sounds starter Jose Capellan pitched well in Nashville?s season-opening victory on Thursday. Photo by Mike Strasinger http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/uploaded/0408sounds.jpg Everything went according to plan for the Nashville Sounds? 2005 season opener. The only snag was that the game became an abridged version, as heavy showers doused Greer Stadium in the top of the seventh, shortening the Sounds? 7-3 victory over the New Orleans Zephyrs to a six-inning affair. The game, played before 4,855 fans, was called after a 29-minute wait. The Sounds? prized prospects showed glimpses of what could be in store this season, as first baseman Prince Fielder slugged a two-run homer in the fifth inning and finished with three RBIs. Top pitching hopeful Jose Capellan looked sharp for 4 1/3 innings before giving way to Chad Paronto (1-0) after suffering a blister on his pitching hand. Trailing 1-0 after a half inning, the Sounds took control of the game in the first inning, taking advantage of wildness by New Orleans starter Sun Woo Kim to score four times in their first turn. Kim (0-1) issued back-to-back walks to Dave Krynzel and Rickie Weeks, before Fielder lined an RBI single to plate Krynzel to tie the game. A fielder?s choice by Corey Hart scored Weeks to give Nashville the lead before two more walks from Kim to Brad Nelson and Kevin Orie set up veteran catcher Pat Borders? double. One run scored on the hit and Orie concluded the scoring, coming home when Endy Chavez misplayed the ball in center field. ?[Nashville pitcher] Rick Helling said over on the bench that [Kim] could get wild,? Sounds manager Frank Kremblas said. ?We looked at his stats from last year, and he can get a little wild at times. We had some good at-bats, with the two-strike walk from Krynzel and then Rickie Weeks had a walk, and obviously Prince got the big hit in the gap that scored the runs. And we had a big two-out hit from Borders.? The Sounds added a single run in the fourth when shortstop Steve Scarborough hit the guitar-shaped scoreboard in left field with Nashville?s first home run of the year, a solo shot that extended the lead to 5-2. In the fifth, Fielder, son of former major league standout Cecil Fielder, launched a two-run shot the opposite way to left field to finish off the Nashville scoring. For Fielder, who hit 23 home runs last year at Double-A Huntsville, it was a matter of staying patient with two strikes at the plate and not trying to do too much with his swing. ?That?s what I?ve been working on with two strikes, trying to put the ball in play, and I made good solid contact,? Fielder said. ?It was a two-strike swing and he didn?t try to do too much with it, and obviously he?s strong enough to hit it out the opposite way,? Kremblas said. The four-game series continues tonight at 7:05 with right-hander Ben Hendrickson going for Nashville against New Orleans right-hander Chad Durban. On Saturday, left-hander Jeff Housman goes for the Sounds against Zephyrs? right-hander Jon Rauch at 7:05 p.m. The series concludes with Sounds right-hander Helling facing right-hander Brian Powell in a 2:05 p.m. Sunday game.

It does appear that Nashville starter Jose Capellan's exit was related to a blister issue on his finger.

Link while active, text follows: www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...005040817/ Suns have more power in opener Matt Lockhart Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter HAGERSTOWN, Md. -- The West Virginia Power is off. It just hopes for brighter days. In a gloomy, drizzle-filled baseball season opener Thursday night here, the Power struck out -- repeatedly. This trip north -- just a few miles from the Civil War site of the Battle of Antietam -- left the Power looking at the south end of a 9-1 loss to the Hagerstown Suns. "We fell behind early," Power Manager Ramon Aviles said, as rain beat down on the Municipal Stadium grass. Thus was the story of Power pitcher Mark Rogers, the Milwaukee Brewers' first round pick in 2004. His first inning, for the first-year, was in need of first-ball strikes. When those didn't come, the Suns short-circuited the hard-throwing Power right-hander for four quick runs. "When you fall behind the hitters, you have to come with a fastball and that's the easiest pitch to hit," Aviles said. The Suns had little trouble, even against a mid-90s pitcher like Rogers. The 19-year-old walked the first batter he faced and plunked the next one in the helmet en route to the four-run inning that saw two singles and a double from Hagerstown bats. "I threw a lot of fastballs on fastball counts, which I don't normally do, and got hit," said Rogers, who gave up six runs (five earned) five hits and five walks in three innings. "It all started by not getting ahead of hitters. I kept the ball down, which was a positive, but I gave up a lot of ground balls in holes. A lot of that is because I was behind." A lot of the offensive struggles for the youthful Power team came because they couldn't get ahead. It can thank sinker-baller Gabriel Hernandez for that. The 6-foot-3 pitcher for the Suns -- an affiliate of the New York Mets -- welcomed the Power to the Class A South Atlantic League with six strikeouts and just two hits in 4 1/3 shutout innings. "Awesome," Power catcher Carlos Corporan said of the 18-year-old Hernandez's performance in front of 2,422 soggy fans. Corporan, who threw out three runners and laced a double, scored the Power's first and only run in the seventh inning on a RBI double off the left-center field fence by Freddy Parejo, to cut the deficit to 7-1. Those were two of just four hits allowed by Suns pitchers. "We couldn't get any kid of offense going to come back," Aviles said. "I thought Hernandez pitched pretty good. They kept hitting." To Rogers' credit, this is a Hagerstown team - which visits Charleston for Thursday's opener at Appalachian Power Park -- that could be one of the top clubs in the SAL. It's certainly not going to be a repeat of the 49-88 the town had with former affiliate San Francisco. Twelve of the top 50 prospects in the New York Mets' minor league system are here in Hagerstown, according to InsidePitchMagazine.com. Former West Virginia University shortstop Grant Psomas welcomed the Power to Maryland by smacking two homers off Josh Wahpepah and Robert Hinton. His last one, a two-run blast, went more than 400 feet and over a three-story high center field fence. "Opening day is special," Aviles said. "I think both teams were excited about getting on the field to start the season." Perhaps that's why eyes were initially glaring at the carpet floor when Aviles walked in the crammed clubhouse. "Come on guys," he said. "No one said we were going to go 140-0." Link while active, text follows: www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...005040829/ Power player rarely goes hitless at plate Matt Lockhart Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter HAGERSTOWN, Md. -- Hernan Iribarren isn't strutting around like he was the top hitter in Milwaukee Brewers' farm system last year. "That is in the past," Iribarren said of his time between the Arizona Rookie League and Class A Beloit in 2004. "I hit pretty well." Hit pretty well? No Brewer minor leaguer came within 100 points of his combined .422 average. "This year is a new year," the Barquisimento, Venezuela, native said. The past includes the Most Valuable Player honors in the Arizona League, after he batted .439 with four homers and 36 RBI in 46 games. "I am so excited because I made all my goals," Iribarren continued. "Every time I went to the ball park I concentrated on my work. I am very happy for that." It's paying off. Iribarren's 1-for-4 night from the plate in Thursday's West Virginia Power 9-1 season-opening loss to Hagerstown gives him hits in 56 of his first 62 minor league games with the Brewers. Iribarren said he spent his winter in the Venezuelan League, honing his skills with several Major League players. "They taught me a lot of things that are good for me because I am a rookie starting my career," he said. "It helped me out." * * * Some Power firsts, for baseball historians: First hit: Iribarren's first inning drag bunt went just beyond Hagerstown pitcher Gabriel Hernandez. First batter: Second baseman Alcides Escobar flew out to centerfield to lead off the game. First run: Left fielder Freddy Parejo stroked a run scoring double off the left-center field fence to bring in Carlos Corporan and cut Hagerstown's lead to 7-1 in the seventh. * * * Catcher Carlos Corporan showed off his arm early Thursday. The Catano, Puerto Rico, native nailed two runners trying to steal second in the second inning. Corporan then threw out another runner in the third against the run-happy Suns, who attempted six steals. . Aviles was pleased with his team's defensive play in 9-1 loss. "We played pretty good defense," he said. "We turned three double plays, and the kids never quit." * * * New South Atlantic League rules prohibit hitters from leaving the batter's box during an at-bat in hopes of speeding up games. The hitters must keep one foot in the box at all times, unless the pitcher or catcher calls a timeout. There are other more detailed and less likely scenarios that would enable the batter to leave the box. The penalty is an automatic strike.

Hagerstown Suns baserunner Dante Brinkley is late sliding into second base as West Virginia?s Alcides Escobar prepares to make the tag during the Suns? season opener Thursday night at Municipal Stadium. (Photo credit: Ric Dugan / Hagerstown Herald-Mail Staff Photographer) http://www.herald-mail.com/photos/00006394-constrain-180x220.jpeg Hagerstown?s Wilson Batista slides into second under the tag of West Virginia?s Hernan Iribarren during the first inning of Thursday night?s game. (Photo credit: Ric Dugan / Hagerstown Herald-Mail Staff Photographer) http://www.herald-mail.com/photos/00006395-constrain-180x220.jpeg

As of "post time" here, box scores aren't available in a convenient cut-and-paste format, so we'll link. We'll convet to viewable should they become available later on... Huntsville Box (and a nasty version of game log -- nasty in a bad way, that is): www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_cmcaax_1 West Virginia Box (and poorly-formatted game log): 2004 3rd round RHP Josh Wahpepah the star of the game... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hagafx_1 The new stat / box score folks have a lot of kinks to work out...

David Weiser's update of his site includes a box score, we'll have one below shortly: www.starsboxscore.com/ "In our sundown perambulations of late, through the outer parts of Brooklyn, we have observed several parties of youngsters playing "base", a certain game of ball.... Let us go forth for awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms.... The game of ball is glorious." ---- Walt Whitman. Brett Pollock opened the 2005 Stars season, not with this quote that Steve Kornya used to open his gamecasts with, but with another, poetically describing the head game that goes on between pitcher and batter........ I thought it was a good, creative way to start his first gamecast...... The game itself wasn't a great showcase for Brett, I thought. For one thing, the audio quality from Carolina was tinny, maybe because of the weather. For the other, it was a boring game, and unfortunately, Brett sounded a little bored himself, rarely wavering his voice and modulating above a monotone. There wasn't much opportunity, to be fair, to show excitement. Not when the only run scored comes by way of a sacrifice fly by the pitcher. In the 3rd inning, Rex Rundgren, who played with the Mudcats toward the latter half of last season, singled on a ground ball to Tony Zuniga. A balk by Dana Eveland moved him to second. A passed ball by Vinny Rottino moves him to third. Finally, pitcher Josh Johnson, a 6'7" hard-throwing prospect, hit a fly ball to Ben Van Iderstine in left........ Rundgren scored and that was all Carolina would need, as Carolina pitchers were able to strike out 11, the most against Huntsville in an opener since 2001. It was the shortest season opener for the Stars since 1995 when they shutout Chattanooga, 10-0...... And it was the lowest scoring contest as well....... It was the first shutout of three they've lost on Opening Day......... The Stars had a couple of opportunites, most notably in the 1st inning after Tony Gwynn, Jr. led off with a walk on a 3-1 pitch from winner Josh Johnson. He stole second, the first of three stolen bases for the Stars, and went to third on a one-out wild pitch, but Johnson struck out Brandon Gemoll on a 3-2 fast ball and Nelson Cruz flied out to James Shanks to end the inning....... Van Iderstine had the first hit for the Stars this season, a single through the right side in the next inning, but was doubled up by free agent 3rd baseman Zuniga to end the inning. The Stars remaining two hits were infield singles by Gwynn, Jr. and Nelson Cruz. Without any offense, and there doesn't seem to be much, the Stars are in trouble...... Even Don Money admitted he would have to have a running game to win, although he wouldn't run his way out of an inning the way Frank Kremblas would many times........ Frank, by the way, beat New Orleans with the longball help of Prince Fielder in a rain-shortened six inning affair, 7-3. Fielder hit a two-run HR and Steve Scarborough also added one. More at the link above...

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...120750.xml Stars get shut out in opener Huntsville strikes out 11 times in 1-0 loss to Carolina Special to The Huntsville Times ZEBULON, N.C. - Baseball is a game of balls and strikes. Unfortunately for the Huntsville Stars, the latter outweighed the former in their opener Thursday against the Carolina Mudcats. Huntsville managed only three singles and struck out 11 times in a 1-0 loss. "Both teams seemed to have opening night jitters, but it was a pretty good game for a season opener," new Stars manager Don Money said. "Both teams had opportunities, but for us, the bottom line was that we had three hits. "We had 21 two-strike counts, so 21 of our 27 outs, we have two strikes." The Stars had only one chance against Carolina's Josh Johnson, who was making his Double-A debut. The 6-foot-7 Johnson, rated as Florida's No. 11 prospect, found early trouble before the crowd could settle into their seats. Johnson walked leadoff hitter Tony Gwynn Jr. on five pitches, then saw Gwynn steal the first of his two bases in the game. After Johnson struck out Callix Crabbe, Johnson uncorked a wild pitch, sending Gwynn to third with one out. With the Carolina infield playing in, Johnson recovered to strike out Brandon Gemoll and retire cleanup hitter Nelson Cruz to end the threat. Johnson benefited from a second-inning double play before giving way to the Mudcats bullpen. Chad Bentz and Joe Rodriguez utilized their big-league experience to combine for 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief, then closer Chris Resop struck out the side in the ninth for his first Double-A save. The Stars' last scoring opportunity came against Rodriguez in the eighth after third baseman Chris Bass booted a ground ball from Enrique Cruz. Stars veteran Chris Barnwell bunted toward the second base grass, and it was easily scooped up by Rodriguez, who turned it into a force play. Gwynn then bounced into an inning-ending double play. In the ninth, Resop struck out Crabbe, Gemoll and Cruz on 12 pitches. "The bunt in the eighth hurt us," Money said. "It was just another lost opportunity, and in a game like this, that was the difference."

Link while active, text follows: www.floridatoday.com/apps...80348/1002 Manatees opener is washed out Teams will try again tonight BY SCOTT BROWN FLORIDA TODAY VIERA - In the hour leading up to the Brevard County Manatees' season opener Thursday night, fans didn't stream so much as they trickled into Space Coast Stadium. Unfortunately for longtime season ticket holders like Jean Silver and Teresa Waterman, the storm clouds were not far behind them. The Manatees game against the visiting Daytona Cubs was rained out, continuing a frustrating pattern for the folks who run Space Coast Stadium, as well as the fans that frequent it. The Cubs and Manatees will play today at 6 p.m. Central with a fireworks show following the action on the field. "What are you going to do?" Space Coast Stadium general manager Buck Rogers said of the weather. "If this is an omen, every Tuesday night better be Umbrella Night." Rogers has seen his share of soggy weather. The Manatees were rained out 16 times at home last season, the bulk of those coming during the three hurricanes that hit the area in August and September. The Washington Nationals, who train in Viera during the spring, lost four Grapefruit League games in March to bad weather. Ominous weather reports throughout the afternoon indicated that Thursday's game would be a longshot to be played. Armed with rain ponchos and windbreakers, Silver, a Rockledge resident, quickly found out that such preparation was no match for the weather. The skies let loose shortly after the Manatees' starting lineup was announced and the game was called about 45 minutes later. The Manatees are a high Class-A team in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. This is the first year since the Manatees' inception in 1994 that they are not affiliated with the big-league team that spends spring training in Brevard. "At first I was disappointed," Waterman, who lives in Melbourne, said of the change in affiliations. "But I feel very excited (for the players) because I think this is new to them and a new beginning." Just one that had to wait an extra day.

Link while active, text follows: www.wvgazette.com/section...2005040743 HAGERSTOWN, Md. ? Charleston?s minor-league baseball team has a new name, a new affiliation, a brand-new ballpark ? and a losing record in its new season. The Hagerstown Suns exploded for four runs in the first inning and never looked back on their way to a 9-1 season-opening victory over the West Virginia Power Thursday night. Hagerstown reached Power starting pitcher Mark Rogers for six runs (five earned) in just three innings. The 19-year-old Rogers, the Milwaukee Brewers top draft pick in 2004, allowed five hits, four walks and a hit batsman while striking out two. The Suns amassed 12 hits and had 17 batters reach base against three Power pitchers. Josh Wahpepah, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, fared better in relief of Rogers, yielding just one run on five hits in four innings. Robert Hinton struck out three in his one inning of work, but allowed two runs on two hits. Suns starter Gabriel Hernandez struck out six and allowed only two hits in 4 1/3 innings, including a stretch in which he retired 10 consecutive Power hitters. Reliever Michael Devaney earned the win for the Suns, giving up one run in 3 2/3 innings. Grant Psomas belted two home runs and Jesus Gamero chipped in with three hits for Hagerstown during a game played under a sprinkling rain throughout the night. The Power managed just four hits ? doubles by first baseman Grant Richardson and catcher Carlos Corporan and singles by second baseman Hernan Iribarren and right fielder Freddy Parejo. Parejo drove in Corporan with the Power?s only run in the seventh. Hagerstown pitchers recorded 11 strikeouts, fanning each West Virginia hitter except Richardson. Iribarren, third baseman Josh Murray and left fielder Dallas Bates each whiffed twice. The Suns and Power will play the second game of their four-game series at 5:30 p.m. Central today in Hagerstown.

"Tennessean" Game Capsule: Sounds 7, New Orleans 3 Winning pitcher: Chad Paronto (1-0). Big stick: Prince Fielder, 2-for-3, two-run HR, RBI single. How they won: The Sounds took advantage of four first-inning walks by New Orleans starter Sun-Woo Kim and got RBI base hits from Fielder and Pat Borders, overcoming a 1-0 deficit and giving Nashville starter Jose Capellan a three-run lead. Home runs by Steve Scarborough and Fielder padded the advantage, although Capellan fell two outs short of the five innings required for the mound victory. What they said: ''It's not a big deal for me really. It's the players that get the win. They did the job like we expected.'' ? Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas, after winning his Triple-A managerial debut. Tonight's pitchers: Sounds ? RHP Ben Hendrickson. Zephyrs ? RHP Chad Durbin.

Links while active, text follows: tennessean.com/sports/bas...D=67984850 tennessean.com/sports/bas...D=67984872 Sounds get quick win By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer For the Nashville Sounds, the Milwaukee Brewers era officially began at 7:04 last night ? even though that start was questionable a few hours earlier. An afternoon storm threatened season-opening festivities and eventually shortened the game, but not before the Sounds managed a 7-3, six-inning win over visiting New Orleans. The game was stopped at 9:06 with one out and one on in the top of the seventh, but under rainout rules, the game officially reverts to the last completed inning. Due to the rain-shortened contest, fans can redeem ticket stubs from last night's game for any remaining Sounds home game this season. Nashville, which lost its first game as a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate to open the 1998 season, improved to 14-14 in season openers and to 19-9 in their first games of the season at Greer Stadium. The Sounds lost last year's opener to visiting Colorado Springs by a score of 6-3. As expected, the team's young talent came to the fore early and often. Dave Krynzel scored a run, Rickie Weeks scored a pair, Prince Fielder hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, Corey Hart drove in a run and Brad Nelson scored one. Starting pitcher Jose Capellan allowed just two runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings. ''We should be a good club,'' Milwaukee Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin said. ''It's a young team for Triple-A; most aren't this young. But you've got three young players with Triple-A experience ? Hart, Krynzel and (pitcher) Ben Hendrickson. So you've got a nice blend of young guys and veterans.'' The Sounds series with New Orleans continues tonight at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m., then concludes with a 2 p.m. game on Sunday. NOTES: Melvin was among the 4,855 in attendance for the Nashville Sounds' 7-3, rain-shortened, season-opening win over New Orleans last night. ''We're really pleased to be here,'' Melvin said of the Brewers, who had been affiliated with Indianapolis of the International League at the Triple-A level prior to this year. ''They're getting a new ballpark, and that sounds exciting, and they've done some renovations down in the clubhouse that I've heard a great deal about. ''There's a lot of history here; a lot of guys have come through here that I've dealt with. (Late former Sounds catcher) Johnny Oates managed for me when I was in Texas. I've heard a lot about how well everybody has enjoyed playing here.'' Smokin' gun: Veteran Sounds catcher Pat Borders didn't take long to make his presence felt defensively last night. The 41-year-old threw out Jason Bowers on a second-inning stolen base attempt. An inning later, he picked off Tyrell Godwin when Godwin started to steal second, then thought better of it and tried to get back to first. Borders nearly executed a double play in the fourth inning when, with runners at second and third and one out, Bowers hit a bouncer to starting pitcher Jose Capellan. Rick Short, the runner at third, broke to the plate but went back ?and met teammate Matt Cepicky, who had been at second. Borders tagged both runners, but only Short was ruled out. Offensively, Borders added a first-inning RBI double. Trendy: With his fifth-inning two-run home run, Prince Fielder has homered in his first game with each of his four professional teams. Previously, he achieved the feat with rookie-league Ogden, Class A Beloit and Class AA Huntsville. Untrendy: Few would have expected shortstop Steve Scarborough to be the first Sounds player to homer this season. Prior to his two-out solo shot in the fourth inning, he had hit just 21 homers in three seasons of Double-A and Triple-A ball. Late entry: Trent Durrington was scratched from the starting lineup after getting sick prior to the game. He was replaced at third base by Kevin Orie, who walked and scored in the four-run first and singled in the fifth. Maurice Patton covers the Nashville Sounds for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 259-8018 or mopatton@tennessean.com. The Sounds' Steve Scarborough tags out the Zephyrs' Jason Bowers (6) as he tries to steal second base. GEORGE WALKER IV / TENNESSEAN STAFF http://tennessean.com/sports/baseball/archives/05/03/67984860.jpg

West Virginia Game Recap, Hagerstown Site: Suns Win Season Opener The Hagerstown Suns exploded for four runs in the first inning and never looked back on their way to a 9-1 victory over the West Virginia Power on Opening Night. With the Milwaukee Brewer's top draft pick on the mound to start the game, the Hagerstown Suns responded with patience at the plate and aggressive baserunning. 19-year-old Mark Rogers lasted only three innings, giving up five runs on five hits. The Suns were very effective at the plate, piling up 12 hits and totaling 17 base runners against three different pitchers. Six different players scored for the Suns, and eight players earned at least one hit. On the hill for the Suns was 18-year-old top starter Gabriel Hernandez, who befuddled Power hitters to the tune of six strikeouts and only two hits including a stretch when he retired 10 consecutive batters. Hernandez went the first 4 1/3 inn. Michael Devaney earned the win for the Suns, giving up just one run in 3 2/3 innings. Third baseman Grant Psomas belted two homeruns and Jesus Gamero chipped in with three hits during a game played under a sprinkling rain throughout the night. The Suns and the Power will play the second game of their four-game series tomorrow night at Municipal Stadium at 5:35 PM Central. Even in the second inning, two of the three outs Mark Rogers recorded were via "caught stealings", so yes indeed, it was a rough night -- MH

David Weiser will always have more with his first-hand home game coverage of Stars action, but he's always ready to chime in from his www.starsboxscore.com website, even when Huntsville's away: The shortest season opener for the Stars since 1995 when they shutout Chattanooga, 10-0...... This was the lowest scoring contest and third opening day shutout in Stars history, and the only one they've lost........ The Stars had a couple of opportunites, most notably in the 1st inning after Tony Gwynn, Jr. led off with a walk on a 3-1 pitch from winner Josh Johnson. He stole second, the first of three stolen bases for the Stars, and went to third on a one-out wild pitch, but Johnson struck out Brandon Gemoll on a 3-2 fast ball and Nelson Cruz flied out to James Shanks to end the inning....... Johnson scored the winning run in the 3rd on a sacrifice fly........ More later when the sites open up with some information. It looks like we're going to miss The Sports Network's coverage this year. As of 10 pm Central, there are no boxes to be had anywhere, except on a few club sites....... Ben Van Iderstine had the first hit for the Stars this season, a single through the right side, but was doubled up to end the inning....... Chris Resop picked up the save for Carolina by striking out the side -- Crabbe, Gemoll, and Cruz -- in the 9th........ Again, I'll have more when I can get more. I thought I could listen to the game in the supermarket, but I didn't know it would be like trying to listen in the middle of an electromagnetic field.

Huntsville Site: Stars Fall in Season Opener Josh Johnson worked 5 1/3 shutout innings and knocked in the game?s only run in Carolina?s 1-0 season opening win over the Stars Thursday night at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, NC. Five Mudcats hurlers combined to blank Huntsville on three hits in the home team?s third straight win on Opening Day. The only run of the game came in the third inning when Carolina second baseman Rex Rundgren led off with an infield single, reached second base on a balk by starting pitcher Dana Eveland, advanced to third base on a passed ball by catcher Vinny Rottino and scored on a Johnson sacrifice fly. Wow, that defines "cheap run", huh? -- Mass Haas Chad Bentz, who appeared in 36 games in relief for Montreal last season, came on to get the final two outs in the sixth inning for the home side before Jerrod Fuell and Joe Rodriguez followed with scoreless frames. Chris Resop struck out all three hitters he faced in the ninth inning to preserve the shutout and earn his first save. Eveland suffered the hard luck loss, allowing the game?s only run on four hits over four frames. The left-hander fanned five and did not walk a batter in his fifth start at the double-A level. Matt DeWitt tossed a scoreless fifth before David Bradley tossed two scoreless frames, including working out of a two-out, bases loaded jam in the seventh by striking out James Shanks. Jerome Gamble retired all three hitters he faced in the eighth inning to give the Huntsville bullpen four shutout innings. Huntsville center fielder Tony Gwynn, Jr. singled, walked and stole two bases and Nelson Cruz singled and stole a base for the Stars, who were shutout for the first time on Opening Day in their 21-year history. The four-game series continues on Friday night at 6:15 p.m. with right-hander Dennis Sarfate starting for the Stars against Mudcats? left-hander Scott Olsen. Hey, nice detailed and timely recap by new broadcaster Brett Pollock, thanks! Not a beat missed tonight, tough shoes to fill in former voice Robert Portnoy. Caught a few innings -- we're in good hands! -- Mass Haas

You'll notice on the incredible Nashville site that in the upper right corner, game notes are available in PDF format, and more importantly there's a live GameCast that hopefully will find its way to all the other affiliates as part of the new statistical aspect of milb.com. I'm not sure if GameCasts will archive, so this particular one may only be available until the next one rolls in: www.nashvillesounds.com/

Courtesy of the Sounds site: The Nashville Sounds opened their 2005 season on a high note Thursday evening, posting a 7-3, rain-shortened six-inning victory over the visiting New Orleans Zephyrs in front of 4,855 fans at Greer Stadium. It was the club?s first contest as the Class AAA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Highly-touted prospect Prince Fielder led the way with a 2-for-3, three-RBI night that included his first home run of the season, a two-run opposite-field blast to left-center in the bottom of the fifth. The tater continued a career trend for the 20-year-old ? he has homered in his first game with all four teams that he has played for in his four-year pro career. After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first on Matt Cepicky?s RBI double off Sounds starter Jose Capellan, Nashville jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the frame. Dave Krynzel and Rickie Weeks opened the frames with consecutive walks against Zephyrs starter Sun-Woo Kim. Fielder notched his first RBI of the night with a single to center, tying the contest, before Corey Hart put the Sounds on top with a run-scoring fielder?s choice. Pat Borders wrapped up the inning?s scoring with a two-out double that netted two runs, one scoring on a fielding error by New Orleans centerfielder Endy Chavez. The Zephyrs got a run back in the fourth to make it a 4-2 game when Brendan Harris led off with a triple and scored two batters later on a Rick Short single. Nashville shortstop Steve Scarborough extended the lead back to three in the bottom of the frame with a two-out solo homer off the guitar-shaped scoreboard in left-center in the home half of the frame. Fielder?s two-run shot in the fifth extended the Nashville lead to 7-2 before New Orleans plated the final run of the night in unearned fashion in the sixth following a Fielder throwing error. Chad Paronto (1-0) picked up the victory for the Sounds in relief of starter Jose Capellan, who allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings before leaving in the fifth due to discomfort in his pitching hand. Kim (0-1) took the loss for New Orleans after surrendering five runs (four earned) in four innings of work. The teams meet again on Friday evening for the second game of the series. Right-hander Ben Hendrickson, the 2004 International League Pitcher-of-the-Year and #7 prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, takes the hill to face New Orleans right-hander Chad Durbin. Please support the Sounds' site and the staff's web efforts by clicking on this link, scroll to bottom if you wish to hear audio of Prince's HR: www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1493